May 27, 2005
Dating in High School
(Filed under: When I Was Your Age...)When I was your age I dated a cheerleader. And a band geek. And a multi-sport she-jock. All at different times, thank you. In all I spent more than half my high school career dating, which is pretty astounding considering my geek status.
I liked girls.
Not one of those girls ended up being the one I married. I don’t even talk to any of those girls today. But when I was your age I found a certain fulfillment in dating. I was good at it. I bought flowers and talked on the phone and played the role. At times you’d think I had to date somebody. When I wasn’t dating I was eyeing up the possibilities, trying to figure out if I liked someone, or if they liked me, or some such nonsense.
Dating in high school is funny. It seems like the most important thing in the world. It seems larger than life. It’s not. I didn’t know anything about relationships in high school. I just knew I liked the squishy feeling I got holding a girl’s hand or—gasp—kissing her. I liked knowing someone liked me. To quote an old country song, "I want you to want me, I need you to need me, I love you to love me." In essence it was all a bit selfish.
Since then I’ve learned that relationships actually hard. It takes a lot of work—painful, time consuming, difficult work. If a relationship is going to last, you can’t just hang up the towel and walk away. Most importantly, you need to know yourself. You need to know what you want and need, and how that meshes with someone else. It doesn’t necessarily mean you look for someone just like you. My wife and I are complete opposites in some ways—the important thing was to learn how we were different and deal with it.
Dating is awkward. It’s goofy. It’s strange. And it can be fun. But not always. I don’t want to tell anyone not to date (though your parents may wish I did), but there’s wise counsel in that. Keeping the opposite sex at arm’s length isn’t the greatest either, but being cautious and taking your time before jumping into a relationship is a good thing. Hearts are easily broken and poorly mended. You can make a lot of dumb mistakes dating in high school—though sometimes we need to learn through mistakes. Just be sure to keep your head.
Posted by Kevin D. Hendricks at 01:37 PM | Comments (2) | TrackBack
Senior Prank Costs Graduation
(Filed under: Academics)Seven high school seniors at Lighthouse Christian Academy in Deleon Springs, Fla. wanted to go out in style. So they snuck into the school and slathered doorknobs with Crisco, put plastic wrap over toilets and replaced the principal's desk with a pre-school-sized desk.
The mess took three hours to clean up before prospective students could visit the school, prompting the principal to cancel graduation as punishment.
Posted by Kevin D. Hendricks at 09:18 AM | Comments (2) | TrackBack
May 25, 2005
Teen Pregnancy Drops by 30%
(Filed under: Sex)The teen pregnancy rate in the U.S. has dropped nearly 30% since 1990. The National Campaign to Prevent Teen Pregnancy is setting a goal to bring the rate down another third in ten years.
Posted by Kevin D. Hendricks at 08:53 AM | Comments (1) | TrackBack
May 17, 2005
Billy Graham Sees Future in Young People
(Filed under: Faith)Aside from Jesus, 86-year-old Billy Graham is probably the world's most well-known evangelist. He's currently preparing for his New York crusade, which some speculate will be his last. In an interview with USA Today he talks about his declining health but also the hope he finds in young people:
Yet, he says, "I don't have many sad days."Indeed, his life is lit by joy when he looks to the future. Graham sees that future carried by young people "trying to make a better world and serve the Lord."
When he came to the microphone at his most recent crusade, in Pasadena, Calif., last October, the Rose Bowl was packed with young people, most of them teenagers. He expects the same in June at Flushing Meadow, in Queens.
"It's amazing to see how many young people are searching for something else and don't know what. They will come to the meetings out of curiosity — they want to see someone who has believed it (God's truth) and lived it."
Posted by Kevin D. Hendricks at 12:22 PM | Comments (2) | TrackBack
May 12, 2005
How Well Do You Know Your Bible?
(Filed under: Faith)Not well enough, apparently. A recent Bible literary project asked English teachers what students should know about the Bible and then quizzed students to see how they ranked. 8% of teens thought Moses was one of the twelve disciples. But on the whole, teens know the major stuff. Lesser details like what happened at Cana and identifying what quote goes with what famous passage were a little harder--and Christian teens faired little better than non-Christians.
Posted by Kevin D. Hendricks at 09:15 AM | Comments (2) | TrackBack
May 09, 2005
Teens Pitch In
(Filed under: Society)I love these stories: A middle school youth group in San Diego raised $24,000 for One Life Revolution, an organization fighting HIV/AIDS in Africa. On my personal blog I talked about my own youth group squeezing $300 out of an autographed Audio Adrenaline T-shirt as part of their missions dinner raising money for a summer missions trip. And just the other day we looked at the number of hours teens volunteer every year.
You teens do more than we give you credit for.
Posted by Kevin D. Hendricks at 12:33 PM | Comments (5) | TrackBack
Parent and Teen Miscommunication
(Filed under: Family)Just when you thought you couldn't handle your parents anymore a pair of teens willingly steps into translate. Lara Fox and Hilary Frankel, high school seniors in New York, wrote Breaking the Code, a guide to parent-teen relations. It's more for your parents than for you, but it might stem the screaming matches.
Posted by Kevin D. Hendricks at 08:48 AM | Comments (1) | TrackBack
May 05, 2005
The Amazing Volunteer Teenagers
(Filed under: Numbers)About how many hours per year do you volunteer?
37% - More than 60 hours
35% - 20 to 39 hours
15% - Fewer than 20 hours
13% - 40 to 59 hours
(USA Today, April 24, 2005)
What's especially cool is that today's teens are volunteering more than teens ever have—going back through the entire 50-year history of volunteer statistics.
Posted by Kevin D. Hendricks at 10:39 AM | Comments (1) | TrackBack
May 04, 2005
Teens and Too Much Information
(Filed under: Numbers)Teen blogging can be a fun way to connect with friends, but giving out too much information can invite trouble.
70% give out their first name
67% their age
61% their contact info
59% their location
44% e-mail address & IM screen name
39% their birth date
20% their full name
It maybe something as innocent as mentioning your school mascot, but it means your online persona is no longer private. Anyone could track you down, and that could be dangerous. There's nothing wrong with blogging, just be careful how much information you give to the world. (link via YS Update)
Posted by Kevin D. Hendricks at 02:56 PM | Comments (1) | TrackBack
Christian Gaming
(Filed under: Video Games)Just like Christian music became a viable alternative, Christian video gaming is picking up speed. Games like Catechumen for the PC are blazing the way and providing an alternative to games like Halo. (link via YS Update)
Posted by Kevin D. Hendricks at 02:38 PM | Comments (0) | TrackBack
Teen Girls Aren't Monsters
(Filed under: Society)A new book (subscription or commercial required) explores the transition to adolescence and concludes that teen girls aren't the drug-addicted, eating-disordered monsters the media says they are. I could have told you that.
A mom heard the hype and began the fear the worst for her preteen daughter. But she paid attention and saw that her daughter was normal. Bad things can happen, but expecting the worst from teens doesn't help anyone. My Girl: Adventures With a Teen in Training is probably better reading for your parents, but the bottom line is more respect for you.
What do you think? Does the media blow troubled teen girls out of proportion? (link via YS Update)
Posted by Kevin D. Hendricks at 02:20 PM | Comments (0) | TrackBack
May 03, 2005
Prom Horror Stories
(Filed under: Society)It's prom season and the Star Tribune has a litany of prom horror stories from readers. One particular story involves a tornado in 1936.
It's not always the most magical night ever, though thankfully most of the stories seem to end with overcoming whatever bizarre adversity struck.
Posted by Kevin D. Hendricks at 08:10 AM | Comments (1) | TrackBack
I [heart] My Vagina Compromise
(Filed under: Society)A compromise of sorts has been reached at a Minnesota high school after administrators threatened to expel any students wearing "I [heart] My Vagina" T-shirts. The free speech battle is at a stalemate of sorts where it's not clear whether or not the girls could win a legal battle. Though not allowing the T-shirts, the administration has allowed the students to start a women's issues group, bring in a speaker to address those issues, and is allowing a local women's advocacy group to set up an information booth.
All over a T-shirt.
Posted by Kevin D. Hendricks at 08:03 AM | Comments (1) | TrackBack
May 02, 2005
Abortion in Florida: Schiavo II
(Filed under: Society)Life and death situations and politics seem to make strange bedfellows in Florida. Less than a month after the Terry Schiavo mess, Florida is in the news again after a 13-year-old ward of the state became pregnant, tried to get an abortion and the Department of Children and Families (DCF) intervened. The case is currently in the courts as the they try to decide whether or not the girl, identified only as L.G., should be allowed to have an abortion.
Abortion is a big messy issue and not something I enjoy getting into. Abortions shouldn't have to happen, and what's so upsetting about this case is that 13-year-old L.G. has escaped from DCF care at least five times and became pregnant while on the lam in January. The Miami Herald pointed out DCF's other faults, apparently losing track of 500 children. How can you lose children? And what's happening when a 13-year-old escapes 5 times and starts having sex?
An abortion, whether or not the state allows it, would only be the latest in a string of tragedies.
Posted by Kevin D. Hendricks at 08:17 PM | Comments (3) | TrackBack
Faith & Frat Boys
(Filed under: College)Time magazine covers Christians at secular universities in a story that will make some parents squirm. But if you can get past the frat boy stepping over half-naked, lesbians before heading out to church, well, you might find something interesting.
It's actually not as bad as that. The story starts with 21-year-old Brandon Straub, a Christian who lives in a fraternity for the chance to share his faith with his fellow frat boys. Sometimes that makes for some interesting situations and it's not always easy: Straub admits to a few drunken nights of his own.
The story explores the choice Christians end up making with college: choose a Christian school and seal yourself off from the world in a Christian bubble, or take the supposed highway to hell that is a secular university. One offers a supposedly safe environment to explore your faith, the other offers real opportunity for ministry, as well as real opportunity for what college is famous for: beer and sex.
It's a tough call. I went the Christian school route, and quite honestly am still living in a Christian bubble with minimal opportunity to interact with non-Christians and share my faith. I wouldn't trade my experience for anything, but I also see the value and good Christians can do in secular schools. If you're thinking about college, prayerfully consider about where your place may be.
Posted by Kevin D. Hendricks at 07:53 PM | Comments (1) | TrackBack