It’s My Life Campaign


            In today’s society it is almost impossible for a teenager to abstain from drugs, sex, and alcohol. The world’s view of drugs, sex, and alcohol makes us believe that it is okay to participate in these risky behaviors. We get constant views in the media of sex and drugs. Especially in the music that we listen to and what we watch on television.

 

Even though many teens are participating in these risky behaviors a majority of them are not. I am in the majority. I am ready to face the world despite the many temptations that are presented to me every day. Many African American teenage females such as myself are the victims of the worst stereotypes. Many people believe we are doomed to fail since given the fact that the majority of teenagers have to drop out because we have a high rate of pregnancy.

 

I am ready for the world because I have been faced with many temptations of society and I have made the decision to be different. I surround myself around people that want the best for me. This whole summer I worked with Peer’s Project to help mentor people my age and younger and to help them to choose to live a healthier lifestyle like I did. Therefore I am ready for the world. 

By: LaSeptra Campbell , Tindley High School Juniorlasaeptra

Reality T.V. , Helpful or Hurtful?

You have seen the “ridiculousness” of most reality TV shows, but why do some people, especially teens, still choose to watch them? Reality TV is a very narrow peek into the lives of people who have an unrealistic reality, in fact, most of their lives are written by a producer. These cast members are to do one thing with those lives, make sure it is drama filled so that they make money through that drama. The reputation of most reality TV show cast members is demolished by the finale of their first season. Honestly, the problem lies not only with the producers or cast members, but the audience. It is the audience that allows these shows to have numerous amounts of views. The audience are the people unintentionally saying to those cast members and producers, “Ignorance is bliss, so keep at it!” But their ignorance shouldn’t be bliss, it is disturbing and degrading, not only for them, but to the audience that they are targeting. Take for instance the 16-year-old girl who thinks she is not pretty enough, and watches a reality TV show for the first time and instantly gets hooked. That 16-year-old girl is now being influenced by women who wear tons of make-up and are praised by the media because of their “beauty,” when in actuality it’s as fake as their lives portrayed on their show. That 16-year-old girl and many other girls and women like her are being lied to and influenced by the negative influences suggested through reality TV. It is vital that we don’t allow producers to tell us what we should look like, or the lifestyle(s) we should admire, but that we are confident enough in ourselves to say that we are much greater than that.