Teen Years (13-18)

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GOODBYE, HELLO

New, uncertain world approaches

By Robin Lam and Courtney SkinnerPublished: January, 2006

The festivities of Thanksgiving and Christmas have made me realize belatedly that college is almost here. When school starts in September, I will officially become an adult and I admit it I’m scared.

Like Dorothy and Toto, who were mysteriously transported into another world, I have no idea where I’ll end up for college. Will it be close to home? Or will it be on the other side of the country? Can I see my parents every weekend? Or will I be stuck among strangers?

With the bulk of the last four years dedicated to studying and preparing for college, I took every opportunity I could to escape the house, watch movies and hang out with friends. But now, all I want to do is stay in bed.

When speaking of New Year’s resolutions, one usually thinks about losing weight, spending less money or getting a job. But this year, my resolution is to appreciate what I have and spend more time with my family before I go to college. With less than six months left until graduation and only two months of summer vacation after that, what little time I have left is precious to me.

Small things like family outings to the movie theater, shopping with my mom and even playing with the cat will be activities that I know I will miss. At home I have loved ones to greet me every day, but what if I end up having a bad college roommate? “Home” would be nothing more to me than a room, a bed and an unfriendly face.

Although I always argue and disagree with my parents, I know that they only want the best for me. For 17 years they have raised me and provided me with flute lessons, dance classes and daily transportation to and from my school activities.

College is the place where one is recognized as an independent adult, responsible for one’s own time, commitments and studies. This new experience will be my yellow brick road, and even if I don’t have Dorothy’s red shoes, at least I know I can always call home.

Robin Lam of Pomona is a senior at Troy High School in Fullerton. She is co-editor of the school’s newspaper.

THE CLASSICS

Each pages offers a new experience

I am the queen of list making. I have one for the clothes I wear, the homework I must do, the CDs I want to buy and the places I want to travel.

But this year, instead of scribbling down a dozen lofty goals for the New Year, I have come up with only one resolution to put on my list: read one book every week.

I know it will be a challenge. Classics like “Moby Dick” aren’t exactly what I consider “light reading,” and squeezing out extra time from my week to hear about Captain Ahab’s struggle with the whale isn’t going to be easy. However, I am certain that reading these novels will be worthwhile.

Imagine what I will accomplish in a mere seven days. Without leaving the comfort of my own home, I will travel to exotic places around the world and get a taste for different cultures by simply turning a few pages.

Picking up a novel allows me to outsmart time, as I will be transported back to revolutionary France or the Jazz Age by losing myself in literary works such as “A Tale of Two Cities” and “The Great Gatsby.”

Not only will the boundaries of time and space be broken by pouring over these novels, but my emotional perspective will also be enhanced. When I delve into a new book, I will discover characters with whom I can relate and, by objectively studying their attitudes and ideas, perhaps gain a better understanding of myself.

But even the characters that are as different from me as night and day are valuable. I may never flirt like the aggressive Scarlett O’Hara, but as I live vicariously through her character in “Gone with the Wind,” I can experience not only the pleasure of having a dozen boys fawn over me at once, but also the pain of failing to win over the one man I truly love.

Since every page of these novels holds something new, I know I’ll have an exciting year. Now I just have to decide which adventure I want to take first.

Courtney Skinner of Fullerton is a senior at Troy High School in Fullerton. She is co-editor of the school’s newspaper.

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