Deep, Dark Thoughts from the Desk

It’s almost the end of January and I’ve only had 11 days of school so far this year.
The amount of snow is amazing.

Winter’s always been my favorite season. I love the dead trees, dead grass, dead cold…

But I’m not sure anymore. I think I’m more of a fall person now. Fall is better for photography. And this year has been so cold, my hands crack as I type.

Seriously. I need a band-aid. Hold on a sec.

 

Okay I’m back. (I used the Jane Austen Band-Aid, Gigi)

Today is our 8th snow day. I’m a senior, so I don’t have days added on to the end of the school year. I still get let out in May.

But I’m really pissed off about all the snow days. Scatter a day or two here and there, spread out just so that you get a break when you need it most–that’s nice. This? This is not nice. I WANT MY NEW SEMESTER.

Besides, school is really the only place where I can be social.
Unless you count this blog.

But you people don’t get to see how great my hair looks today.

I have a totally new semester and I don’t know exactly who’s going to be in my classes, but I’m hoping for a couple of friends in each one. Maybe the guy I have a crush on will even pop up in a couple classes!

But I can’t know unless we go back to school.

Also, I’m itching to learn. I want to know period four of World History. I want to learn more creative writing stuff. I want to get the January issue of our newspaper published. I want to eat lunch with friends!

Sigh.

Yesterday, I read two books and wrote a story. Today, I’ve written two more stories.

I also just went to the library and stacked up on books again. I’ll probably read another book by tonight.

And if we have another snow day, at least I’m prepared, though unhappy.

 

PS–You should check out my goodreads account. I have quite a few more books read and reviewed. 🙂

In a Land of Myth and a Time of Magic…

…the destiny of a great kingdom rests on the shoulders of a young man. His name…

MERLIN.

So, guess where I’ve been for the past few weeks? Five feet away from the television, staring up with watery eyes at the perfection of the British TV show “Merlin.”

Well, not quite perfection. The graphics were terrible.

But other than that, yes. The actors were perfect, the cameras were perfect, the plots were perfect, the characters were perfect… I use past tense because most of them died.

And I’m okay with that.

So sue me, Merlin fandom. I just admitted that I’m okay with the deaths of Arthur, Freya, Gwaine, Lancelot, Balinor, Elyan, Isolde,  Morgana, and Mordred.

How else could they have ended it? That’s exactly what happens in the end of the legends–Arthur dies. He is wounded in battle. The producers could have made the ending much more agonizing. They could have killed Arthur instantly, leaving him no time to learn that his trusted manservant was a wizard. Instead, they allow him a few days under Merlin’s care, thus allowing him to hear the truth and giving their audience the reaction they had waited five seasons for. More than that, they gave the audience hope. In the final scene, we see an aged Merlin in the 21st century, strolling near the lake of Avalon, waiting for his friend to return as the Great Dragon promised he would.

Oh yeah, and we got to see Merlin’s amazing alter-ego “Dragoon” again before the season’s end. And Gwen took charge of Camelot. And Gaius and Merlin survived.

And Arthur said “Thank You.”

The Things She Carried

1. CHORES:  This consists of mowing the lawn, folding clothes, driving my mom places… You see, my mom fell off my loft bed a couple days a go and hit her back on the way down. She broke two ribs and collapsed a lung. So, the chore responsibilities fall to me.
2. WRITING: I should totally be done planning my novel by now. (It’s been what…six months?) Therefore, I am opening it up to you, dear reader. What do you want to see in a character? That’s where I’m stuck. It’s hard coming up with a solid, realistic, quirky character, so I require your help. (The main character is a 17 year-old girl, Celestia, who’s mad at her parents for moving her to France her senior year. There’s also a 17 year-old boy, Luc, who could use more developing.)
3. READING: Cursed Crime and Punishment…
4. DOCTOR WHO: Hark! David Tennant is calling out to me…
5. COLLEGE: I just sent in one application, I have to send another application soon, I’m looking into attending the honors college, too. I have a lot of questions to ask, too, but I’m not sure what questions they are. (Besides this one: Do juniors in the honors college really have to prepare a 45-minute thesis defense presentation in front of a bunch of staff members within a week of their thesis’s completion?)
6. SCHOLARSHIPS: With all the money we’ve had to spend on medical emergencies lately (my brother broke his toe jumping off a bed), it seems I’m going to really need a scholarship. And if I get a full-ride scholarship, I could get a car, which leads me to my next number…
7. LICENSE: I need three more hours of nighttime driving until I can take a road test. Help. Me.
8. LIBRARY: Yeah, I know this sounds bad. “Tori, you already have so much on your plate…Why would you want more books?” Novels are my kryptonite. I can’t help it. I need novels.
9. NEWSPAPER: Is my school newspaper getting together anytime soon? How will I know, since I lack a Twitter?
10. GOODREADS: Gosh, I really haven’t been keeping up with all my books lately. Whoops.
11. EATING: Yeah, there’s a rumbly in my tumbly.
12. SOCIAL LIFE: Aww, who am I kidding?
13. SLEEPING: so…tired…
14. SEEING: I got new glasses! I’m trying to adjust to my world being clear all of the sudden. It’s odd.
    

    These are my glasses. They’re from Bebe.

15. CHURCH: Yeah, it’s not really a burden. More of a release. But then again, eating isn’t a burden either. Nor reading or writing… They’re just on my mind a lot.
16. COLLAPSIBLE LUNG: Relient K has a new CD. It’s (IRONICALLY) called “Collapsible Lung.” It sounds a lot different from anything else they’ve ever done. I need to devour it and decide if I like the change or not. This is my favorite song from it so far:

I also like Collapsable Lung, I Can’t Complain, and If I Could Take You Home. 🙂

Road Trip

RANDOM FACT OF THE POST: Scotland’s national animal is the unicorn.

I know what you’re doing right now. You’re sitting in front of your laptop, wondering what it would be like to abandon all reason and hop in an RV with five close family members for a week long camp out 15 hours away from that place you call home.
Enticing as it sounds, I don’t recommend it. Oh, it’s fun on occasions, sure, and it gives you a ton of stories to blog about (you will be hearing about this for a while), but it HURTS.
Physically, mentally, socially…
PHYSICALLY
I sit here writing with four bruises polka-dotting my legs, thirteen (an unlucky number) bug bites of unknown origin spotting my body, and a wicked sunburn creeping up my legs, arms, and back. (I must defend myself here–I applied sunscreen four times in a six-hour period and sat with a book in my lap beneath an umbrella. I do wear red very well, though. And with my bright green shirt on, I’m a walking Christmas in June. Long story short, I’m white.) My hygiene has also taken a beating, as I wish jump in and out of the moth-and-spider-ridden showers as quickly as possible. I have neglected my hair, so it sits in an abandoned nest atop my head.
And Aloe Vera gel is rather sticky and shiny and unflatteringly green…
MENTALLY
I sit here, reflecting on this 15-mile drive. It’s in the 80s and our air conditioning is not on. As a matter of fact, our heat was on for three hours before we realized it. We therefore opened the windows in the hopes of cooling down. And then it rained, and open windows were not cool anymore. Now, they’re cool again and my hair/nest is sweeping up into a tornado. The GPS system is not built for RVs. It drove us down a long, thin road and expected us to squeeze through a gate. Only fat vehicles do not squeeze through, nor do they turn around on thin roads easily. This predicament led to a string of swear words from my grandfather, which then prompted my mother to stress over my young brother hearing such angry words, and so loud conversations and monologues wrestled with one another for center stage. The link between the RV and the Jeep trailing behind it continuously unlocks, which paves the path for more streams of swear words from my grandfather and angry outbursts from my now-stressed, tired, and work-burdened father (and therefore more pressure on my mother and more shell shocked expressions from my grandmother).
And mental damage also comes from what conversations do take place. Like each time we stop at a gas station:
GRANDPA: Do you want anything from the gas station?
ME: Nope, I’m good!
GRANDPA: You sure? They have lemonade…
ME: Yep, I’m sure. I’m not thirsty.
GRANDPA: So do you want the raspberry lemonade or the strawberry lemonade or just the regular lemonade?
ME: Grandpa, thanks for asking, but like I said, I don’t want lemonade.
GRANDPA: Okay, then, if you’re sure.
[1 minute later]
GRANDMA: You’re grandpa’s in there buying you a raspberry lemonade, does that sound good?
ME: I told him I’m not thirsty!
GRANDMA: Oh, well he must have misunderstood you.
[another minute later]
GRANDPA: Hey, I brought you raspberry lemonade!
DAD: Here, I know you said you weren’t hungry but we’ll be on the road for a while, so I got you twizzlers.
ME: *facepalm*
EVERY. TIME. WE. STOP.
Worst of all, I really wanted Chick-Fil-A, only to realize they close on Sunday.
I should probably see a therapist.
SOCIALLY
Yes, because every teenager’s reputation is elevated from camping out with their family.
It. Hurts.

*DISCLAIMER: Don’t get me wrong. I enjoy camping. I love my family. But I really feel crabby cooped up in a sweltering, cramped vehicle for 15 hours. I needed to rant somehow. Thank you, patient Internet readers.

Recess

I took a recess of sorts from my blog, as you may have noticed.

Only I wasn’t playing. I was doing homework. Finals next week!

Anyway, this prompted me to write a post about what recess means to me… (cue flashback ripples)

My elementary school was great. Don’t get me wrong. It was virtually bully-free. But in order to be bully-free, we had to be stripped of several unnecessary rights–many of which involved recess. Whenever anyone got hurt during recess, we had rights taken away.

When a girl threw up on the tire swings, we were told we couldn’t spin on the tire swings any more. We could only use them to swing up and down, which became boring quickly.

When one kid got his leg stuck between the bars of our playground, we were told we had to stay away from the sides of the playground.

After a couple kids tripped in the mud on the field, we could no longer play tag or the blob in the field by the tree.

After a kid twisted his ankle, we could no longer jump of the swings.

We were never allowed to run between swings in motion, throw snowballs at each other, run on the playground, or play dodge ball (like they do in the movies). After a while, they even told us we couldn’t go “penguin sliding” (which was what we called sliding on our bellies down a not-very-steep hill at the time) although no one ever got hurt doing that.

During recess, when I was younger, we would blame the wrecking of our snow forts on the older kids. When we were older, we  blamed it on the younger kids.

At recess, I would plan the film my friends and I intended to be a huge blockbuster hit (this was back when Blockbuster was still around, mind you). I would draw tons of squiggly lines with chalk and make my friends walk the “maze.” I would avoid four square and the basketball court. I would run around tagging people or being tagged. I would create secret clubs, fall down Niagara Falls, turn into a mermaid, sell wood chips in the black market, begin building forts that would inevitably be destroyed the following day, sneak past parapros, fall of the “spinny thing” that never had a proper name and still doesn’t, show off on the gymnastics bars, make my hands raw on the monkey bars, race my friends down the slide, and talk.

It was the golden life.

Except for all the rules we couldn’t break. But I can’t complain much now, since in high school we don’t have any recess.

Polly put the kettle on.

Fine, fine, here’s your post.

When my brother was a wee child (about three years old), my grandparents bought him this noisy, obnoxious toy. Apparently this is a typical grandparent thing.

This is the table. You see that book in the back? When you turned the page, it would sing Polly’s song…

That looks like loads of fun, doesn’t it?? You want one now. Needless to say, it was my brother’s favorite toy. The batteries wore out quickly and we couldn’t figure out where they were in the toy–had we known, they would have been out long ago…

There was a little book attatched to this toy, and when you turned the page, it would play this song:

I. Hate. Polly.

As the batteries wore out, the singer’s voice deepened and the song went on foreeevvvvveeeeeeeerrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr. And then poor Polly’s kettle finally steamed over. She began to sing without her pages being turned. We threw the toy into our basement in the hopes that it would shut Polly up, but to no avail. At midnight, you could hear the ghastly droning of “POLLLYYYY PUUUT THEEE KEEETTTLLLEE OOONNNNNNNNNNNNN…” drifting up from the bowels of our home.

It still gives me the shivers after all these years.

Why does Sukey take it off again? Will the two frienemies ever have their tea? Will there ever be an end to their kettle wars??

And “Sukey take it off again” IS NOT EVEN GRAMMATICALLY CORRECT. Sukey need to learn to speak English!

And what really makes me steam is this: the sentence ends in a preposition. WHAT THE HECK DOES POLLY PUT HER KETTLE ON?!?!?!?!

Bright Starts Toy Company, I HAVE QUESTIONS THAT NEED ANSWERING!

 

Oh, What’s in a Name?

I’m a person of lists. I keep many lists. I have a whole journal of lists: a list of things I’m thankful for, of teaching methods I like, of favorite books, of favorite music, of favorite movies– and, finally, of favorite names. My list of favorite names has become quite extensive, and I feel called to post all the names I have come to like. Perhaps it is because people insist on naming their children  more cliche, boring names like “Gregory”, “Sarah”, and “Emily” (no offense if that is your name– you must admit that it is very common, though, and common is what I try to avoid). So, I’ve compiled this list and you are going to read it, whether you like it or not. Some of the names are from novels that I’ve read. Some are French. Some are German.

Sorry for the length. Some of the names on a boy or girl-specific list may be unisex, but I just fit them in where I thought they should go based on their sounds. Here goes!

GIRL:

Celestia,    Solstace,    Willow,    Christiana,    Elizabeth (Eliza),    Lana,    Lyla,    Estelle,    Nalia,    Nadia,    Maura,    Anastasia,    Iliana,    Keme,    Kiki,    Nayeli,    Naomi,    Esther,    Isabella (Isa),    Medow,    Sierra,    Autumn,    Katara,    Katriona,    Amber,    Cleopatra,    Sophia,    Olivia,    Monica,    Stella,    Sienna,    Lily,    Mckayla,    Katrice,    Brooke,    Miri,    Sydney,    Sylvia,    Zinna,    Rikki,    Charlotte,    Libby,    Carmen,    Jasmine,    Cordelia,    Zara,    Eden,    Eve,    Risa,    Natali,    Tania,    Thalia,    Ally,    Mia,    Hanna,    Evangelia,    Gabriella (Ella),    Lola,    Athena,    Shona,    Chelsea,    Elsbeth,    Abigail,    Noelle,    Korra,    Vonnie,    Taylor,    Nikki,    Sonia,    Lydia,    Sasha,    Saule,    Alina,    Mariana,    Hazel,    Raina,    Mariah,    Maria,    Celeste,    Cilia,    Selena,    Annabelle,    Alice,    Diana,    Artemis,    Tatiana,    Audrey,    Melony,    Elodie,    Evangeline,    Annica,    Anita,    Tara,    Viola,    Violet,    Elle,    Liliosette,    Aurora,    Arietti,    Chloe,    Holly,    Ava,    Sovay,    Synthia,    Savannah,    Rosette,    Cosette,    Avril,    Theodora,    Leia,    Mirabella,    Eva,    Demi,    Sabrina,    Miley,    Cadia,    Lanae,    Sunday,    Mila,    Seven,    Mira,    Chantel,    Sarabella,    Kali,    Annette,    Ariana,    Liloquie,    Sabina,    Reine,    Kennedy,    Tea,    Jesabelle,    Jessa,    Mint,    Rianna,    Lianna,    Dianna,    Areli,    Tabea,    Aleada,    Sapphire,    Jewel,    Crystal,    Noelli,    Ana,    Zora,    Zuri,    Dannica,    Asia,    China,    Paris,    London,    Laureli,    Minna,    Ambrosia,    Birch,    Egypt,    Heather,    Cassie,    Crysanthemum,    Scarlet,    Snow,    Angel,    Dewdrop,    Astrid,    Asha,    Camille (Cami),    Korina,    Krista,    Majorie,    Marzine,    Nona,    Shana,    Sky,    Tera,    Vana,    Vivian,    Vera,    Ember,    Symphony,    Lilac,    Ebony,    Ivory,    River,    Hadia,    Zia,    Clarence,    Anthem,    Mission,    Majesty,    Amythist,    Glass,    East,    North,    South,    Winter,    Tiger,    Auburn,    Brianna,    Ivy,    Nature,    Rain,    Cascade,    Ainsley,    Souri,    Maple,    Pepper,    Paprika,    Rika,    Mika,    Penny,    Echo,    Misty,    Enna,    Spirellia,    Spirea,    Vanessa,    Trust,     Kindle,    Mindy,    Lindy,    Skylar,    Rosalina,    Natascha,    Zoi,    Kayura,    Ariane,    Maya,    Nina,    Leonie,    Mona,    Mariela,    Adriana,    Lina,    Alanna,    Sonja,    Emi,    Kiara,    Jana,    Serafina,    Milena,    Carina,    Nessa,    Tizia,    Saskia,    Luna,    Colette,    Tulle,    Rita,    Cinnamon,    Tiana,    Cherry,    Bessalina,    Coral,    Vivika,   Vanilla,    Desiree,    Evelyn,   Chaily,    Arwen,    Jensen,    Kyree,    Kently,    Larken,    Wren,    Meritte,    Sora,    Serenity,    Swan,    Mangolia,    Centheia,    Davinia,    Quiana,    Semina,    Fawn,    Ina,    Nitya,    Song,    Berry,    Siri

Yeah. BEAT THAT!

BOY:

Jayden,   Ethan,   Aiden,   Jason,   Nathaniel,    Luke,    Alec,    Steffan,    Leonardo,    Niccollo,    Dylan,    Dmitri,    Damion,    Derek,    Parker,    Anthony,    Oliver,    Cameron,    Carson,    Carver,    Carter,    Henri,    Russell,    Scott,    Clay,    Daniel,    Noah,    Theo,    Chase,    Christian,    Landon,    Josiah,    Edmund,    Ty,    Josef,    Mason,    Xavier,    Benjamin,    Peder,    Caleb,    Spencer,    Toby,    Samuel,    Flynn,   Bradley,    Flint,    Niall,    Jared,    Jeremy,    Milo,    Jeremiah,    Jedediah,    Tyler,    Devin,    Justin,     Elija,    Immanuel,    Hayden,    Gavin,    Liam,    Luc,    Luca,     Lucien,    Maverick,    Quince,    Braeden,    Marchello,    Tavian,    Ezekiel (Zeke),    Israel,   Isaac,    Jonah,    Cooper,    Jeoffry,    Didier,    Drake,    Forest,    Sawyer,    Camden,    Antoine,    Ashton,    Dustin,    Elliott,    Steffano,    Orlando,    Percy,    Ferris,    Titus,    Winston,    Seth,    Paris,    London,     Pine,    Hunter,    Brazil,    Washington,   Franlin,    Delano,     Britain,    Rome,    Samwise,    Jamison,    Jaesong,    Thorn,    Dalton,    Storm,    Avenger,    Berit,    Anders,    Sterling,    Cavelri,    Griffon,    Dawson,    Arbor,    Aberdeen,   Westley,    Hawk,    Moss,    Diggory,    Falcon,    Onyx,    Castello,     Walter,    Carlon,    Vincent,    Skyler,    Til,    Fredrik,    Camilo,    Rike,    Delphino,    Conan,    Colton,    Logan,   Cobalt,    Nico,    Conrad,   Hale,   Miles,    Quinn,    Ryder,    Jay,    Lincoln,    Kenton,    Roman,    Owen,    Ridge,    Soren,    Tayson,    Denver,    Everett,    Trey,    Vance,    Carlos,    Bryson,     Lysander,     Oxford,     Parson,   Calloway,   Cliff, Pike,    Crispin,    Tate,    Stellan,    Bay,    Tyberius,    Brecken, Raven, Jett

And there you have it. You can use these names for anything- character names, baby names, even stuffed animal names! Just be careful that you don’t pick a name that can be easily made fun of. It doesn’t matter so much for stuffed animals (my brother once named his stuffed tiger “Puddles”), but you want to be careful with naming a child.

I believe I am the worst player of 20 questions. Ever.

There are two good reasons why I only ever played the game “20 questions” on the little portable machine: (1) No one in my family was willing to play it with me. (2) I could throw the machine when I got angry at it.

It was amazing.

And now, about 7 years later in my life, my poor friend Gigi convinced me to give it a go again.

Stupid game.

Silly me.

Poor Gigi.

After informing me that she wouldn’t limit me to twenty questions, I began to ask more elaborate, wasteful questions. Through my labors, I learned that the object she was thinking of was red, metallic, thin in parts, taller than me (I’m 5 foot 5 inches), always outside, not edible, something that I see daily, started with the letters “S-T-O”, and was eight letters long.

Well, I was stumped. And Gigi was laughing at me.

After a full day, I still could not think of the answer. I gave up and asked my 10-year-old brother. Interrupting me halfway through my reveal of the clues, he responded  “Stop sign“.

Yep. I spent four hours trying to guess at what wound up being a stop sign.

This is why I don’t play 20 Questions. Consider yourself informed.

How to Raise a Teen

This piece is all about raising a teenager. And who better to write it than an actual, real-life teenager?! Here are some tips on how to handle us:

1. When we say that we can’t do chores because we have too much homework, we mean it. Unless you want us to get into a big row and wind up pulling an all-nighter, I suggest you leave it be. 
2. Teens have four meals a day. We enjoy big snacks after school that constitute as a meal, so keep us well-supplied with pop tarts, cheese its, chips, and fruit.
3. We like to sleep a lot, true, but we actually need that sleep. We have a natural tendency to stay up late and sleep in early (not to mention the fact that our homework load makes us stay up late). We need about nine and a half hours of sleep each night in order to be best prepared for the day ahead. This means that those 7 am high school start times cause us to loose sleep during the weekdays. Honestly, we have no choice but to sleep in on weekends, and you’d be best not to wake us up in cruel, torturous fashions.
4. Please don’t use the invisible brakes. I can assure you that they don’t work.
5. When a teen is driving with parents, the parents better not yell when the teen messes up. This only causes confusion. Once, for example, when I backed into the driveway, I misjudged how far I had to turn and wound up heading towards the bushes that lined a side of our driveway. To remedy the solution, both my parents began shouting different instructions to me at once. My mind swirling, I was to distracted to focus, and wound up hitting the gas pedal instead of the brakes. This only made my parents scream more. Moral of the story? Patience is virtue. A calm voice is much more effective than a loud one.
6. Please don’t take away our computers. We actually need them for school. And it’s true that some classes at school also use cell phones. We’re not just pulling your leg.
7. DO NOT do your teen’s homework. This may seem obvious, but you’d be surprised about all the students I know who’ve admitted to this. It’s totally unfair to those of us who actually did our homework ourselves, and it damages your teen’s chances. In college, they won’t have a parent to do their homework for them.
8. Don’t criticize your teen’s appearance. They may act that they don’t care, but it actually hurts. If you believe that their outfit is not school appropriate, try to be the good cop. “Eww– what are you wearing?” or “You look horrible” are probably the worst things you could say. Instead, try “That shirt is really cute, but it’d be nicer if it were longer. Why don’t you wear that this weekend and try something else on for today?” or “Your pants are a little low. Would you like to borrow one of my belts?” If you truly don’t know how to respond, perhaps you should suggest a shopping trip for the upcoming weekend. If you don’t like your teen’s fashion style in general, keep in mind the crazy styles that your generation wore.
9. Please don’t make us walk. You signed on to the whole ‘chauffeur’ business when you became a parent.
10. When we point out a friend or classmate that we see, we do not intend for you to shout and wave, then tell all our most embarrassing stories. And you wonder why we don’t have our friends over that often? I mean, really.
11. Please don’t tell us that our favorite activity is a waste of time or that our life’s ambition will get us no where. Just wait and see where it will take us– perhaps the kid who loves video games really will become a video game designer. Don’t be so pessimistic about your teens!

To those of you out there who don’t have teens, I just have one thing to say: Please stop blaming everything on us. Yes, some teens are bad drivers. Yes, some of us throw wild parties and get a bit tipsy. But yes, some of us found organizations that promote environmental awareness. And yes, some of us go on mission trips and save lives. Please remember that the teens who make it to the news are extremists in some area of their lives. It is much harder for a good deed to make it into the news than for a bad one. Oh yeah, and remember the fact that one day, our generation will be the one taking care of yours.

You were a teenager, too, at some point.

A Doctor Should Know Better

On Thursday, I attended a meeting about what vaccinations people should get for their spring break trips (you see, I am going somewhere  where I will need to take many precautions). The meeting was led by a woman from a travel clinic who could administer vaccinations and prescribe medication. I was surprised to find that, out of the twelve of us that showed up, I was the only teenager. All of the people who came had teenage kids, however, and were traveling to either Mexico or the Dominican Republic. The woman leading the meeting kept warning the parents to be careful that, when their children drank alcohol, they should be careful to make sure that there was no ice in the beverage.

Now, it seemed like only me and one other person in attendance were concerned about this. All the other parents were nodding their heads emphatically, a little disappointed that they themselves would also have to stay away from such beverages. My problem was not in the doctor’s warning. It was that she expected all parents to allow their children to drink alcohol. I understand that it is legal for teens to drink in those countries, but that doesn’t make it okay.

First of all, for those under the legal drinking age, it is hazardous to brain development to consume alcohol.

Also, these teens are going into a different country with many dangers lurking about. It would not be good for anyone if they got drunk–especially if they were not under supervision. (if their parents were drunk as well, certainly no good would come of it)

Furthermore, if the teen is allowed to drink and not under full parent supervision, think of all the things that could go wrong!

Lastly, this idea of allowing teens to drink in order to teach them how to drink responsibly comes from Europe. It is a very ineffective and dangerous notion that parents should not follow.

I don’t know why our doctor didn’t bring any of these points up. I feel that, being so involved in the medical field, she should know how bad of an idea it is to allow teens to drink alcohol. I also think that these parents should know more about handle their teens than the only teen in the room.

Consider yourself warned…