Straight Talk for Teenage Girls

Chapter 1 Teen Years

Your teen years will be some of the best times of your life! You’ll learn to do so many new things, make some great friendships and have fabulous experiences that are free from the responsibilities of adulthood. It is a time to be and to become. It is a time of innocence and challenges. So don’t forget to enjoy this time. During these last years of school you can find out what you really enjoy. Enter the science club, join the debate team, sing in the choir, play an instrument, join the art club, be in a play, get on a team sport. Don’t be afraid to try out new activities. You may find a lifelong enjoyment or hobby. You’ll also meet lots of new friends this way. Life will be what YOU make it.

Chapter 6 Boys vs. Girls

Boys, boys, boys! You will suddenly be at an age when that is ALL you’ll be able to think about. When you’re a young teen, you think boys are stupid and silly. You don’t want to have anything to do with them. Then as you get older, one special boy will turn you to butter! HE is all you’ll think about, talk about and dream about. Your friends will get so tired of hearing about him. Then you won’t like him anymore and another boy will come into your life. Boys will fill your life with laughter--and tears. You will love them--and hate them. Your feelings about boys will be exhilarating as well as depressing. Learning some things about them will help you understand them.

Chapter 7 Getting out of Bad Situations

Everyone finds themselves in situations where they don’t want to be. Being a teenager, you can often find yourself in bad situations. Teens need ideas on how to avoid these situations.

Know your values – The first thing you need to do is take a hard look at your own values. What do you believe is right and wrong? Knowing what you personally think and how far you believe you want to go in each situation will help you when it happens. So, as you mature and your experiences change, before you get into the situation, THINK, what do you want to happen?

Situations – There are several kinds of situations that are dangerous for you.

1. When you are over your head and everyone else is more experienced.
2. When there are older kids involved.
3. When the boy you are with is older and more experienced.
4. When everyone else seems to have different values than you.
5. When the place you are going is off limits – his apartment, no adults around, very secluded, a fraternity house.
6. When others are getting high or drunk.
7. When the people are wild and out of control.
8. When you feel forced to do or try things that you don’t want to do.
9. When you feel yourself lying or stealing to impress friends.
10. When you are asked to leave a game or party early. That leaves too much time available to get into trouble before you have to be home.

This means that you need to think ahead. "Am I going to be put in a situation I can’t or don’t want to handle?" It is much easier to use an excuse to not get in the situation than it is to try to have to get out of it. You can say, "I can’t go, my Mom won’t let me." "My parents would kill me!" "I have to get up early tomorrow and go to my aunt’s house." "The coach makes us get in early." Don’t get in a bad situation, then you don’t have to get out of one.

Chapter 8 Understanding Sex

Sex is everywhere. Sex sells magazines. It is in advertisements, in the movies and on television. There is nothing left to the imagination anymore. On shows, people get into bed with people they don’t even know. It leads you to believe that everyone does it and it is the answer to all of your problems. WRONG! Everyone does not do it, and it can make more problems than you can imagine. TV shows and movies have so many sexual scenes that it clouds your mind into believing that this is normal behavior. You feel out of it when you choose not to do it. There is pressure from your peers and your boyfriend. It is very hard to sort out your feelings when there is so much pressure everywhere.

Remember, boys have very little to lose if they go too far sexually. They don’t get a bad reputation and they can’t get pregnant. They also get pressured by other boys to score with girls. They sometimes make sex a sport and belittle the guy that doesn’t go along. They talk about girls and what they’ve done with them. This doesn’t sound very nice, but it is a fact you should know.