Navigating Teen Life: Recent Episodes

Kelianna Bonn & Jennifer Close

We are two School Counselors looking to better your lives. Welcome to Navigating Teen Life. We want you to experience the best teen life ever. Life can be hard, especially teen life, but we are here to help you survive it all. We will cover a variety of topics to help you navigate the teen journey and help you enjoy life as much as possible! If you are struggling and/or have questions about any of our topics, we encourage you to seek the support of a trusted adult or your school counselor.

So, today is our last podcast of season 1. We will take a short summer break and be back in September!

Over the summer, take time to rest and recharge, while also thinking about making some goals for yourself. We want you to feel refreshed in the fall! Tune in to how to make and reach your goals (even if small) over the summer.

We would love your feedback, so please feel free to email us with any topics you’d like to hear or any questions you may have.

jenniferlynbier@gmail.com
keliannabonn@gmail.com

**Manifestation is creating something or turning something from an idea into a reality using your thoughts, feelings, and beliefs. What you put out is what you will receive. Manifestation is a powerful tool that can help you create the life you want to live.

Tune in to hear more about manifesting the life you want and take control of your happiness!**

Most of our students are getting ready for their end of year exams, which could be a busy and possibly anxiety provoking time. We are here today to give you some tips and tricks to help you prepare.

Tune in to how to prepare for exams, ease your anxiety, and get the most out of studying!

As a high school student or young adult, it is important to get involved with different activities. Sports, clubs, volunteer, work, etc- are all great activities to start to explore while a young adult. This will help you navigate what your interests are for future plans.

Find something you are interested in getting involved in
Try to stick with ascertain activity for consecutive years
Be open to trying something out of your comfort zone- you never know what lies outside of that zone!

Tune in to hear our tips for how and why to get involved!

**This episode is geared towards Seniors in high school approaching graduation. It is normal to feel nervous about graduating- are you still going to see your friends, what is life going to be like, will you have to make new friends, should I go to college or get a job? All these questions can be flooding into your brain around this and as your high school times comes to an end.

We are here to tell you that everything will work out. Every choice you make, will be for a reason and will lead you on the path you are supposed to be on.

Tune in to hear advice on how to navigate this next chapter of life!**

This episode is geared towards Juniors. Whether you are thinking about college, working, a trade, enlisting in the army, or whatever path you may choose- as a Junior, it is time to start thinking about your plans.

This episode is geared towards those thinking about college because the process can be overwhelming and in-depth. We are here to help!

Tune in to hear tips on what you should be doing as a Junior for the college process!

School Counselor, Lauren Giustino, joins us today to talk about happiness. Happiness is a great thing but understanding how to increase your happiness can be the key to living your best life. Lauren is here to talk to us about her research and experience working on increasing happiness.

Sleep, movement, and will power are some of the keys to increasing happiness and living your best life.

Tune in to hear more about happiness and how to achieve it!

It is never too early to start a resume!

Listen to Episode 13 to hear why, when, where, and what to building a resume. We cover the fundamentals to building a resume and share the importance of having one (even as a teen)!

Make a list of activities you have completed
Find the areas where you can grow
Don't be afraid to start as early as Freshman Year with building your resume

Tragedies include: natural disasters, home fires, acts of violence, accidents, etc

As you go throughout life, tragedies may occur and it is important to know strategies in how to cope.

Reflecting / Grieving
- Remembering those who were lost
- How can the community improve from this experience
  - What changes can be made to make sure the community is safe
  - Are there steps you can take to minimize the same tragedy occurring again?
Finding opportunities to serve your community: volunteer, help those in need, setting up Go Fund Me, fundraisers that could become annual
Come together as a community
- Reach out to adults in your school or community to brainstorm ideas that could be positive for those affected
- Example: There was a student who passed away in our community from an illness. The community has since created multiple fundraisers, scholarships, and sporting events to honor the students memory, while also raising funds to further research cures for the illness
It is important to come together in times of tragedy and loss
- No one can change what happened but understanding that you are not alone in your feelings can be comforting.
- Change moving forward can happen when groups of people get together and are motivated to make a difference

Takeaways:

When a tragedy occurs, take time to reflect and grieve as needed
Brainstorm ideas to help better the community after a tragedy occurs
Come together as one

What do you do with your SATs?

SuperScore
Many schools are test optional
- Fairtest.org
- Many still need the exam for scholarship for merit aid
The top schools ask for SATS
Could be used as a placement test for entry to college

What does your night look like?

Getting to bed early
Preparing your clothes the night before
Charging your chrome book
Making sure you have your calculator

What does your morning look like?

Waking up early, so you aren’t rushed for school
Eating a healthy and large breakfast to keep your energy
Bringing water with you to keep up your energy

What to do if you have nerves before the test:

Understand that this is not a reflection of the type of student you are
This is a test to try your best on, it will not make or break your future plans
Take deep breaths - 5 in, 5 hold, 5 out
Thoughts confirming you have been preparing for this in your classes

Takeaways:

Try your best, it will be ok
Prepare yourself for the exam the night before
Look into your list of colleges and better understand their requirements

Mistakes happen- some big, some small. As humans, we will make mistakes, but the actions you take after the mistake happens is what matters.

Reflect on past mistakes and think about how you could have done things differently.
It is OK to make a mistake. Be mindful of the same mistakes happening over and over again. If it continues to happen, it is no longer a mistake, but a choice. If this is the case- seek additional support to help you through this.
Be honest with yourself and others. If a mistake happens, own it, learn from it, and be better prepared next time.

Takeaways -

Think about 1 morning and 1 night healthy habit to incorporate
What would you like to incorporate into your day to make you feel good
Stay consistent for 21 days and re-evaluate how you feel

As a teenager, you are often asked questions about what your life is going to be like after high school. What college are you going to? What are you going to study? Are you going straight to work? Where are you going to live?

Listen to this week's episode to hear about Aubry Dove's journey to becoming a School Counselor! Would you believe us if we said she once had an Internship in Hollywood with recording studios!

There is valuable information in this week's episode if you are thinking about your future path!

We will cover an array of topics on navigating friendships as a teen:

How to build friendships by getting involved
Quality over quantity
Characteristics of a good friend
Reflection of self

Listen to Episode 7 for some tips on how to navigate friendships.

There are positives and negatives to social media. Listen in to hear about those positives and negatives, our struggles with social media, and tips to make it a more positive experience!

Make sure you are following and surrounding yourself with positive people- in person and on social media
If you are experiencing negative thoughts while on social media, take a break from the apps- disable your account for a few days and see if you feel better
Set limits on the amount of time you spend on social media. In your settings, you can put a timer on how long you spend on each app a day. Ex: I have 1 hour for social media apps. After I hit that hour, I get a notification, which makes me reset and think OK I’ve spent my time on social media today now let me channel my energy and time elsewhere.

Why is sleep important?

86% of teens are not getting the recommended 8-10 hours of sleep
Cognitive
Focus
Processing speed
Emotional regulation
Irritable when tired
More susceptible to illness

How to improve sleep?

A bit of self control to make changes
Setting your goal of when you need to go to sleep and understanding the importance. You have to want to make a change, not just do it because you think you should.

Bedtime routine

Identify your sleep time by counting backwards from your wake time
Putting away electronics an hour before bedtime
Instead of scrolling through your phone, you can
Color
Do a craft or hobby
read a book
Meditate

Hygiene routine

Taking a shower or a warm bath with epsom salt or relaxing oils to help relax
Brushing your teeth
Washing your face
Drinking water

Preparing for the next day

Setting out your clothes
Packing your backpack
Prepping a lunch
Making sure your homework is complete

Making sure you have a relaxing bedroom to sleep in

Keeping your room dark or pitch black
Incorporating a sound machine or listening to music
Calm App
Aromatherapy by setting a diffuser for bed
Setting the temperature - ie: Using a fan or extra blankets
Investing in a weighted blanket
Keeping your sheets clean and changing them often
Picking up any clutter around your room to keep your space clear and your head clear

Clearing your head as you lay in bed

Journaling your thoughts
Making a to do list

**Episode 4: Gratefulness

Why is it important to be grateful?**

So many benefits of trying to live a life where you appreciate everything, even the smallest things

Improve sleep, improve mood, stronger immune system, decrease anxiety/depression, feel hopeful
The more positivity you put out, the more you receive
Watch the movie The Secret

What are some ways to incorporate being grateful into your everyday life?

Starting your day with 3 things you are grateful for/proud of/looking forward to to create a positive vibe right in the beginning of your day
- It could be as simple as: grateful to be alive or as detailed as: I am proud of completing all of my homework the night before so I am prepared for my classes
Being more aware of the good things/people in your life. If you’re struggling with this, maybe reevaluate who you let into your life

If your day starts to turn negative or something negative happens to you, what can you do?

Remember the 3 things you started your day with and/or remind yourself of a positive in your life
Call or talk to someone your close with to work through the negative experience
Remind yourself that the negative you’re facing is temporary and fixable. Ask yourself what you can do to make it better?

Takeaways:

Start your day with 3 things you’re grateful for
Evaluate who you surround yourself with - are they positive? Do they make you feel grateful?
If you’re experiencing a negative situation, which is inevitable, try to identify what the lesson in the situation is telling you. Find the positive in being able to learn something from that situation.

We all have our unique strengths and weaknesses. It is so much easier to concentrate and notice our weaknesses. Why is that?
Our negative thoughts on our actions create negative feelings, which tends to create a longer lasting experience.
What if we gave the same amount of attention and energy to the positive things we do?
If we took time to create positive thoughts about what we did well, we would then create positive feelings and the overall result would be more positive.
So how would you recognize your own strengths?

Listen to this episode for some tips on how to recognize your strengths and be comfortable with our weaknesses.

Tune in to hear from Rachel Pangu, a teacher at a high school in Milford, CT. She teaches a variety of courses relating to Child & Human Development & Interior Design and also runs our Child Learning Center. Rachel is a well-respected teacher and colleague. She offers some great ideas and advice for our teens!

Happy New Year!

Welcome to our first episode. We are starting a new year and semester at our high school and what a better time to chat about goal setting. We discuss how we best create long term, short term, personal and academic goals for the new year. We share how we hold ourselves accountable and who we share our goals with.

What are your goals for 2023? Listen here for some ideas!