Ups and Downs

by Angela Bierbaum
(Mentor, Ohio)

We've all heard the saying "Life is a roller coaster", and they're not kidding!! Being a teen (especially a female) comes with many hormones, emotions, and tears.

One day, a girl may feel at the top of her game. She mingles with her friends and talks about anything and everything like she is a queen. A boy may look at her, and she feels like she is beautiful. The "popular girl" maybe talk to her, and she feels like she fits in.

Then, there's those down days. Yes, we all hate them, and we all have them. There could be five in a row at a time, or one every other day. You don't really know what to do with yourself. Maybe, the guy who you really like doesn't acknowledge you at all, or the popular girl gives you a disgusted look. Truth is, it crushes us, even if we don't show it.

In my opinion, there are three specific solutions to this problem. The first that not many girls look at is GETTING AWAY. Just take a vacation from life. Well, that's not exactly possible, but get a vacation from *your* life. Maybe, over a weekend or something, go visit a family member that doesn't live very close to you. Now, of course, your parents would have to be okay with this, but, from experience, it works. You come back refreshed and more ready for your social life than you were when you left. Sometimes, all it takes to get back on your game is a break.

The second solution would be to be OVER-CONFIDENCE, but not to the extreme of pride. My friend Jacob did this. He switched to a new school last year, and nothing has been the same for him since. His friend told him that instead of getting down on yourself and getting depressed, tell yourself that you're better than that. Look at yourself in the mirror every morning and say "Look at me. I'm beautiful. I'm beautiful, because God, the King of the universe!, created me this way. He made me like this, and I'm beautiful."

The third solution is GOD. Who else can you go to? No man or woman on this earth could give advice and direction like God. He created everything, and therefore, he knows everything and knows what to do in a social situation. Think about it. No one could tell you the exact correct thing to do about your friends or family. So, pray about it... ask God what to do, because nothing on this earth, or in the universe for that matter, could tell you the correct thing to do for yourself. He is the one running our life's roller coaster, so let him do it right.