Your Life, Your Choices

Adolescence, the bridge between childhood and adulthood, appears fraught with peril. You're trying to deal with parents and other authority figures, figure out who you are and what you want to be in life, get decent grades at school, compete in sports and other activities, develop relationships - all this while you go through the most complex hormonal changes in your life. And while all this is inside your head and body, there's peer pressure - to dress certain ways, to try alcohol, drugs, and cigarettes; to have sex; to make all kinds of lifestyle choices.

According to the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, there are about 34 million adolescents between the ages of 10 and 19. Modern medicine has eradicated most threats from disease, making psychosocial, behavioral, and economic factors the greatest threats to your life. Just review these statistics

• The three top causes of deaths for persons age 15-19 are unintentional injury (especially motor vehicle crashes), homicide, and suicide. The chance of an older black teenager being murdered is eight times higher than for white teens the same age. It doesn't get much better for younger teens, either. Homicide is the third leading cause of death in kids ages 10-14.
• About 3 million American teens contract a sexually transmitted disease (STD) each year.
• About 1.2 million teens become pregnant each year.
• One of five teenagers will be smoking regularly by the time he finishes high school.
• Among teens ages 12-17, 15.9 percent admit to illegal drug use; 41 percent admit to alcohol use.

During the teen years, youths often complain that parents and adults are constantly telling them what to do and not letting them have a say in matters of importance. But as a teenager, you're already making important choices - choosing your friends and role models; selecting hobbies and sports; picking what and how much to eat; deciding whether to smoke or use drugs or even whether to have sex or to abstain - choices that can affect your life forever. You can bet that none of the 3 million teens who got a STD last year said, "I want to get herpes!" They made a choice that had both real life and life-long consequences.

What choices will you make? We hope you'll learn about your body's changes during puberty and adolescence as well as review the Center for Women and Children's Health's Top 10 Teen Choices for Success.

• Alcohol and Drugs
• Drive For Life
• Exercise
• Relationships
• Skin Care
• Sleep Well
• Smoking
• STDs
• Stress and Depression
• You Are What You Eat