So I’m saying have fun, don’t look for that magical moment and just look for every type of relationship. The one night flings that we convince ourselves to do because maybe he’ll call us tomorrow? But don’t forget about that player who we know is going to break your heart and we just hope he’ll fall in love before the dream-crushing breakup.

Also, let us remember about that smash and dash. P.S. — We can thank the “Jersey Shore” cast for that saying. But the deadliest, most dangerous, the one that will definitely end in a big bad bang is the dreaded long distance relationship – OMG what were we thinking when we came up with this?

As teenagers, when dating all we want is the full package of a relationship. Such as the physical aspects as simple as holding hands, hugging or kissing. Even when we say those expected relationship ‘status symbols’ are just superficial, and the only thing that matters is what our hearts tell us we’re  feeling. We need to stop lying to ourselves because we all want the Cinderella and Sleeping Beauty fairy tale ending; kissing our love at the end of the perfectly flawless script. No one wants our man in shining armor to ride up to the tower we’re being held in or the house of the 7 dwarves, to actually only be a mailman with a love letter he’s sending you because he LIVES TOO FAR AWAY to visit.

Although we can say we love someone in a long distance relationship that love doesn’t include the doubt and the distrustful thoughts that run through our minds every time our significant other is in our thoughts. We’ve all gotten that gut feeling that they’re not telling us everything, and in today’s society isn’t trust more important than true love? Even if you are living on the edge and trust that long distance partner, you need to ask yourself where’s the proof that they aren’t messing around with the girl next door? But why worry? We can just Facebook stalk them, right?

In addition let’s not forget about that little problem that’s actually causing a humongous issue: our hormones. If we can’t go on dates or even see our other half, where do those hormones go? Well, there’s a simple answer. While you’re sitting at home for that bf/gf that’s supposed to call you tonight, they are actually following those testy hormones, to the girl with the nicest ‘badonkadonk’ (Thank you, Trace Adkins) or the boy with those killer set of abs. I wonder who’s ending up with the short end of the deal.

                Clearly, then we need to think about the question that comes up frequently: is he cheating on me? The answer is probably yes. I mean unless you’re Pocahontas and your man is sailing on a ship, where there are no women near him.

                Admittedly in every long distance relationship a couple breaks up for two main reasons:  either someone cheated, or they both cheated.

                So generally speaking if a chance at a long distance relationship pops up in your life and you’re considering it, just follow the fool proof 200-mile checklist before saying yes to the question of going out.

ü  Does this significant other have a car?!

ü  Do they live under to 200 miles away….?

ü  Are you two able to be together at least once every two weeks (VERY IMPORTANT)

In final consideration if you checked only one say bye-bye to that boy, but if you check two it’s risky but go for it, and if you had all three definitely say yes.

     Eighteen percent of Super Bowl viewers are 18 years or younger. This will be the audience most affected by the numerous ads trying to sell their alcoholic products. Teens indulge in alcohol due to the provocation of the media, their own free will, and the myths that the media creates.

     The use of alcohol in the media provokes teens to drink.

      “Animated cartoons like “Family Guy” are a big influence. All they work at is being funny, and a lot of their humor comes from drugs and alcohol,” said sophomore Joseph Wilmoth, who doesn’t drink alcohol. Many teens realize the influences of alcohol all around them, in more adult shows like “Family Guy” and even in children’s cartoons like “So Random.”

     “So Random” has a segment called “The coolest kid in school.” This particular segment was based off of a Dos Equis beer advertisement. According to www.cada.org, under-aged youth are 32 percent more likely to be affected by alcohol advertisements than adults. A lot of provocation comes from the alcohol advertisements themselves.

     According to www.drugabuse.gov, five alcohol commercials were shown during the 2011 Super Bowl. These commercials were based off of different themes, including humor, fun, romanticism, and problem solving.

 “[I drink] because I like to party,” said one anonymous CMR boy. Alcohol influences teens by showing them why they should drink; they believe they can have more fun, it creates a romantic evening, and they can wash all their problems away with a drink. Teens see the influences because they are all around them.

“Media encourages you to drink more, but it doesn’t have any influence on me,” said an anonymous CMR boy. Many will not admit that media has an influence on them; they just drink for their own reasons.

Despite being influenced by the media, teens still have their own free will to drink.

“It’s more of a way to relieve the stress of high school” Wilmoth said. According to studies by the NIAAA, 51.7 percent of eighth graders have tried alcohol, and 80 percent of seniors have tried alcohol.

“One glass of wine is relaxing,” said an anonymous CMR boy, and according to him, “media makes it seem like it’s OK to be slobbering drunk.”

Some teens use alcohol as a way to escape, never having been influenced by the media.

“I think it’s just stupid people wanting to get drunk,” Wilmoth said. Teens may feel the stress of high school, but some take it too far.

According to www.abovetheinflunce.com, 5,000 people under the age of 21 die annually due to alcohol, and most the victims of car accidents.

     Some teens drink as a result of the myths that the media creates. Alcohol is a depressant derived from natural fermentation of fruits, vegetables, and grains; these are then brewed and distilled into alcohol.

     Alcohol damages the coordination, memory, judgment, and decision-making part of the brain. It can create long-term effects in the brain, stomach, liver, kidneys, and muscle in developing teens, and that can create permanent long-term effects. Alcohol is the leading killer of teens. Though these sobering facts are taught in high school health classes, advertisements never feature any of these negative facts. They make alcohol look appetizing by getting into their customers’ minds in order to increase sales.

 Some of the myths are related to good times, parties, and fun, but what ads won’t tell their audience is that alcohol is also related to suicide and child abuse. Advertisers spend $2 billion a year targeting young people and alcoholics, by showing them what they want to see. Another myth is that drinking is a risk-free activity. How can it not be when people have so much fun drinking it? Never will you see an ad picturing a teenager putting a gun up to his/her head because he/she is too drunk to notice, and then because of impaired judgment he/she accidently pulls the trigger. That little something is what alcohol ads fail to mention when they are selling such a “wonderful” product.

     Teens drink due to the media’s provocation of alcohol, their own free will, and the myths that the media creates. Every commercial’s focal point is either fun, romanticism, or problem solving; each of these ads supposedly targets alcoholics and teens. Teens know that alcohol is the leading killer of their age group. It is also the No.1 abused drug in America, but media creates myths that tell use that it’s OK to get drunk.

I love getting high.

Now hold on, don’t get all scandalized; I mean that literally. Altitude, mountains, snow…

I’m not sure how it started. I mean, I know when, I was two the first time my parents put me on skis. I wonder what I thought, sliding down a hill with my feet locked on to two planks that separated me from packed, frozen water crystals. All I know is whatever I felt then evolved into a deep passion for breathing in thin air.

From skiing between my dad’s legs with an Edgie Wedgie that kept my tips in the perfect plowing position, to finally pointing those tips down the mountain in parallel form, I’ve always loved the atmosphere. The uniqueness of being able to socialize in the lodge and on the chairlift combined with the solitude of trekking down a backcountry run endears me to the sport. You get the best of both worlds, basically. I cannot equate the feeling I get gliding almost knee deep in powder, surrounded by trees, watching sunlight turn thousands of drifting snowflakes into a shower of glitter.

It isn’t always glamorous. Sometimes you end up with snow in places it does not belong, but I always feel like if you don’t wipeout at least once during the day, you probably have not been trying hard enough.

If you’ve never been skiing (or at least snowboarding), get out there. Now. It’s a completely enveloping mental and physical experience. Even if you don’t fall in love with it like I have, you might discover a new hobby that can keep you occupied for at least one or two weekends a year.

So please, go out and burn as often as you can. It hurts so good.

Not literally, don’t quote me on that. Honestly, you never know what it’ll lead to.

I could be sitting at home watching “Jersey Shore” eating some sloppy tacos, sipping on some Mtn Dew enjoying a normal taco Tuesday, until BAM! A flash bang grenade goes off to my left. Then I’d jump up, scream like a school girl and get a friendly dose of pepper spray to the face by some sweaty SWAT dude. Then he’d do their signature ninja takedown, cuff me, and take me to jail for bomb conspiracy.

Ok, so this week I have a fairly unique opportunity in the realm of content selection. In fact my topic fell directly into my lap a few weeks ago.

Joshua Hoggan is the stout blonde-headed quiet kid I decided to sit by in my science class on my first day of 7^th grade at Roy Junior High School in Roy, Utah. We often had political conversations and we got along pretty well. Both of us didn’t necessarily fit in, or honestly care to fit in at all. Neither of us were too concerned with what other people thought of us. We were content being us. That’s what I liked about Josh, that’s why I got along fairly well with him. We remained friendly acquaintances throughout junior high, up until I moved up here to the not-so-Great Falls of Montana in 2008.

So what makes Josh the subject of this blog?

Revenge on the World.

This is what makes Josh a complete stranger to me. That’s his reasoning for what he did. The kid I used to know is going to be tried as an adult for possessing, displaying, attempting to use, soliciting the use of, or conspiring to use a weapon of mass destruction.

That quiet, blonde, tubby kid was planning to be an evil genius, not a great politician as he once told me. Not George Washington, more like Doctor Evil, Lex Luther, or my personal favorite, Kite Man! (From Batman, true story, look it up.)

The kid was smart. Think Hannibal Lector from “Silence of the Lambs.” He was cold, calculating, intelligent, and not just smart.

So! You’d think it would be fairly expected that he’d be calculating a master bomb plot to blow up the high school that contains many of my very close friends. Right?

No. Are you kidding me?

I went on vacation in Utah the week following Josh and his equivalent of the evil “Robin, the boy wonder”; Dallin Morgan’s arrest. Not one person who went to school with either of them expected anything.

It’s clear now that their “master plan” was to blow up as many kids as they could during a school celebration assembly, then hijack an airplane at the nearby airport and fly to a country that wouldn’t expedite them. They had maps of the school, with the camera’s blind spots, they had the materials to make the explosives, and they had logged hundreds of hours on a professional flight simulation program.

All I could think was “Wow, I can’t go four laps on “Forza 4” without wiping out.” These kids planned on stealing a plane.

It kinda hits home when you’re close to the people involved. I’m not talking Josh, we weren’t that close. I’m talking about my close friends, the kind of close friends you consider family. They could be six feet under because of two crazy kids and a master plan to blow up the school.

It gets you thinking. Makes you realize that this is reality. Life. The world we live in. Things like this happen, and you never ever know whether or not it’ll be you this time.

You end up thinking “Well… Ok. What?”

At least, that’s what I was thinking.

Sorry for the deep blog content this time guys. Not as much joking around.

I just think that this is an issue that should be thought about.

NOT specifically. I honestly doubt that any of you really care that I knew the kid. If I were reading this, I really wouldn’t care.

But! You guys should honestly look around at the people you THINK you know, and realize that you probably have no idea what goes on in their mind.

Not me though. I’m an angel, nothing but sunshine and daisies in this kid’s head. HA!

Just look around, and sober up to the harsh reality of life, and what could happen. Ya know?

Anyways, keep your eyes peeled guys. There be crazies out there!

Alright, I’m out.

I’ll tell you why, because I am perfectly fine with being single in high school. All too often teen girls buy into the notion that in order to be happy you must have a man at your side. Romantic comedies, love songs, mushy novels, these are the culprits for the teen girls obsession with finding their “knight in shining armor.”

 I will admit that I love these movies and often find myself longing for Mr. Right to sweep me off my feet after watching them. But then I snap back into the reality that I am only 17, and dating at my age is just meant to be a fun learning experience rather than a lifelong commitment. There is nothing wrong with dating; it can be fun and provide you with great stories and experiences for later down the road. It’s when dating is taken too seriously and becomes an obsession…….

So anyone sitting at home alone this Valentine’s Day feeling sorry for yourself, this one’s for you! The top five reasons it’s OK to be single during high school.

5. You can focus on your future- Without the distractions of a boyfriend or girlfriend, you can spend time doing things to get ready for your future.

4. More time for friends and family- High school is all about making new friends; oftentimes boyfriends/ girlfriends take up a lot of our time.  Though you may try to include your friends in things you do, it often becomes difficult to balance the two. And don’t forget about family time! I know, I know, it sounds so lame. Well think of it this way, you only have four years (if that) left with your parents. After high school you will have tons of time to be with your friends, but for now enjoy those comfy movie nights at home.

3. No Drama- relationships can create a lot of drama when they’re taken too seriously. You are too young to be worrying about relationship drama. There is already enough on your plate.

2. Free to date more- One of the major misconceptions about high school dating is that if you date around, you are a “player.” There is nothing wrong with dating as long as you are smart about it. Going on casual dinner dates teaches you how to act when you are on dates in the future and will make you more comfortable in those situations. Take a chance on people. You have nothing to lose and you might find out you are perfect for each other. If not, no harm no foul!

1. More Money- Let’s face it, being in a relationship is expensive and in high school our minimum wage jobs make it difficult to keep up.

No worries, being single is not going to last forever, you will find someone. Oftentimes it is when you least expect it to happen. So for now sit back, relax and enjoy your high school years.