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=bWceh_p_d] j[[d fh[]dWdYo - Teens in Print

=bWceh_p_d] j[[d fh[]dWdYo - Teens in Print

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Pac Sun is a great store to shop at if you want to be out of theord<strong>in</strong>ary, and if you’re <strong>in</strong>to the whole punk rock, skater, funkycolors th<strong>in</strong>g. They also have really good jeans (h<strong>in</strong>t, h<strong>in</strong>t).Hot Topic is a punk rock or “emo” store. It is for very uniquepeople who decide to stand out <strong>in</strong> the crowd. They sell graphicT’s and different types of belts and pierced jewelry.H&M is low-priced, but good. They have sweaters and variety,from fancy clothes to clothes for just hang<strong>in</strong>g out.Aeropostale is a low-priced store where everyone is start<strong>in</strong>g toshop, but will it go out of style? In schools, many people wearthe same sweaters and shirts, and <strong>in</strong> high school, studentswant to be unique.Hollister is a newer store to local malls. Hollister’s clothes arelike less expensive versions of, but with the same Californiasurfer-style apparel, for teens.American Eagle is a laid-back store. They sell the same stylesfor a while, but they are cute.Johnny Cupcakes is the new store on the block. Everyone iswear<strong>in</strong>g the shirts because they are unique. They f<strong>in</strong>d differentways to put a cupcake on a shirt and mix it to look cool withcolors. They are a bit expensive, about $30 for a shirt.Abercrombie is an expensive store, with good styles similar toHollister. Although teens are not shopp<strong>in</strong>g here as much, it isstill a top store because of their styles.Urban Outfitters is a store that many teen males are start<strong>in</strong>gto shop at because they have graphic T’s with personal statements.Levi’s is a store that sells mostly jeans. They’re more expensive,but worth it. Mostly males wear these jeans and they are hip.—Paige Carruthers contributed to this story.[ TEEN PREGNANCY, FROM PAGE 1 ]Today, with Alaskan Governor Sarah Pal<strong>in</strong> on the ballot as RepublicanJohn McCa<strong>in</strong>’s vice presidential runn<strong>in</strong>g mate—and Pal<strong>in</strong>’s unwed, 17-yearolddaughter Bristol await<strong>in</strong>g the birth of her first child—the question ofglamoriz<strong>in</strong>g teen pregnancy is impossible to ignore.A conservative, anti-abortion Republican, Pal<strong>in</strong> is the last person onewould expect to have a pregnant teen daughter. But there was Bristol,hand <strong>in</strong> hand with her boyfriend, Levi Johnston, on stage <strong>in</strong> M<strong>in</strong>neapolisas her mother accepted her party’s nom<strong>in</strong>ation last summer.What the media has failed to highlight <strong>in</strong> all the coverage is how luckyJamie Lynn Spears and Bristol Pal<strong>in</strong> are. Both come from economicallystable families, with mothers will<strong>in</strong>g to help, and have supportive boyfriendswhom they plan to marry.Unfortunately this is not the case for the majority of teenage mothers.Accord<strong>in</strong>g to pregnantteenhelp.org, teens who have babies are morelikely to drop out of high school. In fact, two thirds of them do. Christ<strong>in</strong>aRossi of Planned Parenthood <strong>in</strong> Boston said, “Pregnancy is the ma<strong>in</strong> reasonteen girls drop out of high school.”Babies born to teen mothers are also more likely to have low birthweight and a number of other health problems, accord<strong>in</strong>g to studies.Even so, the United States cont<strong>in</strong>ues to have the highest rate of teen pregnancies<strong>in</strong> the <strong>in</strong>dustrialized world, accord<strong>in</strong>g to pregnantteenhelp.org.The national birth rate for teen mothers rose 3 percent <strong>in</strong> 2006, the first<strong>in</strong>crease <strong>in</strong> 15 years, accord<strong>in</strong>g to a recent story <strong>in</strong> The Boston Globe.There is only one guaranteed way to avoid pregnancy. Abst<strong>in</strong>ence.Rossi, of Planned Parenthood, said, “Our programs focus on abst<strong>in</strong>ence.But we would like to educate girls about contraceptives and prevention tohelp them stay healthy and safe.” However, as statistics prove, all teens donot rema<strong>in</strong> abst<strong>in</strong>ent. While many believe pregnancy prevention should betaught <strong>in</strong> Boston’s schools, Massachusetts is one of only 13 states <strong>in</strong> thenation that does not require sex education <strong>in</strong> the classroom, accord<strong>in</strong>g toGovernor Deval Patrick’s website.Some schools are tak<strong>in</strong>g matters <strong>in</strong>to their own hands. For example,Boston’s Health Careers Academy offers the “Baby, Th<strong>in</strong>k it Over” program,which requires students to care for an electronic baby that criesat all hours and requires be<strong>in</strong>g fed and changed. Ciara Mart<strong>in</strong>ez, 16, ofMattapan, participated <strong>in</strong> the program and learned from her experience.“I learned that I don’t want to have a baby because it is too much work,”Mart<strong>in</strong>ez said. “The last night I had the electronic baby, I had to put apiece of tape over the speaker to stop it from cry<strong>in</strong>g. I got marked downfor that.”Raquel LaMons, 19, of Dorchester, has a similar story as a teen mother,although her baby does not <strong>in</strong>clude batteries. LaMons has an 8-monthold son, Raheim, and as she told <strong>Teens</strong> <strong>in</strong> Pr<strong>in</strong>t dur<strong>in</strong>g a recent telephone<strong>in</strong>terview, “It isn’t easy!”An average day for LaMons consists of gett<strong>in</strong>g up, feed<strong>in</strong>g, bath<strong>in</strong>g,and dress<strong>in</strong>g Raheim, dropp<strong>in</strong>g him off at her boyfriend’s mother’s house,go<strong>in</strong>g to work, pick<strong>in</strong>g Raheim up, and dropp<strong>in</strong>g him off at her house soher mother can watch him while she is at night school to earn her GED, orgraduate equivalency degree.LaMons expla<strong>in</strong>ed how her goals have changed s<strong>in</strong>ce the birth of herson. “When I was <strong>in</strong> high school, I wanted to go to college and I wanted togo out of state, but now if I decide to go, then I will have to stay <strong>in</strong> state. Iwould never be able to live on campus. That is just someth<strong>in</strong>g that I willnever experience.”LaMons loves motherhood but warns teen girls. “It’s the mamma’s babyand the daddy’s maybe! Any guy can leave and go to college, but thatis your baby, no one else’s. You need to remember that.” Of Jamie LynnSpears, she says, “because she has money, it looks easy, but it isn’t.”“There is noth<strong>in</strong>g glamorous about be<strong>in</strong>g up at four <strong>in</strong> the morn<strong>in</strong>g,”says Kathy Cahill, guidance counselor at South Boston’s Odyssey HighSchool, who has worked with teen moms. “Teen moms who do stay <strong>in</strong>school, and really try, do an amaz<strong>in</strong>g job even though it is so much work.”LaMons notes that the baby’s father “can still do what he wants. He canstill go out with his boys, but you can’t just leave like that. Sometimes thehardest part is not be<strong>in</strong>g able to leave.”Christy Garvey, a teacher at Odyssey, warns teens, “You have 80-someth<strong>in</strong>gyears on this planet. Spend 25 just do<strong>in</strong>g you.”

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