By Chase Clements - The Christian Science Journal, July 2006

“Do you want a drink?” my friend asked me one night last summer in the basement of his house. Two girls were there, and I didn’t want to seem like a loser. I had known that my friend was bound to ask me that question eventually, and my thoughts began darting around at light speed.

At the prep school I attend, popularity is determined by several factors: most significantly, if and how much you drink, how many “cool” parties you attend, and if you’ve had sex. When my friend offered the drink, I felt I had a fairly firm understanding of why I didn’t need it. For one, I don’t want to have to lean on external sources like alcohol to make me popular or to feel relaxed. But the only thing I could think about was how I’d appear if I said no. The fear of doing the unpopular thing began to cloud my thoughts. (more…)

An interview with TMC Youth’s Brant Arthur, Ariana Herlinger, Justin Byrd, and Ellen Hammond
Reprinted from the March 13, 2006, issue of the CS Sentinel.
Rated for teens and up.

Four young people spill their thoughts on a subject not just for young people to sort out, but one many adults also struggle to make sense of..
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