There are usually bad stereotypes about pregnant teens who, drop out of school. In Single Teen Moms - Staying in School, there is a totally new outlook. In this piece a young female reporter explores the difficulties of the young mothers who do stick through high school. Similarly to the other stories you might have heard, they describe raising a baby as very difficult. However they are willing to makes sacrifices to ensure they make a better life for their kids. Even though trying to balance school and a child is stressful these ladies believe that bringing new life is a blessing. The piece was simple and to the point. The introduction was very good, she described her purpose for exploring the topic and also what makes her piece different from others on teen pregnancy. However it still consisted of a great step by step narration and it flowed superbly. However the piece could have been more captivating, had music been added. For a topic that has been, explored from several perspective, this was a very unique way of exploring it. The Girls also provided some great advice to young teens which was, Don't Get Pregnant!!

Drug Addictions can be a devastating experience for young people, especially when the mother is the one abusing the drugs. In the piece "Grandma", a young girl interviews her grandmother about her twenty year drug addiction. Even though she was not born during the time of her grandmother's addiction, her family was deeply affected by it. Her father, who is her grandmother's oldest of two, speaks about what his experience was like. Her grandmother's obsession with drugs was triggered by the death of her husband. After his death, doctors gave her a lot of sleeping pills, and tranquillizers. When they stopped prescribing the pills, alcohol became her replacement drug .For twenty years, she heavily abused alcohol. This affected her children and her health. One day she fell down some stairs and had to get brain surgery. This was her turning point, she went back to school, and now owns a business that helps people with the same problems she had. This piece was touching and inspirational. There were several capturing moments. For example when she fell down the stairs she had an alcohol level of .24. The use of music was well utilized and brought a lot of emotion into the piece, by adding a bit of sadness but at the same time , giving off a sense of hope. The piece moved along fluently, and was really well done. It is a very inspirational piece.

A.I.D.S is an issue that affects all of us. In fact today is National A.I.D.S Awareness Day. In this story a youth reflects on the death of a close family friend. He died from A.I.D.S. She reflected to a few years earlier when her friends told her that he had slept with someone who was infected with the detrimental disease. She talks about how his body deteriorated and the anger and confusion she faced. It was perplexing how a once strong, healthy man could become so sick that his body could shrink, to the point that he wore the same size she did at the age of ten. The capturing element for me was, the narration, even though there were no other voices, the one voice I did hear was rich in description. The pacing was well done, and I was definitely able to put myself into her shoes. Even though the mood was sad, the piece effectively builds awareness in the hearts of the listener.However I felt like there could have been a little more emotions to capture the listeners' attention for example, music would have added a lot more feeling. This piece left me thinking about how A.I.D.S can destroy the human immune system, and destroy the lives of even the young and once healthy. Unprotected sex is one of the main causes of getting this disease, hopefully this piece will help, people to understand that A.I.D.S, does not discriminate, and it could happen to anyone who does not protect themselves.

I must admit, I do watch a lot of T.V; "Too Much T.V" is a very good way of providing youth with alternatives, other than watching T.V. In this piece youth talk about why youth watch so much T.V, and give suggestions on what else they can do with their time. I really liked the way the piece started with a conversation, before entering into the plot of the story, that was a very interesting way to introduce the topic. The narration was very straight forward and clear, giving the reader a precise idea of her opinion. The thing that stood out the most for me is that the piece is authentic. She uses several examples of T.V shows that youth really watch, for example "Date my mom" and "Pimp my Ride". She also did not exempt herself from being the average T.V watcher, which gives the listener the indication that she knows what she is talking about and is honest about it. On the other hand, I heard a sniffing sound near the middle, which distracted me. I also felt like the piece was dry, the element of music would have definitely added more excitement. Overall the piece was informative and provides good information. Maybe it can be the first step towards the next generation engaging in a wider variety of activities that does not include watching the television.

With the growing issue of teenage pregnancies, "The Thing About Being A Teenage Mother...... Is That I'm Young"
helps to build awareness among teenagers, and any piece that does that definitely captures my eyes.This piece is about, two new teenage mothers still in High school. They talk about the difficulties of telling their parents and boyfriends, and the joys and pains they feel as young mothers. One girl had alot of family support, and support from the baby's father. However the other had alot less support, and had to deal with her baby's father, being in and out of prison. By using this comparison, it helps the listner to view teenage pregnancies from two different perspectives. The tone was sometimes joyful, and sometimes pitiful, but gave a sense of hope everytime the music was used to transition into each part.However I felt like the piece could have been more descriptive. It kinda kept me guessing, and did not make me visualize alot. This piece is very informative, it just gives young people a taste of reality.Hopefully it serves as another warning that we as youth, should practice abstinence or safe sex.

There are alot of homeless children all over the world.However what really captured my attention in the piece "The First Time I Left Home," was the age of the girls and the reason they were homeless. In this piece an eleven year old girl tells her stroy about, her sister and herself being kicked out of their homes at a tender age!The reason they were kicked out was because their mother, who was on crack, did not believe them when they told her that her boyfriend was molesting them.On the streets they struggled relentlessly,from drug addictions
to prostitution. Her younger sister stayed at home, she uses both her, and her other homeless sister to tell the story.

Since the narrator was the girl it was touching and gave me a real deep sense of pity, because I can actually hear the pain in her voice. At one point she said, "I did not know where to go or who to turn to, I had to make alot of decisions on my own."The sad music,which was used to transition into different clips also added a strong sense of sadness to the mood,which made me feel like crying. The piece paints a picture that gives me the feeling as if i'm walking through the cold,dark,lonely nights with these girls. The emotions were so deep, i'll remember the piece for many years to come.However i felt like the climax moment, towards the middle could have been better if there was more tension to hold my attention.

You can understand how much, being away from home, and not living an average life,affects her because in the outro, she compares what her life could have been like had she been able to stay at home. This story is brilliant i love the deep emotions and the butterflies I get after listening to the piece. Overall this is a really well done piece.