We have become the society that has determined that the grades we make in middle and high school as reckless, wild and inexperienced teenagers will dictate the amount of happiness we can achieve in our future and for the rest of our lives.

There’s a ritual to the midnight release experience. My friends and I dutifully decorated T-shirts for the occasion; nothing says devotion like puffy paint, especially if it has glitter in it. I adorned my forehead with a washable purple lightning bolt scar. Crayola magic marker seemed appropriate.

I am applying to eight schools. The “Common App” is only supported by five of them, and even most of those require a separate essay for their school anyway. So I say, the Common App is crap.

MTV and VH1 often taint and pollute meaningful music

To many teenagers, technology is an essential part of life. Many teens text more often than they physically talk. This generation finds comfort in their cell phones, ipods and laptops. Crazy, right? Well, I was one of the crazies. Heck, I was the Queen.