Relationships

From the moment that we are born, our parents, teachers, babysitters, grandparents, aunts, uncles, all encouraged us to play games. “There’s nothin’ better than a good ol’ game of Chutes and Ladders to cure a rainy day,” Pops would always say, slouched in his brown leather recliner while nursing a steaming cup of peppermint tea. “Why don’t you girls run along and play with your Barbies while mommy and I have a grown up talk,” Bubbie would often persuade as she stooped over the stove preparing Passover dinner.

The first thing you must know about me is that I have never had a “normal” relationship with my siblings. There are three of us: 21, 18, and 15. I am the 18 year old, the dreaded middle child. Our childhood...

It’s 2 AM on a school night am I’m wide awake. No it’s not because I pulled an all-nighter for the History test tomorrow; not because I’m finishing my AP Psychology notes due later that day. No. I woke up this morning for the wailing two month old baby in my room. 11 months ago my life was more than normal.
Sex and high school go hand in hand. You're either thinking about it, having it, not having it, or talking about it. It really can, well for lack of a better word, screw you… pun intended. At this age, with your hormones raging out of control and realizing that the boys in your class have never looked so good, it's really hard to think about anything else. I'm not saying that all teens are crazy horn-balls- despite what my parents believe. There just seems to be an unspoken (or even sometimes spoken) law that everything must be about sex...
I run into my house and slam the door.  The lock turns with a definitive click.  Safety. “Hi honey how was your day?” Asks my mom sitting at the kitchen counter, her perfectly manicured fingers flipping through the latest issue of Vogue. “Fine.” I lied. I could’ve told her about the red paint on my locker today. How it had stained my hands as I tried to wipe away the dripping “SLUT”.
I have two types of friends. I have my friends who make me feel good and I have my friends that make me look good. Let me explain. Well, as you may have figured out by now, High school is a place where everything you do matters. Yes, Mean Girls wasn't lying. It’s horrible, but it’s true. Even the lunch you get can make people look down upon you or approve of you.
Dear Julia,
"Dan had a pretty wild party last night. His parents were out of town so his older brother bought us a keg. I am not a drinker but ended up playing a few rounds of beer pong and the last thing I remember is hanging out by the bonfire with Joe. We've been kind of dating, nothing official...we hang out a lot and talk every night. My plan was to stay at a friends house, but I woke up in bed with Joe…and I’m not on birth control!  What should I do?  I do not want to be pregnant.
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