The United States Of America (U.S.) is one of the few countries that has a diverse mixture of cultures, religions, ethnic groups and beliefs.  Through assimilation and cultural diversity, Americans showcase a variety of practices that are a combination of American ideologies and traditional ideologies from other ethnicity. 

Being able to have the opportunities offered to us to interact and see so many different cultures without ever having to have flown in an airplane is a privileged that many of us regret to acknowledge.   America's diversity will never stop growing.  What we can hope for is with continual cultural and religious acceptance, America will be able to put racism behind it and move upwards.

Many young girls at the age of 15 or 16 dream of their Quinceanera or their sweet 16, its considered as a right of passage, similar to Quinceanera and Sweet 16 are Bar Mitzfahs, the difference between the two is Bar Mitzfahs are meant for Jewish boys who are coming of age to go through the steps to be a man.

You might think that both right of passages are the same, however, there are differences when you look at them closely.  There are different traditions and practices and they are celebrated at two ages, 15 and 16. 

Quinceaneras are celebrated when young teenagers turn 15, traditionally this is the age in which a girl is considered to become young lady (i.e. women).  The celebration consists of a ceremony where the young girl turns in a dozen flowers to the Virgin Mary.  The concept behind the ceremony is to present herself as a young lady to God and to receive God's acceptance to her new role.  After the ceremony, the official celebration begins, with pictures, music and food.  As part of the tradition, the young lady is to dance a walts with her chosen companion as a way to honor her guest for being present at such an important time in her life.

Click here to see an example of a waltz danced during a Quinceanera.

Studies have shown that there is a decreased in the incidents of smoking among teenagers.  However, it doesn't mean that teenagers have stopped smoking.  Smoking can cause permanent damage to your throat and lungs and over a long period of time smoking has been shown to cause cancer.    Quitting has becoming easier with advances in medicine and technology, 'kicking the habit' in the 21st century means going on the patch, chewing some gum or taking pills and don't forget there is always the traditional method 'going cold turkey'.  

What makes smoking addictive? Nicotine.

The nicotine, an ingredient in cigarettes is said to calm nerves and helps lower stress, while some say that smoking does not calm nerves or lower stress, rather it makes a person more anxious.   Smoking also decreases an individual's life span, smokers develop illnesses during their 40's and 50's depending on when they started smoking and the quantity they smoked per day, month and year.   Someone who smokes 1 pack a day in most cases will develop help problems later on than someone who smokes 2 packs a day.  The best way to avoid health problems from smoking is to not smoke at all.

People are naturally decisive, we take one look at something or someone and we have made up our mind about whether we like them or not.

Hygiene is one factor in a first impression.

1. Maintaining daily routines such as: showering, bathing, brushing our teeth, washing our hands and washing our clothes is good hygiene.

2. Bad hygiene is the opposite of good, however, that can change with some easy steps:

   1. Wash your clothes on a regular basis;
   2. Change your toothbrush regularly;
   3. Stay away of heavy perfumed soaps, since most of them don't provide with the necessary cleaning;
   4. Choose a good deodorant;
   5. Do not wear soiled clothing over an over again.

The old saying, "killing two birds with one stone".   People often describe an action using this saying, for example, when you take a trip to the store and buy food for dinner and buy supplies for a DIY (Do It Yourself) project - one trip and get two things done.  Wouldn't everything be so easy if everything could be done like that, "in a quickness?" 

If you put your mind into achieving a goal, there are no obstacles you can't surpass.  Through achievement of goals, it can lead to opportunities.

Join a sport or a club while you're at school, it builds social capital (people you meet) and it is an opportunity to develop skills.  Studies show that teenagers who are involved in school clubs or school sports are less likely to be in gangs, violent, abuse drug or alcohol and teenage pregnancies.

Low self-esteem can lead to depression, drug or alcohol abuse, violent behavior, abusive relationships, pregnancy and giving into peer pressure. 

Teenagers often want to fit in with their peers and in most cases low self-esteem can make them feel less important, little ability to stand up for themselves and succeed.  Low self-esteem can lead to development of body image and appearance issues or eating disorders.

A good way to start building up a person's self-esteem is by accepting who they are, just by acting like yourself no matter what other people say, think or do.  Love yourself for the way you look, talk, act, think and feel.  In addition, join a club or activity that you enjoy and create friendships that will be your network for support.