Many teens have the habit of turning the volumes to a blaring decibel, headphones so loud that the person next to them can clearly hear what the song is.   This can cause severe hearing damage.

This habit can cause hearing loss, especially if repeated.  Just because you don't listen to rock, that doesn't mean you're not damaging your ears.  The sound doesn't have to be extremely loud, if its loud enough for you not to be able to hear a normal conversation, you're already causing some damage to your ears.  If repeated daily,over time it can cause irreversible damage and can lead to permanent hearing loss.

To avoid this kind of harm to your body try not to have your earphones on less and listen to your music on speaker -- think of it as sharing the wealth.   Try to turn your volume down 2 bars every 2 weeks or every day and allow yourself to get use to a lower decibel, your eardrums will thank you as well as the future you.

As times has progress, woman has become more independent, traditional roles like homemaker, care taker are being dismantled and re-establish.  The woman's role in the economic settings have change since the 1950's.  Woman have taken the challenges in all aspects that were once reserved for men and unpractical for women, one of these is extreme sports.

More and more woman have become more involved in extreme sports, breaking worlds records, and rising to the top.  Six decades ago women were seen as fragile and delicate but now in the year, 2011 woman can jumping from an airplane, participate and win in the BMX, mountain climb and bungee jump.  These are just a few of the extreme sports women are more likely to practice:

• Skydiving
• Surfing/Wind surfing
• Bungee jumping
• Rock climbing
• Mountain biking
• White-water kayaking
• Snowboarding/Wake boarding
• Scuba diving

One of the few changes that teenagers go through when their body sends out hormones and signals to the brain is the sensation to seek activities that will give them the rush and excitement that they want to experience.  Teenagers are more likely to engage in gangs, illegal street racing, fights, and other illegal activities to seek rush of adrenaline into the body.

However, the behaviors and activities can be harmful and dangerous.  In some cases, if something goes wrong it can lead to bodily harm or death.  Teenagers living in poor neighborhoods are more likely to engage in high risk activities due to the fact that most high risk activities take place in urban settings and low income neighborhoods.

Don't, however, disregard the possibilities for teens outside of poor neighborhoods or high risk areas to be involved in high risk activities.

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.