Category: Teen Life

Bored of your room? Try these unique home makeover ideas!

The mere idea of a makeover is exciting. This is one reason the makeup industry thrives, you can literally transform yourself into a new person! Now, how about you dab some “makeup” over your home?

Don’t be discouraged by the possibility of coughing up a large sum of money; you can actually do a lot without spending much cash since you can use some of the stuff you already have in your home.

1. With Plants, You Never Go Wrong

Potted plants add a certain vibe to your home. If you aren’t using them already, now is a perfect time to add them to brighten up your stairway, windowsill or fireplace. Including potted plants in your home décor can give a healthy look to your house (because plants give off oxygen). And if you’re worried about where to get pots, even large mugs and old coffee tins can be used to hold those plants and flowers.

2. Go Bold on Your Door Colors

Make an amazing statement of boldness as soon as anyone steps into your house with brightly colored doors.

Repaint your doors to be as fun as possible. For your room, you can get very creative with even bolder colors, animals, flowers, or chalk paint.

3. Wall Art Has Never Been Cooler

Get creative with your walls! All you need to do is place pieces of artwork or plates of different sizes or cool posters from a thrift store.

And don’t worry about being totally symmetrical: check out this wall with different sized pieces arranged on different levels.

4. Move Stuff Around

If you have done this before, you’ll have noticed the automatic facelift it gives to your rooms. You can give your home a whole new look by the simple act of rearranging a room’s content.

For instance, you could rearrange books in your bookshelf according to color or size; rearrange your bedroom furniture along opposite walls on in an L-shape, or place your outdoor dining sets in the center of your patio.

5. Make Your Closet Fascinating

When you have a warm and inviting wardrobe closet, it’s a lot easier for you to enjoy picking out clothes each morning. Repainting the closet to a warm color, or placing some cool vignettes on it to remind yourself of how awesome you are each day, might be helpful.

6. Use Leftover Fabric Creatively

If you’ve got bundles of leftover fabric lying around, you can turn them around to make creative cushion covers from them if you have basic sewing skills.

7. Use Fruits as Dining Table Centerpieces

When you line up those fresh, colorful fruits in big glass bowls, they look super amazing as dining table centerpieces. Plus you get to eat them.

8. Shoe Boxes Can Be Used to Store Stuff

Especially for things like concert or school memorabilia, you can wrap up old shoe boxes in wrapping paper and voila! You have before you the perfect storage solution for your knickknacks!

9. Use Old Household Items in New Ways

Put battery-powered lights in old jars for a cool rustic look. Or you could fill the jars with beautifully bright beads, pebbles or even sweets! And those sweet old baskets you’re so fond of? Use them as magazine holders.

Wrapping Up

What do you say to the use of these unique ideas to transform your home into a hub of newness and utter beauty?

5 Best Practices for Teens to Stay Safe Online

The internet is an essential part of our lives. It’s our go-to resource for everything from shopping to learning to entertainment. Being online has become an important aspect of the daily routine. This is true for both adults and children, and it’s especially true for teenagers. But with all the good must come bad, making proper safety a must for any online interactions. If you’re a teenager, taking a little time to learn about these best online practices for teen safety can help you know what to do to protect yourself when you go online.

Password Management

A password is the easiest way to keep a computer or account secure. It’s also the easiest way to screw things up. A weak password is only slightly better than no password, so take the time to come up with something a bit more complex than normal to protect your accounts and information. Strong passwords use capital and lowercase letters, numbers, symbols and anything else you could feasibly use to make them more random. You should also make it a point to use a new password for each account no matter how much of a pain it is, and don’t offer to save passwords on a shared computer.

Limit Where Your Information Is

No matter how cautious you might be, sometimes things go wrong. While things can go wrong in many ways, one of them is a data breach where a large company’s internal servers are hacked, and the information stored there is released to the public. The released data often includes the personal information of whoever uses their services. There are very few ways to protect your identity from data breaches as you have no control over their security, as seen quite clearly in the recent Equifax breach. About the only thing you can do to stop this from happening is to limit where your information is stored to begin with. Do you best to be careful about choosing which companies get what kind of information from you. A simple way to do this is to think over whether or not you’d like to connect accounts or fill out personal information, like addresses and phone numbers, when creating accounts on different websites.

Curate Your Web Presence

Curating your web presence is one way to help protect your identity while you’re online. The saying goes that nothing is ever gone on the internet, and, while that’s largely true, you can take steps to get close to that. Going back over the things you post to delete stuff that might be used against you is a good idea. Even if archives exist, it’s much more difficult for people to find this kind of stuff without lots of effort and digging on their part. It’s also a good idea to limit your presence to those you trust with the use of privacy settings on accounts, helping to eliminate prying eyes on your pages altogether.

Don’t Overshare

There’s an uncomfortable amount of oversharing that’s both seen as appropriate and often required when having a presence online. Whether you’re a famous YouTuber or just some random kid with a blog, the temptation and expectation are that you’ll update your followers on every aspect of your life. This is a bad idea if you intend to have any privacy whatsoever. Protect your privacy by speaking vaguely about identifying details in your life, and take care not to be too blatant about where you live or other things that might lead people to discover things you don’t want them to know. Additionally, try to remind yourself to question why you feel the need to post something else, especially when everyone, not just your friends and family, will be able to see it.

Set Boundaries

Above all else, setting boundaries with people you know online is a crucial skill to have. The internet has connected us in ways thought unimaginable even just a few decades ago, but this connectivity has also eroded our sense of privacy. Whether it’s with friends or just strangers lurking on your social media profile, set boundaries with how people interact with you. If someone’s asking for too much information, getting too friendly or is just generally making you uncomfortable, set boundaries. There’s no shame in asserting yourself.

The internet can be both an exciting and scary place, so it’s necessary to take some precautions in order to have a good time. Follow these best practices for safety to keep yourself out of trouble online.

Was this article helpful? Then you should definitely check out these other related articles from Teens Wanna Know:

3 Ways to Make a Great First Impression on Your Date

Entering your dating years can be both exciting and scary. Before you head out on a first date, it is important to have a plan. Being prepared will help make sure that the date goes well. But how do you make sure you make a good impression so the person will go out with you again? Take a look at these three great tips to make sure that your date night gives your date a great impression of you.

Get Creative

When looking to make a good impression on date night, be sure to get creative and think outside of the box. While dinner and movie is a fun activity every now and then, you will impress your date the most if you come up with something a little more inventive. Ideas to consider include volunteering together, hitting up a local farmers market for snacks and a walk around town, or a hike into the woods followed by a picnic.

Clean Up

When taking somebody out for the first time, you want to put your best step forward. The first thing that you need to consider is your physical appearance. Be sure to show up well-groomed and smelling nice in order to make the best first impression. Although you want to smell good, be careful not to overdo it with the cologne or perfume. While it can be a challenge to do it right, cleaning the inside as well as the outside of your car is key to a strong impression. You want your date to feel comfortable while riding in your vehicle. Taking the time to present yourself and your car in the best possible light will set a positive start for the date.

Be Engaging

While it may be tempting to talk about yourself on the date, be sure to make the effort to be engaging and involve your date in the conversation. It is a good idea to brainstorm possible conversation ideas prior to your date so that you do not feel stuck if you run out of things to say. Asking your date open-ended questions is a proven way to get them talking and conversation flowing. Really listen to what your date is saying, and you will be able to discern the best things to talk about. Maintaining good eye contact throughout the date is also a good way to stay engaging.

While dates can be intimidating, if you make sure you’re prepared, you’ll increase your chances of having a good time. You may feel like you don’t know what you’re doing, but do your best to be confident. That can do wonders for a good first impression. Dates are supposed to be fun, so don’t be afraid to let loose and have fun. If you follow the above tips, you’re sure to have a great time. Who knows, you might even get your first kiss!

How does poor sleep affect my brain health?

To easily an vividly remember the events of the past is a sign of good mental and brain health. But, did you know that one of the best ways to ensure our memory is at its optimum for mid-terms or finals is getting good quality sleep? This doesn’t mean long hours of sleep, but rather high quality deep sleep?

What happens when your sleep quality os poor? Here are some ways your brain could be getting hurt when your body doesn’t get quality sleep:

Decreased memory retention

Let me brief you on how memory is stored by the brain. During long hours of sleep, electrical impulses pass through your brain nerves. At the top of these impulses are brain spindles. Brain spindles help in file transfer from your short term memory reservoir to the long term memory reservoir where memories are permanently stored. This mechanism only occurs when you get a deep sleep. This implies that when you don’t have enough quality sleep, the ability of your brain to retain information becomes a difficult task. Trish at sleepdelivered provides a review of one mattress which might help you sleep better, and thus retain memories more!

Reduced productivity

The brain is your center of productivity. Every time you want to perform a task, the brain is critical in your thinking process. As a student, you are required to think with both speed and accuracy. This is why going on late-night cram sessions all week before an exam is not particularly good. Low sleep dumbs you down and makes you think slower and less accurately.

Low hormonal production

The brain houses the hypothalamus and pituitary glands which both function in the production of hormones. What hormones do is to regulate most of your day-to-day activities. An example of such an important hormone is ADH (antidiuretic hormone) which functions in osmoregulation of the body. During cold seasons have you noticed you urinate more and sweat less, while during a hot day you sweat more and urinate less? It’s the antidiuretic hormone that backs up this phenomenon. Not giving the brain enough rest could mess up thsi mechanism and disturb the fluid balance in your body.

Dizziness

Dizzyness can really ruin your day. When driving it could be considered to have the same effect and consequences on an in individual as driving drunk. Studies show that poor quality sleep or complete lack of sleep –insomnia, could lead to dizziness and therefore major accidents.

Lowered sexual drive

An individual’s ability to getting aroused sexually is dependent on how the brain visualizes an object or person. This brain function is not easily performed when you don’t have a good night’s rest. This inability could lead to depleted energy, sleepiness and increased tension — all which kills the sex drive of an individual.

The moral of the story: get enough sleep!

3 Methods of Paying for College

If you’re a senior about to graduate and go to college, you’re probably wondering how you’re going to pay for it. Paying for school can be very stressful and expensive, but if you play your cards right, you’ll be able to find the funds to make it work. Take a look at these three methods you should consider when trying to figure out how to pay for college.

Work

Many people need to work while attending school. The key to accomplishing this is time management. Seek out a counselor who can help you prepare by teaching you the skills you will need in order to balance work and school. When job searching, look for a company that offers tuition reimbursement. Many firms offer this, even for part-time employees. Some downsides are that you may have to stay with the company a certain amount of years after graduation, or you may need to pay tuition upfront before you are reimbursed. That being said, getting tuition reimbursement through your work is a beneficial and efficient option.

Student Loans

A student loan is in the category of money you do need to pay back. Additionally, these loans come with interest, which means you are paying back more than you initially borrowed. You may want to consider a loan with terms that allow you to pay the interest while you are in school. When shopping around, keep in mind that interest rates can vary as well as the terms. How much you can borrow for a student loan depends on factors such as the type of loan, your status as a student, and how much financial aid you are already receiving. Try to view loans as a supplemental form of tuition payment and borrow as little as possible.

Scholarships

A scholarship is in the category of money that you do not need to pay back. Scholarships come in varying amounts, and the guidelines for who can apply can vary greatly. Some scholarships are attached to the school you are attending, and other scholarships allow you to use the money toward any school of your choice. When searching for scholarships, beware of scams and only use government websites and sources approved by your current or prospective school. You might be surprised to find out about the many different types of scholarships that are available.

All of these school tuition payment options can be used in conjunction with one another—and they often are. Figuring out how to pay for school can seem like a job within itself. Try to borrow as little money as possible, but, in the end, do not let money get in the way of pursuing your education.

Five Things All Parents Should Tell Their Teen About Driving

Did your teen recently get a learner’s permit or a driver’s license? If so, you may be worried about your teen’s safety whenever he or she gets behind the wheel. After all, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reports that auto accidents are the leading cause of death among teens. You can help your teen to drive safe and avoid accidents by talking with him or her about these five points:

1. Knowledge is power.

Make sure that your teen takes a driver’s education course. The course will instruct your teen about the rules of the road and about defensive driving techniques such as constantly scanning the road for risks or hazards. You should reinforce what your teen learns in the course when you ride along with your teen.

2. Hang up the phone.

Distracted driving is highly dangerous, especially when it involves the use of phones. You should make sure to discuss any laws in your state that prohibit texting and driving or which ban or greatly restrict any use of electronic devices by teens while they are driving. You should also talk with your teen about avoiding many other potential distractions such as eating, drinking, putting on makeup, playing with the radio or interacting with passengers.

3. Slow down.

In a AAA survey, driving instructors identified speeding as one of the top mistakes which teens make when they are learning how to drive. Statistics show that speeding actually plays a role in roughly one-third of all fatal teen crashes. For this reason, you should make sure that your teen understands the importance of following the posted speed limit and going only as fast as traffic, road and weather conditions allow.

4. Don’t drink and drive.

You should make sure that your teen understands the dangers of impaired driving. Your teen should know that consuming alcohol or using controlled substance great affects a person’s judgment and ability to safely operate a motor vehicle. Additionally, many states have a “zero tolerance” law that prohibits teens from driving if they have any amount of alcohol in their system. Your teen should understand the serious consequences that he or she faces if the teen is charged with a violation of that law.

5. Use caution in severe weather.

Teens need to realize that they must adjust their driving when they encounter harsh weather conditions such as rain, fog, ice and snow. You should talk to your teen about using lights, windshield wipers, hazard lights and the defroster in certain types of weather conditions. You should make sure that your teen knows that there is nothing wrong with slowing down when they are driving through conditions that cut down on visibility and makes the roads slick.

In addition to these five topics, you should tell your teen to always wear a seat belt and make sure that all of his or her passengers are buckled up. Wearing a seat belt cannot prevent an accident. However, it can save lives if a crash occurs.

3 Ways Football Players Can Reduce Their Risk of Head Injuries

Playing football as a teen can be a great experience. It helps you stay physically active; you make friends and you learn all about hard work. Unfortunately, football is a sport that requires you to be very physical with players on the opposite team. Because of this, there are many injuries that can occur during practice or a game. Head injuries are particularly common in football, and these injuries can cause permanent damage if you aren’t careful. Fortunately there are a number of ways that football players can reduce their risk of head injuries.

Practice Protecting Your Head

It’s important to learn how to play football the right way. An experienced coach will be able to teach a player the proper way to tackle, block and play the game. Rugby style tackling utilizes shoulder drives into the opposite player to take them down. This is much safer than using your head.

Use a Quality Helmet

When you’re purchasing equipment for football, the prices can really start to add up. But one item that you should never skimp on is your helmet. This is an important piece of equipment that will help keep your head safe if you are knocked on the head while playing, lessen the chance of brain injury. The helmet that you choose should be properly padded. It also needs to fit perfectly. Don’t buy a helmet that is a little bit big in hopes of growing into it. It should be snug, but not too tight. A recent study resulted in the ban of 10 different helmet models by the NFL, which proved insufficient at providing adequate head protection.

Seek Medical Attention

If you do get hit on the head during a game or incur some sort of injury to the neck or head, make sure that you alert your coach. You should get checked out to make sure that you don’t require any kind of further medical attention. If you leave a concussion untreated, this could lead to long term health problems. Your brain isn’t something that you want to mess around with.

Any kind of brain injury or head injury is a serious issue. Make sure that you take appropriate precautions to stay safe whether you are at practice with your own teammates or you are playing another team in a game. Always have your proper equipment with you. Show good sportsmanship. This will be an example to other players that will encourage everyone to play a safe and proper way.

3 Tips for Safe Summer Driving

Summer is finally here, and summer fun has just begun! Driving around and enjoying the warm summer breeze with your friends and family makes for some great times, but it can turn into a tragic nightmare in seconds if safe driving is not implemented and practiced. To make this summer enjoyable and unforgettable, here are three tips for safe summer driving.

Make Sure the Vehicle is in Good Condition

The summer heat can cause many problems in your vehicle. According to Did You Know Cars, some of these summer vehicle problems include things like tire bursts, engine overheating, and worn shock absorbers (these keep your car driving smoothly over bumps and dips in the road). Before going out for a summer drive, consider checking your vehicle’s tires, air conditioning, brakes, engine, oil and shock absorbers to make sure it is working properly. You can also go to your family’s trusted car mechanic to make a basic vehicle check-up before hitting the road.

Choose Your Passengers Carefully

Passengers, although fun to have along for the ride, can also be a distraction for a driver. According to Dolman Law, one additional teen passenger increases the risk of a fatal crash by 44 percent, while three additional teen passengers can increase it by as much as 300 percent. Choose passengers that know the risks of obnoxious passengers and who understand that you, the driver, are in charge during the whole trip. If a passenger becomes reckless and distracting, stop at the nearest location, calmly get their attention, and explain your discomfort as well the dangers of the distraction that they are causing.

Use Seatbelts

Seatbelts are installed in every car for a reason: to keep people inside cars safe. In the case that an accident occurs, a seatbelt is there to prevent most small injuries and some severe injuries. In order to Virtual Drive, to wear a seatbelt properly, the strap should be across your chest (not behind your backpack or under your arm), and the lap belt should be placed above your hips and under your belly. Make sure that you and any passengers always wear a seatbelt when riding in a car, even for short trips, and always check to see if they are wearing theirs correctly.

It is essential for both drivers and passengers to be informed of how to reduce their chances of getting into a car accident. Being in an accident is something that no one wants to have happen when on their summer vacation. So this summer, make sure that you enjoy endless fun and adventure with your friends and family by practicing safe summer driving.

What Teens Should Look for in a Starter Car

Buying your first car is an exciting milestone for any teenager. While it is tempting to gravitate toward cars that are flashy and fun, it is more important to put the image of your vehicle aside and focus on other factors. When looking for your first vehicle, you will want to consider that you are an inexperienced driver. Here are three things that teens should look for in a starter car.

Don’t buy starter car that looks like this haha.

The Cost

This is not the time in life to go after your dream car. Your budget should be the primary consideration when shopping for a vehicle. Before heading out to test drive cars, make sure that you have a firm budget in mind so that you are not tempted to spend more than you have. When figuring out your budget, be sure to look beyond the initial purchase of the vehicle. You also need to consider annual registration, maintenance costs, gas mileage, and average repair costs. Lastly, you need to factor in insurance premiums. Vehicles that are more expensive are also going to cost significantly more to insure, adding to the total cost of ownership.

Safety

Taking your hard-earned money and purchasing a lemon of a vehicle would be a huge disappointment. There are more than a few things to consider when it comes to evaluating how safe the model is. In addition to the age of the vehicle, you need to look for signs of damage that would indicate that it has been involved in a serious collision. There are two major vehicle safety rating services that can help you to ascertain how safe your options are compared to each other.

Practicality

As a teenager, you need a practical vehicle that will get you from point A to point B. What you do not need is a sports car, large family SUV, or any other kind of vehicle that does not suit your current lifestyle. While you do not necessarily want the smallest car on the roads, you also do not need the biggest. A safe commuter car or a small SUV is your best bet when looking for a vehicle to fit your needs as a teenager.

By doing your research and choosing carefully, you can ensure that you select the best vehicle to meet your personal preferences and needs. Purchasing the right vehicle will help you to enjoy this special season in life.
If you enjoyed this article, check out this other article on how to deal with insurance if you get into a car accident!

Practical Writing Tips: Ways To Get Higher Grades on Your Papers

Some students find writing a horrible task, mostly because they don’t know where to start and fail to organize properly. Experts at a leading writing service have provided some practical tips to help improve your grades.

Review Instructions Carefully

All academic work and tests come with precise instructions and grading rubrics. Failure to follow instructions is likely the leading cause of unneccesary grade reductions — not poor writing itself.

Instructions will differ from one paper to the other. They will capture the kind of formatting required, language to be used, length of your paper, and reference materials to be used, among others. If the paper fails to meet these standards, your score will be low. In case instructions provided are not clear, you are required to seek clarification before starting. Commencing work following the wrong instructions will only lead to failure.

PRO TIP: use the grading rubric and instructions as a checklist which you mark off once your paper meets each requirement.

Plan things out

Develop a plan that captures your introduction, body, and conclusion of the paper. Planning involves creating an outline for the task ahead. The outline should capture the order of points or ideas, materials to refer, and different sections based on the expected structure of your paper, among other writing elements.

An outline or plan ensures that you do not repeat any idea and thus render some of the sections of your work redundant. You also have an overview of the ideas you have to discuss in the paper. The plan alerts you in case you miss the point.

Look at Writing Samples

Gather quality samples of the type of paper you are writing and use them as reference points. Sample papers on just about any topic are available online, but ensure they are good quality — poor quality samples may affect your performance.

A word of warning: DO NOT COPY SAMPLES WORD FOR WORD! This is called plaigiarism and is a serious offense in school. Your work must be your own.

Set aside distractions

Create an environment where you can work without disruption or disturbance. The library is one of the best places to work on any paper because you are forced to focus on what you are doing.

If you prefer to work at home, switch off anything which distracts you, such as the television, radio, or cell phone. Some people do well with something on in the background, but others cannot handle it — which sort of student are you?

Use Quality Reference Materials

The strength of the ideas you discuss in the paper will depend on the quality of reference materials you’re using. Look for high-quality reference materials from different sources, including the library, reputable websites and academic databases. Your teacher will usually recommend reliable reference materials to help you. Using inferior references, such as Wikipedia, usually leads to rejected papers or failing grades.

Avoid procrastination

Plan your work and time in a way that allows you to meet the submission deadline. Failure to meet the deadline comes with penalties, some of which are punitive. Thus, develop a schedule that will enable you to complete the paper before the deadline to provide enough time for editing.

Edit Your Work

Spare some time at the end of your drafting stage to edit the paper. Editing helps to eliminate little errors that are overlooked the first time you write something. If you are doubtful of your editing skills, get a friend or tutor to help (or even a parent).

PRO TIP: Finish your draft, then don’t look at your paper for several hours before you edit. This will help you look at your work with a fresh set of eyes.

Get help

Some instructions or topics will be difficult to handle, no matter how much you try. You are allowed to seek help from different places to avoid compromising on your grades and performance. This help should come from a person who understands the topic and will not mislead you.

Consult your teacher regularly in the course of writing. Most teachers relish the chance to assist you whenever you are stuck, and this shows you are a motivated student. Your teacher knows what he or she is looking for from the assignment, and is therefore one of the best sources of writing help with your school work.

Also, there are professional writing assistants who are trained in different areas and ready to offer tips and examples whenever it is required. You have to pay for their help, but they should NOT write your entire paper for you — that is cheating!