Teen Esteem Council Podcast

We all face disappointments in our lives. Using this article by Lawrence J. Momo in the New York Times, we discuss some of the disappointments that the girls have faced recently. As you listen to their experiences you may realize that disappointment does not last forever and that not getting what you want may even open up new possibilities for your life.

We all love the special treats that we get to eat over the holidays. In today's podcast we talk about what our favorite holiday treats are. Look for the recipes on the website over the next couple of weeks. Your mouth will be watering for some of these delicious holiday treat options: Soda Cracker Toffee Caramel Popcorn Balls Lemon Bread Sausage Cream Cheese Dip (Summer has a more appetizing name for this one) Baked Smores Volcano Pancakes

Last week we were talking about being upsold. This weeks podcast is for the employee. We give some tips about how to get along with your co-workers, or teammates, or fellow cast members, or anyone really. 

In today’s episode we catch up with everyone’s Black Friday experience and, more importantly, we talk about how to avoid the ‘upsell’ when you are shopping. For those of you who don’t know what the upsell is, it is when the cashier asks you to buy something that you were not intending to buy. On a side note… 1,000 points to any listener who can hear my daughter yell, “Look what I did.” in the background.

OK, so, we don't really narrow the list to just 5. We do have a great discussion about what traits our girls think are important and what traits they look for in someone who is a boy. We decide at the end that all of the traits that we discuss are worth striving to add to your character. It is also revealed what the best gift that you can give is.

Thanksgiving is THIS WEEK! Today, rather than just share the things that we are grateful for, we talk about why gratitude is such an important principle and why being a grateful person is such an important trait to cultivate in your character. Can being grateful make you more attractive? Listen to find out.

Woah, that is like, the longest title in the history of Teen Esteem Council Podcasts. We examine what teen girls say about themselves when they are looking at themselves in the mirror. We examine why they say the things that they do. I was a little surprised to come to the conclusion that we did. Listen to find out why.

Today we give Emily the title of the most Die Hard Podcaster Ever. Today is her brother's wedding and we still have a podcast... (a little secret... it was recorded a week ago... but I am sure she still would have done if we had recorded today). The fact that her brother is getting married led us to the conversation of dealing with your own emotions when an older sibling moves away.

Halloween is coming up in a few days and that means watching scary movies with friends. Today we talk about some of the best and worst spooky, creepy, or scary movies to watch for the Halloween season. All of the movies that we dicuss are rated PG-13 or less.

Today's podcast comes from an experience that Brianna had at a haunted house. She did not really want to go and show she employed a clever strategy to get out of it. The rest of the girls, Summer, and I share our ideas of how to get out of bad situations... 

All of us lose our motivation at some point. Today's pocast gives some suggestions of how to keep your momentum going when you lose motivation.

When you are young children the bad choices that your friends make may not have huge consequnces. As you get into your teenage years however, some of the choices that your friends make may have consequences that are devastating. Today's podcast will give you some advice as to how you can help those friends who are making bad decisions.  One of the most important things that you can do is make the decision for yourself that you are not going to make the same negative choices as your friend. There is also a discussion about how you don't have to help those friends alone, all byyourself. There are some tips of ways to confront the friend about those negative choices and behaviors. It is a tricky subject and we may not have covered every situation... if we missed something, please comment, email us, or post on Facebook.

Today we have the priviledge of introducing two new council members. Emily and McKenzee. They are friends of mine and are teriffic people who have a lot of great insight into life. We are excited to have them as part of the council. We also have Brianna and Chantel with us. A couple of weeks ago Summer and I talked about how Geology relates to life. As part of that discussion the idea came up to talk about how teens can deal with rising expectations that parents and teachers might have as kids get older. This is that podcast. Our council members have great advice about how to deal with those rising expectations. 

Last week we said that we were going to talk about living up to higher expectations as you get older... however... out girls have been so busy that we could not find a time to get together to record. So, Summer and I decided to talk about consequences. There are different types of consequences. They are natural consequences and imposed consequences. We focus mostly on imposed consequences (the ones that come from your parents and teachers, etc.) We discuss 3 reasons why parents, teachers, or other people give consequences. They are: People are trying to be a jerk. People are trying to change certain behaviors before the natural consequences, which can be severe, happen. You are violating someone's rights.

Summer is back! After taking a couple of weeks off to adjust to having a new baby in her home, she is back with us. Today we talkabout how Geology relates to the life of a teenager.  I spent the last four days with a group of teens walking through millions of years of geologic history. We were camped in one of the most beautiful spots in Eastern Utah. While the trip was mostly about the science of Geology, I had the chance to have some great conversations with the teens I was with about some of the pressures that they face in their lives. Believe it or not... We relate geology to life.

We apologize for missing a week.  Summer had her baby last week and we took the week off from recording. She and the baby are doing well. It is just me for today's podcast and I'm talking about making the jump from being someone who is just a dreamer to someone who takes consistent steps toward powerful progress in their life. The discussion is based on a quote from the book The Science of Being Great by Wallace D. Wattles which compares a football to a fountain spring.

Last week we talked about how to present your best social self as you are starting school. This week we still talk about presenting your best self... but we are talking about presenting your best physical self. It is often said that what is on the outside is not as important as what is on the inside, which is true. That being said, paying some attention to your outer appearance can impact the confidence that you have as you interact with others. Some of the ideas that we discussed were... Using what you already have in your wardrobe and adjusting to current styles. Using the right make-up for you Basic hygenic skills (Bathing, brushing teet, waring deodrant, etc.)

It is that time of year again. School is starting. For a lot of girls, the uncertainty about friends and relationships can cause anxiety before the school year. Today Brianna shares some of her thoughts and advice about creating great relationships in the coming school year.

Brianna is with us again today. She has been super busy this summer working on concurrent enrollment classes. She is working to have her Associates Degree finished at the same time as her graduation from high school. It has been a challenging and rewarding experience for her. She talks about the benefits and the challenges of concurrent enrollment, including some of the sacrifices that she has made to make it work.

Today is a sad day for the Teen Esteem Council. Amanda shares some final thoughts of wisdom with our listeners as she records her final podcast with it.  We also share some more thoughts on talking to your parents about hard things in response to a comment from one of our listeners, Elise. She brought up a great point that we had not addressed in the two previous podcasts on the subject. Thanks for pointing it out to us and let us know if it did not answer your questions. We also try to talk Chantel through her fears around getting her drivers license. Don't forget to like us Facebook and/or follow us on twitter.