Julia: Oh man, I hope Tayler Lautner takes off his shirt again.

Chris: I can take my shirt off for you, babe.

Julia: Hey, could you pass the popcorn?

Chris passes the popcorn.

Julia: Mmm, good popcorn.

Chris slowly moves closer to Julia

Julia sneezes in Chris’s face.

Chris: pause Bless you

Julia: Thank you

Chris tries to make a move

Julia: Not here, okay? We’re watching a movie.

Chris: Okay, fine.

Narrator: Chris kept his distance for the rest of the movie.

Chris and Julia exit, put on jackets.

Narrator: After the movie ended, Chris invited Julia over for a glass of wine.

Chris & Julia enter.

Chris: (pulls out ring) I got you a promise ring.

Julia: (holds out hand, lets Chris put it on) Ooohhh, it’s so pretty! Thank you!

Chris & Julia hug.

Chris: I’m glad you like it. Let’s sit on the couch.

They sit down on the couch. Chris gives Julia a glass of wine and has one for himself as well.

Chris: Let’s cheers… To our 2 months!

Chris & Julia clink glasses and take a sip.

Narrator: For the next hour or so, Chris and Julia drank wine and had friendly conversations on books, movies and music.

Julia is laughing and kind of tipsy.

Chris: That was such a hilarious movie! I loved when he got his foot stuck in the windshield!

Julia: Yeah (laughs more)

Chris: You’ve really never had wine before? You’re drinking it like a champ.

Julia: Yeah! Can you believe it? My parents never let me have any.

Chris: Well, I’m glad you’re enjoying it. (puts his arm around Julia and takes a sip of wine). So, remember what we were planning for our two-month?

Julia: yes….

Chris: (leans in) What do you think?

Julia: I don’t know, I’m not feeling too well.

Chris: Come on (stands up and takes Julia’s hand)

Julia: Well… (clumsily follows)

Chris & Julia exit.

Narrator: Chris and Julia went to Chris’s bedroom and had sex for the first time. Julia still felt sick afterwards and was functional enough to take a taxi home. Julia woke up with a mild hangover and stayed in bed most of the next day.

Julia enters and sits down.

Narrator: As Julia was starting to feel better towards the evening, the phone rang.

Chris: (enters) Hey babe, how are you feeling?

Julia doesn’t respond and rolls her eyes.

Chris: Hey, what’s wrong with you?

Julia: Last night…

Chris: Yeah, last night.

Julia: It wasn’t right. I wasn’t ready.

Chris: But you didn’t stop me, babe.

Julia: I had told you I felt sick, I wasn’t ready and I was wasted Chris! This isn’t how it was meant to happen.

Chris: It was meant to happen after two months, and it did.

Julia: Maybe I thought I’d be ready by then, but I wasn’t. You took this from me and I don’t think I can forgive you. I can’t be with someone who doesn’t respect me or take my consent or lack thereof seriously.

Chris: Hun, let me make it up to you!

Julia: Goodbye Chris. (hangs up, puts ring on the chair and exits)

Chris puts his head in his hands.

Narrator: Chris didn’t respect his girlfriend’s wishes, and this resulted in a sexual assault and a breakup. Consent cannot be given when one person is drunk, and only “yes” means yes! Hopefully Julia will go on to find a person who will treat her right. The end.

Written by: Kirsten Yanz, Natalie Bennett & Chris Trachenko

Until the day I noticed something different in her. Her smile told me one story, but her eyes told another. It was as if by looking into them I could see the darkness hiding away. Each day the darkness seemed to grow until I could actually see the pain luminating off of her fragile body.

It looked like it ate away at her, and she weakened each time she questioned what was happening. Life had taken a toll on her and she no longer felt like she understood anything.

Soon she just became paralized, frozen, numb… the list goes on. But, just when she thought it was all over, something saved her, nothing drastic, but simply an act of affection, and that day everything turned around.

As a peer supporter, that is why I am here, because at times everyone feels lost or alone, but it doesn’t have to stay that way; and I hope that I can save someone from the darkness, just as that one act of affection saved me that day.

The Challenge

Every day for one month, write one thing down that you like about yourself, (either about your body or your personality) and tell someone else one thing you like about them, (either about their body or their personality). Keep track of who you told what on each day, do this by writing it down on  a piece of paper or a calendar.

Goals of the Challenge:

1. Learn to love and accept yourself for who you are.
2. Learn to love your body and feel comfortable in your own skin.
3. Learn to accept differences.
4. Encourage others to love their own bodies.
5. Set an example for others to love and accept themselves and their bodies.

I encourage you to take the 1 month challenge, and learn to love your body. It doesn’t just have to be a month, you can keep doing it for as long as you like. I hope that this challenge is beneficial to you, and you learn to truly love your body and yourself. Good luck!

*Remember: You have worth and value and you are truly beautiful!!

By: Hannah

The Handshake from Teen Talk on Vimeo.

“A song to lift spirits to get you through the hard times in life. Dedicated to everyone at Teen Talk!”

“Keep Going” by Roselle from Teen Talk on Vimeo.

(Teen Talk’s note: Roselle performed this song as her peer presentation in the Peer Support Training. The lyrics are below. Great job Roselle! To find out more about the Peer Support Training and how you can get involved, click here.)

Here I sit, alone again
All these feelings flooding through my head
They never leave me

Like the wind that’s blowing
I feel it but I never can control it, no…
Does this mean I am weak?

The way I am right now
Is not the way I wanna be
I guess it’s time to make a change somehow

Chorus

So I’m heading down a road
Some place that I know
Something familiar, hoping the day gets clearer
if I’m shadowed by the night
I will find a light, ’cause I’ll
Keep going, keep, keep going

So when I’m feeling all alone
I’ll know times are gonna be better
I plan to catch up with the world again

No matter how much it takes
Or how long it’ll be by then
I will be patient, ‘ cause it’ll pay off in the end

And the way I am right now
Is not the way I wanna be
I guess it’s time to make a change now

Chorus

I am heading down a road
Some place that I know
Something familiar, hoping the day gets clearer
if I’m struggling to fight
With all my might I’ll
Keep going, keep, keep going

**scat chorus

I’ll be heading down a road
Somehow I know I’ll always be going
I’ll keep going on

The bond between man and woman has been around since the stone age and it’s that bond that man needs and that bond has been to the point of no return but in the end love triumped and now an even stronger threat is here. 

In the end, I believe that love can triumph again even if it is not like a movie that starts with John Cusack, Ashton Kutcher, Dane Cook, Drew Barrymore, Emma Stone or Cameron Diaz. Life’s not a movie but it makes the cut. In the end all need love.

By Zeke and Kendall

(Teen Talk’s note: For more information on healthy relationships, click here)

WHY choose to fit in?

WHEN all it takes is to trust and talk.

Overall, life is your creation, so speak out and you’ll be HEARD!

By W.S., C.M. and C.M.