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“So, what are you planning on doing when you’re older?” is by far the most frequently asked question of teenagers today, reigniting the panic based around colleges, universities and careers. What should I do? Do I need to apply to colleges? How can I improve my grades? These are only a few questions which we ask ourselves when thinking of career paths. If you know what grades you want, where you want to go and what you want to do when you’re older then you’re already halfway there. For the rest of us however, we’re still torn between dozens of jobs we wouldn’t mind doing, struggling to choose which one we should pick and which path we should head down. This can be daunting, stressful and difficult to do, which is where websites such as the one I’m going to talk about today, Prospects, comes into light. Prospects is an online website which can help people currently in school decide the career they could want to do when they’re older via career profiles, quizzes and real life advice from people in different career sectors. If you type ‘Prospects’ into Google, or go to ‘https://www.prospects.ac.uk’ then you can use the most useful feature of the website, the quiz, which takes into account your skills and then suggests over 400 jobs you might be interested in doing. For example, when I took mine, I was recommended a job to do with professions such as healthcare, aviation and law/politics. You might’ve already heard of Prospects because many schools and career advisors recommend the site because of how useful it is. This is the reason why I recommend it as well because even though many people know what kind of profession they want to do, many others don’t have a clue and need some kind of place to start. Speaking of careers advisors, you don’t even have to go to websites such as Prospects for help. For example, when my school introduced work experience to my year at the start of this academic year, I spoke to my schools career advisor for help. She helped me gain the confidence to contact possible places I could do my work experience, and I’m now scheduled to work with my area’s Member of Parliament. Career advisors are always welcoming and supportive when you go to speak to them, so I’d definitely recommend them if websites aren’t helping you as much as you’d like them to. Thank you so much for reading this article and I hope this has at least helped you get one step further towards the path you want to take in the future.
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Suicide can affect everyone, whether you know them personally as a friend, a friend of a friend, a part of the community or even a family member. It can make you confused - how could anyone do that to themselves? How could they do that to their family, or their friends?
A few weeks ago, I was leaving school when my mum texted me. “Don’t be surprised if the bus is late, someone’s jumped off the motorway bridge near Tesco.” I was shocked. I hoped they were okay and that they didn’t seriously injure themselves. I was hoping that it wasn’t anyone I knew. Then, later on in the evening, it came out that it was a 17 year old girl who had gone to a school nearby to mine and she’d actually died. My mum was upset, I was just shocked and the whole community pretty much just felt the same. The next day, a picture of the girl and her name was released by the police, her family paying tribute to her along with the whole community. Even though they didn’t know her, it affected everyone, especially with my town being so small. Around a week passed and I still couldn’t believe what had happened. Some people were making fun of her at school, calling her a wuss for not dealing with her mental problems that lead to her death. But when you think about it, it takes enormous courage to even overcome the fact that you want to end your own life. I went to the motorway bridge, the police tape and air ambulances gone, the cars speeding by underneath the bridge where she had jumped from, and all that was left was the lining of flowers going all the way across the bridge, messages written in Korean saying “we’ll never forget you Rachel”. Her parents had written on the railing “Wish you were still here, love Mel and John.” Even though I didn’t know her, it did affect me and the rest of the community to lose someone so young who had their whole life ahead of them. So if you or anybody else you know is going through a tough time, whether it be mental illness, home life or school life, it’s nothing to be ashamed of to look for help to treat your problems, even if you feel like there’s no way out. This can be with anyone, from your parents, friends, teachers or with someone that specialises in mental health e.g your school nurse or councillor. It’s not anything to be ashamed of, if you feel a certain way then it’s probably a good idea to talk to someone, even if it seems daunting or nerve-racking at first. RIP Rachel C. , 2002-2019  Disclaimer: all information in this article has come from trusted sources which will be listed at the end of the article. The C-word. As ‘The Coronavirus’ progresses across the globe, it has become the most talked and worried-about topic for the last two months. So, let’s start with the basics: What actually is the Coronavirus? The Coronavirus, also known scientifically as COVID-19, is a new illness which was identified in late December of 2019. It isn’t just one virus, it’s a group of viruses known as the Coronavirus family which specifically targets the respiratory area of your body like in your lungs. Where did it come from? The virus was first identified in Wuhan, China, a city with the same population as London, in a seafood market selling live animals where several tenants and shopkeepers started to become ill. There are rumours about the virus originating in snakes and bats, which were both sold at the seafood market, but this hasn’t been scientifically proven yet. What does the Coronavirus actually do? This strain of the virus specifically causes symptoms as listed:
On a more serious note, the virus can progress into illnesses much worse like pneumonia, a potentially lethal illness in the lungs. This is why it’s so important for older people to stay indoors as they are the most vulnerable to the virus. This doesn’t mean that younger people shouldn’t be worried as well, but especially older people are at risk of dying from the virus. What should I do if I have these symptoms? The British NHS advice is to stay at home from school/work (if either hasn’t already closed) for at least 7 days until the symptoms go away or progress into something worse. If the symptoms do get worse, the advice is to call 111 (this is for the UK, if you live elsewhere the advice could differ) where health professionals will advise you what to do. If you are symptomatic, it’s important to stay away from older relatives (age 70+) and especially people with underlying health conditions such as diabetes or people with bad chest’s. What can you do to stop yourself and others from getting it? The most important actions you can do to stop the spread it is:
What you SHOULDN’T do:
In conclusion… As the pandemic continues, which is the term used when a virus spreads rapidly to other countries, many countries, specifically European countries have started to close schools, bars and restaurants to stop the virus. This is because the virus can already infect someone and cannot cause symptoms, making it difficult to identify and contain it. People might be worried, but as long as you follow the advice your government is giving you, you are decreasing the likelihood of the virus infecting you and the people around you. Stay calm and stay positive! Sources used for this article: British NHS Advice - https://www.nhs.uk/conditions/coronavirus-covid-19/ WHO Summary - https://www.who.int/health-topics/coronavirus#tab=tab_1 (Photo credit: Menna, a TWE photographer) See more of her work at @mennas.photographyy Can anyone know what the future will look like?
The answer is no. It’s physically impossible for anyone to know what the future will look like, unless you have a magic crystal ball at hand. However, you can try and make a prediction and come to a justified conclusion, which is what I’m going to talk about. In the news lately, you will have heard of the rising issue of climate change. Climate Change is defined as: a long-term change in the earth's climate, especially a change due to an increase in the average atmospheric temperature’ (dictionary.com) Everyone is sick of hearing about it, wants everything to go back to normal, and for the Swedish girl, Greta Thunberg (a.k.a ‘How Dare You’ girl) to go home and to stop being so ‘annoying’ and ‘irritating’. If you want this issue to be solved and to stop being talked about, we as a society have to do whatever we can to make sure that our futures and the generations-to-come’s futures are the best they can be. So where do we start? What can you do to tackle the issue the best you can? You could:
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Teenagers With Experience is an online organisation created to provide teenagers worldwide with an online platform to share their own experiences to be able to help, inform and educate others on a variety of different topics. We aim to provide a safe space to all young people. You can contact us via email, social media or our contact form.
Please note that the content on this website is created by teenagers. While we strive to provide accurate and helpful information, it is important to remember that we are not professional experts. If you are experiencing a crisis or need professional advice, please reach out to a qualified mental health professional or a helpline. |