Independence
This Teenage Life
In this episode of This Teenage Life, teens discuss what independence means to them: how they discover it, the challenges of balancing freedom with still being a “kid,” and how their sense of independence evolves from high school to college.
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Creating Authentic Friendships
This Teenage Life
It can be challenging to navigate between being yourself and trying to fit in. It can feel vulnerable to express enthusiasm yet nonchalence can get in the way of making true friendships. How do we create honest and authentic friendships with other people? What has worked or not worked for us in the past? In the spirit of starting off 2026 with some reflection, hope, and desire for increasing authenticity, we share this episode on friendship. Happy New Year! To share your episode ideas or just say hi, email us at team@thisteenagelife.org.
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Turning Interests into Community, Work, and Purpose
This Teenage Life
Josie Kim is a teenager, a hockey player, and great sports photographer. In high school, she learned to use a camera to engage with her love of sports in new ways that allow her to connect with people and even get paying jobs. In this episode you'll hear an interview with Josie and learn about her journey. We hope this can help more teens to think about how to engage with interests in new ways that help cultivate meaning, community, and a sense of purpose. Check out Josie's work at her Instagram: @jkimphotography17
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Feeling Stupid
This Teenage Life
"Why can't I get this?! I feel so dumb! Am I behind? Why is everyone else understanding this when I'm not?" These are common questions all of us at This Teenage Life have felt at some point, especially after taking certain tests. In this episode, we talk about situations—mostly academic—where we experience self-doubt, compare ourselves to others, or spiral about grades. We discuss how these moments feel and how we reframe these moments and feelings.
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Negative Thoughts
This Teenage Life
In this episode of This Teenage Life, the teens open up about their experiences with negative thoughts, anxiety, and stress spirals. Through conversations about their inner struggles, they share coping strategies and practices that help them move out of negative headspaces.
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Teen Authors and Publishing
This Teenage Life
In this episode of This Teenage Life, we hear from teens who have published their stories with Novelly, a platform amplifying teen voices. We hear about what it means to be a writer, and the powerful possibilities of storytelling. If you're interested in reading awesome teen authors or becoming a teen author yourself, check out Novelly at:
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Movement and Mental Health
This Teenage Life
Welcome to the first episode of Season 8 of This Teenage Life! The teens discuss their relationships with exercise: Where are the lines between healthy and unhealthy habits? How can an accountability buddy make it easier to find practices you enjoy? We also hear from Kristin Hoffner, a kinesiology professor at Arizona State University, who shares insights on the science of movement and its connection to mental health. Support for this episode comes from ASU Learning Enterprise. We invite you to explore the Online Health and Wellness Universal Learner Course. Designed for...
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Best Friendships: Ups, Downs, and More
This Teenage Life
Many of us spend a lot of time worrying, thinking about, and navigating expectations about our friendships. Wondering "How close are we really? Do we call ourselves "best friends" yet?" Do we need to have a "best friend" to have meaningful relationships, anyway? In this episode, we explore the idea of best friends, how we relate to this idea, stories about changing relationships, navigating changing relationships, and reflect on our feelings about friendships and how they affect us.
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Grappling with Life's Nonlinearity
This Teenage Life
One of the biggest pressures of getting older is the idea of having to “figure things out” by yourself. How do we navigate the pressure to “know what we’re doing” while also being flexible and open to new things? How do we process the reality that life might turn out differently from our childhood dreams? How do we process that life is less linear than we imagined? In this episode of This Teenage Life, the teens talk about the anticipation of moving from high school to college and beyond. They grapple with expectations to figure out who they are and what they want to be “when...
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Coding the Future
This Teenage Life
Looking for a free, youth-run summer opportunity? Check out , a free, virtual, personalized program run by teens that helps other young people learn how to code. You can also email them at This Teenage Life will also be running some fun and creative clubs and workshops this summer. If you're interested in learning more, email us at .
info_outlineSending our support to our friends affected by the wildfires in Los Angeles. We are here for you.