The same thing happened to me in high school. I eventually figured out that I'm actually mildly lactose intolerant! If I eat/drink dairy products on an empty stomach, I get really bad pains.

Try cutting milk out of your morning routine, and see if that helps.

I can help you with b)!

I worked in retail when I was in high school, and no womens' dress shoes were comfortable enough. What I started doing is wearing the Dr. Scholl's gel insoles. Those things are the best! I'd walk for 8 hours and hardly feel a thing. Plus, they massage your feet!

It's hard enough to get your parents to understand you, what with the generation gap and all. Grandparents are a whole other story. Your grandmother is just from a different generation with different values. My grandfather refused to pay for my mom's education if she decided to do science... it 'wasn't a woman's place'. So I can see where your grandmother is coming from, even if her point of view is outdated and old-fashioned.

The way I see it (and the way I live), if you're neat, clean, and presentable, you're doing just fine. No need to waste precious hours doing your hair. As for computer games, I'm a bit of a gamer myself, and the guys LOVE it!

If she starts bothering you, let her know that things have changed since her time. The boundaries that used to separate guys and girls have changed a lot! Emphasize the fact that you do care about your appearance, you are presentable, but you're just not interested in looking like everyone else. Natural beauty is not a bad thing!

If she's on your case about boys not liking you (as my parents were), let her know that it's actually really cool for a girl to be into that sort of thing now. All my guy friends love girls who play video games.

Good luck! I know it's tough, but just wait till university. Trust me, it all gets better from there for us dorky girls :D Two words for you... engineering boys!

Same thing happens to me :)

You just need a better bra. The material yours are now doesn't let your skin breathe the way it needs to, so moisture just sits there.

Look for something synthetic; cotton tends to absorb moisture rather than moving it.

How about checking out the "List of 100 words every high school graduate should know"? There are lots of neat ones there.

My favourite? Bowdlerize.

Another one that I love is Gerrymander (I don't think it's on the list, though).

Here's the link:
http://www.houghtonmifflinbooks.com/booksellers/press_release/100words/

I interviewed with them this summer, and my boyfriend worked for them, so I know a bunch about them.

Pretty much, what the company does is sell Cutco knives. You're supposed to set up your own appointments (they suggest family, because they're more likely to purchase from you), get there, and do a 1 hour appointment for which you get paid about 14 dollars. Hence the 14$ an hour they advertise.

I went to the interview, and it ended up being a 1.5 hour ordeal in which they advertised their products. Not fun. They were also very pushy when it came to me making a decision about whether or not to work for them. My boyfriend actually warned me against working for them. He worked for a whole summer, and only made about $2000. And that's pretty decent.

The catch? Try looking them up on the internet. They've had class action lawsuits against them for false information given to employees. They take advantage of students. When I was in my interview, I raised my concerns about the websites I'd seen speaking against Vector. They told me exactly what the websites said they'd say... that it was only disgruntled ex-employees who hadn't done the job properly, and hence hadn't made any money.

They also make you either put down a deposit, or buy their starter kit, which costs about 130$.

My suggestion; find reliable work elsewhere. This company is one big scam.

I'm 5'7", and my boyfriend is 6'3", so I can identify.

What you have to do is, rather than trying to bob up and down, rock back and forth. I like to lean my elbows up near his head, and get my leverage that way.

Hope that helps a bit!

-- To answer your question, it wasn't so much as I got older, because I'm only 19 (that's the legal drinking age here) and I've only been drinking for just under a year. It's not so much about age, it's more about trying it a few times, finding a kind that you like, and getting used to the taste and feeling you get from it.

There seem to be a lot of negative emotions regarding alcohol!

I personally enjoy some alcohol. I found that beer and wine are acquired tastes, so although I didn't like them at first, I do now, because I both enjoy the taste, and like many other drugs, it makes you feel good IN MODERATION.

I do not, however, drink to get drunk. I never have more than 4 drinks at any given time. A couple beers with friends, a daiquiri on the beach... that's just fun!

When you drink to solve your problems, that is not a common reason. That is alcoholism. Just to clear that up.

I use this one, but I was told that it's not good for lightening your hair colour!

It will act on regular hair, as well as regular hair. However, don't expect it to go as light as the colour on the box, because it's more to add dimension to your hair colour, rather than bleach it (which is what you need).

Perfectly normal. I'm the same way. I had huge body image problems all throughout high school, because my doctor kept throwing my BMI in my face and telling me to lose weight. I weighed 180 lb at 5'7", but I also trained 3-4 nights a week in karate, walked twice a day, and had 4-pack abs!

Don't worry about it. A little fat is a good thing. It's more about how you look than what your BMI is.

Sex in water isn't that great. The water ruins your natural lubrication, so it's really painful. Also, the water could be forced up inside of you and cause an infection. My suggestion? Shallow water :P

The person who said it's a 'one in a million' chance should get their facts straight. It's actually a 5-8/100 chance that you'll get pregnant while using the birth control pill. That is, if you use it perfectly, which isn't usually the case. You could get sick, it might not digest properly... so it's not as effective as you may think.

There are more effective types of birth control. I personally use Depo Provera, which is the injection. You get it every 3 months, and it offers foolproof protection, because it's not like you can make mistakes. It offers a slightly smaller risk; 3/100 women using it will get pregnant in a given year. IUDs are also extremely effective; fewer than a 1/100 chance that you'll get pregnant.

I'm in sort of the same situation that you're in. Same age, long-term relationship, etc. I understand that it really sucks to use condoms, but if you use them in conjunction with other birth control methods, it's safer. I wasn't using them for a while, but had a big wake-up call when one of my friends got pregnant (she was on the Pill) and had to have an abortion.

So, until you're ready to deal with the possibility of a pregnancy, I'd suggest that you wrap up! If you really really want to have unprotected sex (as we all do sometimes) and you are on a fairly reliable birth control method, just put on a condom before he's 'ready'.

Just so you know, drinking ages don't go by cities! They go by province.

It's 18 in Alberta, Manitoba, Quebec.

It's 19 in every other province.

It's kind of complicated. I think that what people mean when they say you're too young to be in love is that you're too young to have a mature love for someone.

Sure, you can fall in love at a young age. I know I did. But now that I'm older, and in a serious relationship, I've realized that it's a different kind of love. When I fell in love before, I thought I couldn't live without him. It definitely wasn't a crush, since it was a lot stronger. But it's not the same kind of love that I have for my boyfriend now... that's more steady, a mutual acceptance of each others' faults, a total ease with each other. I know that doesn't sound exclusive to older people, but it's really hard to explain. Adult love isn't like a rush, or even just a warmth. That's definitely affection, and it's great to have, and it's okay to call it love as long as you realize it's young love.

Why do I distinguish between adult love and young love? I'm in my second year of university now. In my first year, about 95% of the couples from high school ended up breaking up by the time October rolled around (including mine). It's very common to find out that you're just not in love enough to hold out when you've got so many more options.

You mention the fact that you're growing up... and that's exactly it. You're still maturing. Teenagers are a little wonky... for the most part it takes until your late teens to really start making decisions on who you are and what you want out of life.

But don't worry! There's always the rating system, right? If they do nothing but tell you you're a dumb kid for being in love, they're wrong. Young love is a big part of growing up, and there's nothing wrong with it.

American? That's no excuse! :P But it's good to see that you're interested. To drive from Bangor, Maine, to Edmonton is about 2070 miles as the crow flies!

So, I'd probably stick to the Maritime provinces if distance is a concern. Newfoundland is a definite hidden treasure if you can make it out there. I've been all up the west coast, and it's beautiful! There's a national park there (Gros Morne) and if you're up for a big trip, at the very northernmost tip (about a 4 hour trip) you'll find L'Anse Aux Meadows, which is the site of the first Viking settlement in North America. Prince Edward Island is really famous for its red sand beaches... and Anne of Green Gables (if you've ever read the book). Nova Scotia has beautiful scenery (you can drive along the Cabot Trail, which is a scenic road). Then there's also New Brunswick.

If you're up for a bit more of a trip, there's always Quebec. Montreal is a really neat city. Lots of history, and great nightlife! Also, if you're 18, that's the drinking age there :P

Further west is Ontario (where I'm from). I live in Toronto, the biggest city in Canada. There's the CN Tower (was once the tallest free-standing building in the world), Canada's Wonderland (amusement park), the Royal Ontario Museum, the Art Gallery of Ontario. Toronto is very multicultural. If you can make it during Caribana, that's really cool!

I'd skip the prairie provinces if I were you. Other than the West Edmonton Mall, there's not much to see out there other than farms, farms, and more farms.

I'm working in B.C. right now. Amazing province. If you're into skiing, snowboarding, hiking, or mountain biking, the mountains are great! There's Vancouver, which is a great city... it's actually a great place to go celeb-watching, since it's known as "Hollywood North". However, it's quite a trip out here... I had a 5 hour flight from Ontario.

Well, without knowing exactly where you're going, it's a little tough to suggest things. But I hope I gave you a decent idea as to what there is to see.

By the way, Maine is one of my favourite states! My family camped at Acadia National Park for years.

You've got to be more specific as to where exactly you're going, and how long your trip is. Canada is a big country!

Let me know, and then I can help, because I've been to nearly all of the provinces.

I weighed about 225 pounds at the beginning of the summer. I went away to work, and now I weigh 205! So, in a month, I've lost 20 pounds. I'm hoping to lose 45 by the end of the summer... which, based on my results so far seems pretty feasible.

Weight loss is a lot faster on heavier people like you and me.

Just so you know, it doesn't take working out all the time... just stay moderately active, and eat less calories than you need. That's all I've done!

It does make a big difference. The minute I see a response typed in all capitals, with no capitalization, or with serious spelling errors, I discount the advice being given, because I assume that it is from 'just some dumb teenager', who won't understand my issues. I know, sounds stupid, because I'm still a teenager myself (19).

It might not have been right to rate you down if your advice was good... but some of us find it harder to read typing that isn't properly punctuated, myself included.

I know that being a teenager sucks, and that you think you hate your parents, but unless it's an abusive case, I would say to think twice about emancipating yourself, as a person who has been financially independent since the age of 17, and as a person who considered emancipation but after logical thought decided against it.

Where are you going to live? You'll have to find an apartment. Those can be pretty expensive... about 500$ a month.

Food is pretty pricy too... add another 100$ a month.

So, now you need to come up with 600$ a month. Time to get a job! Thing is, you're not educated, so the best you'll get is minimum wage (or slightly above). You're still in high school, so it'll have to be either part time (20 hours a week) or full time after school (40 hours). Minimum wage in Ontario (all these calculations are in CDN$) is pretty generous at 7.50$ per hour for a person under the age of 18. So, if you're working part time, the best you're looking at is 600$ a month. Not enough. Guess you'll have to get a full-time job. There's 1200$ a month that you'll have to live on. Not too shabby. Only you'll be working from 4-midnight, so you won't really have a chance to enjoy that new-found wealth.

That extra cash will come in handy. You've got to save for college (if you plan on going), don't you? And you'll need furniture for your apartment. Doesn't leave much room for entertainment.

Now, contrast this life with the one you're living with your parents. Sure, they might be jerks sometimes, but I know I was certainly no bundle of joy when I was a teenager. Full-time work, worrying about the rent and utilities bills... that's no life for a kid.

All I'm saying is to be sure that this is what you want, because it's going to be a whole heck of a lot harder than dealing with arguing and your parents reading your MSN conversations!

Doing nothing but drinking water will harm your body. It also likely won't have the result that you hope it will...

Rather than using up your fat deposits, you'll start to use the glycogen stored in your muscles, leading to muscle atrophy. So you'll lose all the great muscle tone that you've built up.

Also, when you do start to eat again, your body will be in survival mode. It will store as much of the caloric intake of your food as fat as is possible... so you'll actually have larger fat deposits after you stop.

More important information... you could kill yourself if you somehow manage to reach your goal. Most people have enough fat deposits to carry them for 4-6 weeks. Then they've got maybe another couple of weeks, during which essential proteins are consumed, leading to organ damage.

My suggestion; eat something. I'm losing massive amounts of weight this summer, just by eating less (like 1200 calories) and working out. The best weight loss is healthy weight loss, because it's the easiest to maintain.

If you do insist upon doing the fast, talk to your doctor first. This is a big decision that should only be carried out with the supervision of a medical professional.

I dye my hair that colour, and I've found that what I like is Natural Instincts. It's a semi-permanent, so it fades with time. For me, it takes a month or two to wash out. Also, it makes my hair feel really healthy.

What's good about it? If you don't like the colour, it'll fade soon. Also, it doesn't leave you with funny-looking roots, since it fades very naturally.

I'm a total amateur at this, so if I can do it, anyone can!

My Personal Forum

My name is Amanda and I'm 26 years old. I'm currently studying electrical engineering. Armed with a fairly odd sense of humour and a sunny outlook on life, I'll take on just about anything. I'm also cussedly stubborn, which has its ups and downs. Things get tough sometimes, and I've never been one to run from it.

In my last 8 years with Advicenators, I've gone from honours student to failing out of university (and getting back on top again!), from single to married, from tenant to homeowner.

Until lately, I have been struggling with a diagnosis of bipolar disorder and OCD, which had basically ruined my life and taken just about everything from me. I'm thankful every day for every experience I've had because of this ordeal, because it's helped to make me who I am today. Things like that really make you appreciate what you do have. Now that I'm back in work and school and starting to become myself again, I couldn't be happier. I credit Advicenators with saving my life back when I was a teenager, which is a big part of why I'm still here.

I won't necessarily give you the answers you want to hear, but I'll always be honest and do my best to help.

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