Book Review

425 Encinal St. Santa Cruz, CA 95060 831-423-0658 kirby.org Kirby School is an independent college preparatory school for grades 6-12.

Individual attention and social and emotional well-being are vital to student success.

Our caring team is committed to ensuring your child thrives.

Now enrolling for 2022-23.

Join us at one of our upcoming in-person or virtual admission events. We offer a test-free application process and Tuition Assistance.

Visit KIRBY.ORG to learn more.

425 ENCINAL ST. | SANTA CRUZ 95060 | KIRBY.ORG

JOIN US ON THE SUNNY HILLTOP

Discover York School’s 100 acre campus in beautiful Monterey Bay, where students are encouraged to develop their many interests, enhance their acadamic confidence for college and become creative, independent thinkers. We offer transportation from Santa Cruz to York School for our students. YORK.ORG | GRADES 8-12 | MONTEREY | 831.372.7338

Secret to Building Self-Esteem in Teens

BY SUSAN TATSUI-D’ARCY

Being a teen today has many complexities that the rest of us old folks never had to maneuver. We didn’t have 18 months of social isolation where most of our interpersonal interactions were spent perusing social media posts. We didn’t have bullies who hid behind digital screens while they blasted hateful messages and photos to us for everyone to see. Most of the teens I work with today suffer from depression and devastating self-esteem issues.

Teens so desperately need to receive affirmations to feel that they’re normal. Whether it’s knowing that their favorite sweatshirt looks good on them or that they’re applying to the best colleges. I find it concerning when teens value their peers’ advice over their parents’ and even mine (I’m their college advisor!). One 16-year-old boy told me that it wasn’t until his peers gave him thumbs up, that he finally felt confident enough to share his idea publicly. While I know that teens trust their peers – especially the super popular and attractive teens, I worry that so much rides on what their peers (and others) think of them.

So how do we help our teens develop healthy perspectives and positive personal self-esteem? Projects! Brainstorming about an issue or problem, and then solving some portion of that problem by doing a project, helps teens find their voices and begin to establish who they are in this everchanging world. The process of doing a project requires research, critical thinking, problem solving, and initiative. By delving into these 4 skills, these teens learn how to navigate real-world problems. They see how their personal impact positively affects others – and that’s REAL. It’s not a fickle peer’s comment or fleeting friendship; it’s knowing that they are doing something that needs to be done – and they’re doing it themselves.

I remember when Rory Kennedy (yes, that Kennedy, the documentary film maker who is the daughter of Robert F. Kennedy) gave my youngest daughter Jaclyn an additional $10,000 scholarship (total $20,000) at the National Toyota Community Scholars event in Kentucky, Jaclyn told me that she was so proud to be recognized by such an esteemed group of judges. When I reminded her that I have been telling her how exceptional she was since she was 7, she responded: “Yeah, but you’re my mom… Of course you’re going to say that!”.

I find that teens who do individual projects (not group projects and not things that are required by teachers or clubs) because they are interested in fixing these problems or exploring these areas, become confident, interesting, and happy young adults. They put their ideas and energy into developing projects that help society (or to become successful). You can’t take away self-esteem that is grounded in real work that they accomplish on their own.

Are you getting the latest news to your inbox?

Don’t miss out on local stories, activities, and events!

Sign up now by visiting our website: GrowingUpSC.com

Valerie Mishkin Realtor®

831.238.0504 | 831.426.4100 Cal Dre# 02092111 VMishkin@BaileyProperties.com ValerieMishkin.MyHomeHQ.biz

Joaquin Cruz

My name is Joaquin Cruz, I’m 17 and currently a senior at SLVHS. I’m what feels like inches away from the end of high school which is somewhat terrifying but at least that means I’m growing. The paintings and art I do has meaning and no meaning, it really varies. While painting, sketching, testing different mediums regardless of how it looks, etc. I did my best to create somewhat of a surreal look, even though that look and mindset changed frequently. The majority of my art revolves around the themes of my ethnicity, how I see myself (portraits), how I see the political climates during the moments I paint, etc. But sometimes (which can be kind of shown with these works), I took a moment from making a meaning and just wanted to create something. Some of my inspirations or people I've looked up to for the works shown are artists like David Choe and Stanley Donwood, as well as some fashion designers such as Kerwin Frost, Jeremy Scott, and Nigo. I worked with various kinds of mediums, such as acrylic, pour acrylic, colored pencils, chalk, pastel, alcohol markers, watercolor markers, acrylic markers, sharpies, spray paint, flammable material, etc. Technique wise? I just did the good old Joaquin technique of doing whatever I assumed or thought would be a good idea at the time. I used what I could to my advantage to get whatever was in my head out. I intend to continue pushing myself to those limits and creating whatever I create, even if it looks like pure gibberish to the eyes.