Keep Calm and Carry On at Home with Your Teenagers 

Hello there, my friend!

I love thinking about you from Charlotte, North Carolina to the northern suburbs of Illinois, as you read my tips and insights on life and finding balance with teenagers.

My appreciation for your support remains strong and I do hope you reach out to me even more if I can help your teens become the best versions of themselves through effective tutoring, writing, and college admission essay strategies.

I want to help your teens learn how to help themselves through all the teaching practices I learned while teaching high school English and tutoring that create confidence, better grades, and stronger futures. 

Although we can not control the news headlines and new ways of life given the influence of this pandemic on schools, sports, college admissions, and more, we can control what we think and how we feel.

We can aim to serve as leaders not only for our frustrated teens but for ourselves during this uncertain time, “The ultimate measure of man is not where he stands in moments of comfort and convenience, but where he stands at times of challenge and controversy,” spoken by Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.  

We all can agree, as we approach May of 2020, this time of celebration of spring, is rife of challenge and controversy. 

How do we take greater control of our minds right now so that we feel better and help our teenagers feel better? 

  1. Acknowledge the reality of our situation. 
  2. Gain an awareness of our thoughts. 
  3. Create space to shift our thoughts to more positive ways of being.

When our circumstances create insecurity, we have an opportunity to take back the power of our thinking and actually improve our lives at home.

By examining our thoughts, by taking a step back from our emotion and creating space for negative emotion to breathe, instead of speaking and acting right away, we can begin to take a deep dive into being the boss of our minds so that we and our teens can move through these times of uncertainty renewed, refreshed and stronger on the other side.

Here is an example of how you can apply the methodology above to help you and your teenagers feel better during this time of uncertainty. 

  1. Schools are only online right now. (This is a fact, this is our circumstance)
  2. This is annoying or online school causes my teen to be distracted. (This is our thought, this is not a fact. How does it feel to let our thoughts settle on “annoying”?). 
  3. Change to, “Although this can be difficult, and although my teen can get distracted, we can better manage our time and stop complaining”). Recognize the improvement in how we feel once we shift our thoughts! 

We can calm down and turn this time in to productive time by relaxing and reset our minds to who we want to be during this historic experience where our life as we know it has flipped over and come to a screeching stop.

Amy and family

My family and I last fall apple picking!

If being productive means that your freshman, sophomore, or junior in high school wants to to expand their critical thinking, reading, or writing skills than check out last week’s blog post about

Times of Uncertainty: Steps to Start College Applications

If you know you want your teen to be a part of my summer college essay writing program, than please CLICK HERE to sign up and secure your teen’s spot. 

With warm thoughts and a kind heart, stay safe and remember to look UP!

Sincerely,

Amy ♥

P.S. Remember to check back later in the week so that you can glean a long list of fun, engaging books for your teen! I’m excited to interview Pam Strom, of New Trier High School and listen to her fantastic book recommendations for your teens! Improve reading and critical thinking!  

 

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