This Teenage Life

This episode highlights two conversations had in the process of making "Finding Meaningful Work: Navigating Pressures Around Chosen Career Paths and Finding Joy in the Process," with Rei and Ricky, sisters who work in the environmental science and policy field and Hannah Testa, a youth activist who started a nonprofit in high school called Hannah for Change. This episode explores topics of cultivating hope in the face of the climate crisis, being empowered in finding a career path that suits you, and not letting your age define who you are or the work that you do.

As a young person, it is okay to not know what you want to do. There is a lot of pressure placed on teenagers to know what they want their careers to look like, but how does one know what they want to do, and how they want to do it?

In this episode of This Teenage Life, Stella, Jayden and Lydia explore questions around meaningful work. What does "meaningful work" mean? How does one balance financial responsibility, familial and societal pressure in chosen career paths? Is it realistic to find joy in one's work in this day and age?

Through conversations with the current teens on TTL, friends and family, and established people in her career of interest, Stella, the college student on This Teenage Life reflects on her own journey in finding a career path that feels meaningful to her.

In this re-released episode, Stella shares her experiences processing the loss of her Dad. She explores societal expectations of closure and how they diverge from her own understandings of loss and ambiguity.

Trigger warning— this episode references suicide. If you or anyone you know is struggling with this, here are some resources:

US National Suicide Prevention Hotline: 800-273-8255

Resources in India: http://www.aasra.info/helpline.html

In this re-released episode, the teens chat with Aleeza and Fonzo, the hosts of The Moth's teen podcast, Grown — here on Apple podcasts and Spotify.

They discuss their daydreams, hopes, and anxieties about growing up and becoming people they want to be.

This week, we're re-releasing an episode about a trans young man and his mom navigating his coming out and transition. Together, they demonstrate the power of love and communication between a parent and a child.

This week, we have another thrownack episode for you: All about climate and eco-anxiety. The teens discuss their grief about the climate emergency and other environmental crises. They then talk about transforming their feelings into shared action.

This week, we're re-releasing our 2022 interview with author and naturalist Sy Montgomery. Life can feel especially lonely if you think humans are the only creatures on this planet. Getting close to animals and the natural world can help us connect with ourselves and each other. On Earth Day 2022, we spoke with Montgomery about forming deep relationships with animals and how getting to know animals can change us.

Today, we're throwing it back to a Season 1 of This Teenage Life with a re-release of the episode "Parents Are People Too." As kids, it's often hard to see that parents are not just parents. They're human beings who have their own needs, emotions, styles, fragilities, crushes, etc. In this episode, we talk about moments when we began to discover that parents are, in fact, people too.

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.

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.

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

"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.

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.

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:

https://www.novelly.org/

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 learners at any stage, this course covers a wide variety of health-related topics to improve your personal health and well-being. It even offers an option to earn college credit. Visit the link to learn more: https://courses.ulc.asu.edu/introduction-to-health-and-wellness-hep-100/

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.

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 they grow up," even while also recognizing that there is no end to growing up, and that all of life is a process of growing.

Looking for a free, youth-run summer opportunity? Check out Coding the Future, a free, virtual, personalized program run by teens that helps other young people learn how to code. You can also email them at codingthefuture101@gmail.com

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 team@thisteenagelife.org.

Throwback episode on a popular topic...periods!

In this episodes, teens share stories and reflections on getting their periods for the first time, navigating the logistics and their feelings about periods, and working to destigmatize menstruation.

To hear our first episode on periods, check it out here on Spotify or Apple Podcasts.

In this episode, we reflect on the idea of self care and the many ways we take care of ourselves without expensive products and "glow ups."

We compare fancy routines and performances of self care on the internet with everyday actions we take to feel well-regulated and whole. We hope this episode brings you some joy and self-kindness during this Mental Health Month:)

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