FARIBAULT DAILY NEWS
Speaker urges students to make good decisions
By Pauline Schreiber/Staff Writer
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| John Crudele, author of “Making Sense of Adolescence: How to Parent From the Heart,” “Teen Power,” and “PreTeen Power & Teen EmPower,” speaks to Faribault Junior High School students Wednesday as part of the STOPS Awareness Week. (Christian Paolucci/Daily News) |
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FARIBAULT — Surviving adolescence is a challenge for each new generation.
John Crudele attempted to help Faribault Junior High School students make sense of such a confusing time in their lives when bodily changes are paramount and adults “just don’t seem to understand things.”
The expert on youth and family issues presented programs to each grade level at the school Wednesday. His presentations were part of the junior high school’s Awareness Week. Organized by the junior high Students Together Offering Peer Support (STOPS) group, activities during the week are intended to encourage students to make positive choices in life and stay away from cigarettes, alcohol and other drugs.
“Everyone can get through anything if they reach out for help,” Crudele told students.
He speaks from experience. His father committed suicide when he was a 10th grader.
“Tears are like gas. If you hold them in, you hurt. Let them out. Find someone to listen and share your feelings,” Crudele said.
The author of “Making Sense of Adolescence: How to Parent From the Heart,” “Teen Power,” and “PreTeen Power & Teen EmPower,” Crudele’s books offer advice to teens and their parents and teachers.
“There are no winners or losers in life. There are choosers,” Crudele told the students.
"Choosing not to use tobacco, alcohol and other drugs shows respect for yourself," Crudele said. Too often younger teens accept an alcoholic drink or drugs from older peers because they crave acceptance.
“How far can we go without being caught? That is the thought of many adults as well as young people in our society today,” Crudele said. Instead, he suggested students choose to respect themselves by turning away from negative behavior.
"Young people often turn to drugs and alcohol to deaden emotional pain," he said. Instead, Crudele told his young audience to find someone they trust to talk about what is bothering them.
“High school students often put up walls to keep people out. Mature people take down walls and share their problems and pain,” he said.
“Concentrate on what you do have, rather than what you don’t have. Instead of feeling bad by not belonging to a particular peer group, be thankful for the friends who love you for who you are,” Crudele added.
“And don’t take yourself for granted. Too often kids believe they can change their habits later and use drugs and alcohol when they are young. That baggage, however, goes with you for the rest of your life,” he said.
“Each one of you is special. Value yourself,” he said. “Make choices that are in your best interest.”
Besides his presentations at the junior high school, Crudele spoke Tuesday night at First English Lutheran Church to parents and their preteen and teen children.
The junior and senior high STOPS groups plan a Community Awareness Day Saturday at the Faribo West Mall to encourage adults to help young people choose positive behaviors.
