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I figure that I could use this blog to pursue two different ventures which I currently hold quite dear to me. One being half my journalism grade-which I suppose will bring down my striving-to-be-a-4.8-but-not-quite G.P.A. anyway and the other is to provide a comforting, understanding voice for those many teenage girls across the country struggling with emotional insecurities and pressures brought on by an unforgiving society. I feel so passionately about such a topic because I happen to be one of those girls caught up in the impossibly expectant and irrational nature of modern America.

I know it is not entirely fair for me to hold my high school accountable for the psychological anguish that has plagued me for the past, oh, three years or so. But I cannot help but recognize the innumerable triggers present throughout my history with Clark. I can only assume they can be found in many other high schools throughout the nation and that is enough for me to be concerned for the well-being of thousands of other teens like myself.

Clark, like at least some other high schools I'm sure, flaunts a rather impressive population of National Merit/AP scholar qualifying, straight A earning, overly over-achieving students. And it flaunts them with the upmost pride and encouragement-along with a hefty burden of ever higher expectations. This, in turn, has created an environment of constant competition between already accomplished students to exceed that level of expectation and stand out as "hard-working" or "talented".

The pressure builds to be the best in everything: academics, SATs, sports, and of course looks for many teen girls. This, coupled with outside pressures from our modern, narrow-minded society for women to look and act in specific ways, puts extreme stress on high school as well as college age girls. No one can be perfect but anyone can desperately try to be.

The pressure to balance being, in almost all aspects, perfect can take a toll on any young woman's quality of life and can become a consuming reality for so many like it had become for me. Fortunately, it has now turned into inspiration for me to reach out to others at risk and perhaps a new innovative way to rebel against society's most cherished, distinctive characteristic: judgment.