PLEASE LOOK A LITTLE DEEPER

Please don't judge me by my face,

By my religion or my race.

Please don't laugh at what I wear,

Or how I look or do my hair.

Please look a little deeper -

Way down deep inside,

And although you may not see it,

I have a lot to hide.

Behind my clothes, the secrets lie,

Behind my smile, I softly cry.

Please look a little deeper,

And maybe you will see

The lonely little girl

That lives inside of me.

Please listen carefully to her -

She'll show that she's insecure.

Please try to be a friend to her

And show her that you care.

Please just get to know her

And maybe you will see

That if you just look deep enough,

You'll find the real me.

Friendship

We think one of the greatest things about being a teenager is the sharing, the closeness and the great times that you have with your friends. Friends are a big and very important part of your life. They are the first ones you run to with good news and definitely the first ones you call with bad news. They are the ones you spend most of your time with and the ones with whom you share your hopes and dreams.

Friends, or the lack of them, are also a source of great pain and suffering. Nothing hurts worse than the betrayal or the loss of a friend. We all have felt left out by a group of friends or not accepted by the "popular" group. And we all have been the ones to leave out others - although we forget that at the time, and believe ourselves when we say, "I would never do that to anyone."

We all have been guilty of hurting others as deeply as we've been hurt. It is just part of the process of learning how to relate to others...

TO LOVE YOURSELF...

It is wonderful to find someone you like or even love, but it is much more important to love yourself.

You may find great happiness in finding a friend who is a good and loyal person, but more happiness can be found in knowing that these things are true of you. It is great to meet people, who, just by being who they are, earn our love, appreciation, and respect; but it is greater to know that we deserve these things from the people in our lives.

Remember that the love, appreciation and respect that you feel for another are your feelings. They originate inside of you, and therefore, they belong to you. Remember that people come and go, and, of all the people in your life, you are the one who is there to stay. You are the one who can choose to love yourself, choose to respect yourself, and promise with all your heart and soul that you will never leave you...