The website "Teen Health and Wellness," has been dedicated to the emotional and mental needs and problems of teenagers in America. Teens across the nation have been submitting stories of events that affected them, changed their own lives, or the lives of someone they know. Of the many submitted, not all are accepted and published. These stories have touched many people's hearts, and have changed the lives of readers. Within each story is a message that we must learn from, take in.

Now, more than 6 Shelton students are having some of their own personal stories published on the website in November. Some of the selected authors are seniors Jack Conger, Mariah Dobson, Nick LaMastra, Monica Dechow, and juniors Christina Rose, and Rebecca Bongiorno. Their essays ranged from divorce to grief, adoption, sports, loss, or other topics. “I wanted these students recognized for their wonderful writing ability,” says Harrison. “This was the first time for our students to enter this competition, and I am thrilled we have so many whose work was accepted.”

This is all new to Shelton and was started through the research of Kathy Fester. "Ms. Harrison asked me to keep my eye open for any writing competitions that her students could enter. The Teen Health and Wellness database is new for Shelton this year, and when I subscribe to something, I study it so I know what is out there for my teachers and students. And I saw that there is always on the homepage, a story submitted by a student about an event that changed their life. And I read some of them, I liked them, and saw they could be submitted by people. So I told Ms. Harrison “Your kids can do this, because some of them have great stories.”"

The students themselves were quite shocked, but excited nonetheless, to find out there writings were accepted. The stories ranged from heartbreaking, to inspiring. Here is an interview with some of the Shelton authors.

Ryan McDonald: Well to start off, what went through your mind when you found out you were getting published?

Jack Conger: I was very excited, and amazed that I could be published into a magazine.

Nick LaMastra: I don’t know. It was cool. I really didn’t expect to be published.

Christina Rose: I was excited

Rebecca Bongiorno: I was amazed

How does it feel now?

J.C.: It feels good, it makes me want to write more, so I can get into more magazines.

N.L.: It guess it feels kind of cool.

C.R.: I’m very happy and proud.

R.B.: Same

R.M.: Has this experience sparked an interest in writing more for this website or on your own as a hobby, or even for a career?

J.C.: It was an interest because after the tragedy, and I thought it would be fun as a hobby and get better as a writer.

N.L.: I guess I’d consider writing again to get published again, but probably not as a career.

C.R.: I guess I would like to write again for another contest, but not be a writer.

R.B.: Same

What are the titles of your articles?

J.C.: The Hardest Moment of My Life.

N.L.: Life and Basketball

C.R.: Pros and Cons of Divorce

R.B.: Adoption

R.M.: Would you give us a synopsis (summary) of the story you submitted?

J.C.: On a Friday night when I was out with my friends, my mom called and told me that my cousin was in a car accident and that her survival was uncertain. Later, my mom flew to Mobile, Alabama with my cousin’s parents. That night, I got a call from my mother, my cousin didn't make it.

N.L.: It’s kind of what basketball’s done to help me through my life's goals.

C.R. It talks about the experience of the divorce of my parents, what I went through, having divorced parents, and how I feel.

R.B. Mine is about my experience being adopted, and my experience of trying to meet my birth mom, and how that turned out.

R.M.: Why this particular event?

J.C.: Well, Ms. Harrison came up with this Teen Health and Wellness article. And there was this section called “Grief and Loss.” And when I read “Grief and Loss,” I just thought about my cousin.

N.L.: I’ve been doing it my whole life.

C.R.: Because I saw one of the articles about it on the website we were writing for, and it was true for me, so I decided I would write about it as well.

R.B. I looked on the website, and I read the stories, but I didn’t see any articles on adoption, so I figured I would do it, as I don’t have any experience with divorced parents, or the death of a close family member.

R.M.: What were your emotions when you were writing this article?

J.C.: It was really hard as there were a lot of emotional feelings. Every time I wrote something different, my heart dropped.

N.L.: My emotions were calm thinking about what I’d done.

C.R.: I guess I felt OK about it, it didn’t bother me to write about my experience.

R.B.: It brought back memories, and made me look at what happened, how it made me feel, and how it makes me feel now by looking back on it.

Is there any particular message you’re hoping that these articles will help people learn?

J.C.: If a tragedy happened to somebody else, people don’t need to put themselves down. They need to pray and keep on living. Because life is going to go on no matter what.

N.L.: Get a structure in your life, it will help you.

C.R.: Although divorce can be bad, there are some good things about it. It is horrible, but there is some good, you just have to look. And a lot of people go through it.

R.B.: Good things can come from being adopted.

R.M.: How did what happened in the story affect you? What sort of impact has it had on you?

N.L.: It just prepared me for college or life after college.

R.M.: Have you seen any of the other articles that are going to be published?

J.C.: I have not.

N.L.: The only one I’ve read was Jack’s, and it was really good.

To check out their stories for yourself, click the link:



Teen Health and Wellness

And these are not the only ones selected. Others have also been accepted, all with stories just as good. This has proven to be a highly intriguing experience for Shelton, hopefully it will continue with students coming forward with memorable stories close to the heart. As Ms. Fester said, "You don’t know a person just in everyday contact, and that everyone has something important, and an interesting life, no matter who they are."