As a teen, are you a free spender or are you someone who puts money away for college or other big purchases? What do you spend your money on? Our topic today revolves around money and how teens value and use money. Mat and Summer disagree a little about what it means to waste money... Is going to a football game with your friends wasting money? Is going to concerts wasting money? Listen to find out what the Council has to say about those questions. 

"Why is it that when  child is born, we call it the miracle of life, but then go on to accept mediacrity for our own lives" Hal Elrod - The Miracle Morning

This quote was the catalyst for our conversation on today's episode of the podcast. In this episode we share four ways that you can overcome mediocrity.

High schools start on Monday around these parts and with some of them taking 9th graders, there are going to be thousands of students who are experiencing their first year of high school. Mat and Summer sit down with Morgan and talk about how she feels about her first year of high school.

In this episode we discuss the all important PE class. What do our listeners learn in PE? We don't know. Chantel shares a little of her PE experience and we discuss the importance of physical exercise and the impact that it can have on your attitude and your learning. Referenced in this podcast is the book Spark which can be purchased here.

In today's podcast we talk about tips for surviving your senior year of high school.

We forget how many times responsibility has been a topic for our podcast. But we keep seeing people NOT beng responsible, or taking responsibility for their actions that we feel like it is worth discussing again. Some topics just need reemphasizing. 

We discuss the importance of being accountable, that consequences isn't necessarily a bad word, and how being responsible can increase your trust in yourself and the level of trust that others have for you.

What are some ways that you show responsibility as a teen? Let us know in the comments.

PS We are now on the Android podcasting app called Stitcher. Find us there to download our podcasts to your Android phone.

Are you looking for a good teen romance movie to watch as you pass time during your summer vacation? Mat and Summer discuss a list of the top ten teen movie romances. We recommend most of these movies.

Some of our listeners are in that no man's land of the last summer vacation before college starts. The one right after graduating high school. I have asked a few of the kids that I know if this summer seems different. They have all said, "no" so far... but, the article that we discuss today shares some things that you can give up after you are through with high school... and for those who are still in high school and middle school, good news, you can apply a lot of these right now if you choose to.

During our last episode we talked about a summer reading list... How can you read the most books possible during your summer break?... Learn to speed read. Today Mat gives some of the speed reading strategies that he has learned throughout the years.

Margan references some cool speed reading technology that you can access through phone apps. For more information head to this website... http://www.spritzinc.com/ Or this website http://www.spreeder.com/

What are you going to read this summer? Have you thought about it? Did you plan on watching a lot of TV? In this episode of the Teen Esteem Council Podcast we talk about favorite books that we have read or are reading. The consensus is that reading a book series is pretty great. Listen for a list of ideas of great book series that you could start reading.