This week's episode, led by 15-year-old TTL contributor, Lydia, is about gun violence in U.S. schools and gun control. Teens based in the U.S. talk about their experiences with lock downs, lock down drills, and what they think needs to change in order to make our schools safer.

Check out March for Our lives to see how you can join a movement to make our schools safer. https://marchforourlives.org/

Summer break is wrapping up in the US and college application season is on the horizon for many high school seniors. This time can bring about immense pressure, stress, and self-doubt. It can also be very exciting. This episode documents the emotional dimensions of the application process for two college-bound TTL participants as they reflect on this past year.

Join This Teenage Life participants for our first creative workshops in partnership with Culture Therapy! If you have ever wanted to learn how to make comics, write calligraphy, or meet and hang out with our team, please fill out this interest form.

In this episode, you will get to know our first workshop leaders, Kashika and Cloe, and learn about their experiences with their respective art forms, how creating has helped them, and why you should join us for their workshops!

Birthdays can be a special time to celebrate the love and joy that comes with being alive. They can also be kind of...weird. Between planning parties, finding the perfect gift, navigating social media posts, being the center of attention, and a general expectation that it needs to be the best day ever, birthdays can often lead to stress or disappointment.

In this episode, we hear from the teens about their experiences with memorable birthdays, party planning, gift-giving, and more. We hope this episode normalizes all the feelings, good and bad, that come with birthdays.

For several of us at TTL, games like Minecraft and Roblox offer expansive digital universes in which we can make our own worlds and find other people with shared interests.

In this episode, we hear from TTL participants along with members of the ExperienceCraft community, who use Minecraft as way to connect in the face of grief. Check out ExperienceCraft and and Connected Camps if you're looking for awesome ways to connect with teens interested in digital worlds and gaming!

For many young people, it can be hard to avoid the gossip, drama, and rumors that pass through the halls at school. While engaging in these behaviors can sometimes bring excitement, drama often leads to misunderstandings, hurt, and feelings of isolation. In this episode the teens discuss their thoughts on gossip, stories about rumors they have dealt with, and how to avoid school drama.

High school seniors are about to graduate, and many will head to college.

Starting college can come with a whole set of uknowns and distorted expectations of how the transition "should" go. In this episode, This Teenage Life contributor, Ummul, shares voice recordings of herself and her frieends from their freshman year. They share about their experiences navigating the transition to their new academic, residential, and social lives.