Emotions
Stress: Ways to handle it

Sometimes there's a lot of pressure growing up. Dana,Katti, Jim and Kemba have figured out ways to get through tough times.

DANA: I deal with stress, like sometimes I’ll talk to my best friend, my cousin LaCardia. I’ll just really try to talk it out or write it down. I can understand when a person have problems and they want to drink, but I think it would be better for them to find another way to deal with their problems because its like, It’s still gonna be there in reality you’re really not escaping from it, you’re just adding to your problems.

KATTI: It's so important to have good friends. It's not the amount of friends I have. What's important is that you can really talk to someone, and they can really be there for you.

JIM: Communication is huge, especially between a parent and a kid. I found that's why I probably didn't go to like, drugs and drinking. Because I had my parents to go to. They helped me. They talked to me. They helped clear my mind. I didn't have to keep it inside. I just talked with them, and it made me feel good.

KEMBA: My spirituality plays a very big role in my life. My dad is one of my biggest role models. He's the youth pastor at my church, and he gives me a strong basis: 'Rely on God and everything will be OK.' I get a sense of community from people at church. I can go to them whenever I want, or I can just have fun with them. And having the connections in the church, having those mentors, made a lot of difference when my mother died from breast cancer when I was 13. That support I got was really important to me.

KATTI: Sports, your team, it's a family, the same with groups like drama. It can be band, math club, science club, it doesn't matter. You have that bond with those people. You need that to grow and to be healthy inside and out.