How did we make it out alive?

Amy here:
It's starting to amaze me that with each day I work with teenagers, the more I absorb what their mental state is like on a daily basis. It's a total emotional rollercoaster, which I of course remember (as does my mom), but wow. I wish we could all have a little compassion for those tormented by teendom because just working around them is starting to emotionally exhaust me and I'm supposed to be mature enough to handle complex emotions. There are these absolutely horrible emotional lows, then things will level out, then someone will do something hilarious and be in stitches, then someone cries, then laughs, then they get a phone call and freak out, they hold 10-minute grudges, fight and make up at the same time, and we're dealing with 60 of them going through all of this at once. Some students were affected by a suicide today, the girls are swooning over the boys basketball camp on campus, two ladies were caught smoking (after talking to some of them about this, most of them have tried smoking by age 12), quite a few are failing their classes, some are doing great in class and encouraging their peers, but everyone was able to share in the pure, unadulterated joy of Napolean Dynomite tonight (I'm so surprised they found it funny). In an essay my students have to write about their personal utopia, almost all of them said that their utopia would be without alcohol or tobacco. They all wanted peace and equal rights too.

Eros...

To follow along with what Amy said...teenagers are little punks. While she was experiencing the highs and lows, I caught one student with a lighter. Let me replay our conversation after it fell out of his pocket...
Eros: Why do you have a lighter?
Student: Because I used to smoke.
Eros: Why do you have a lighter?
Student: Because I wanted to make this a smoke and drug free experience.
Eros: Why do you have a lighter?
Student: Because it was in my coat pocket.
Eros: Why do you have a lighter in you pocket now?
Student: Because I didn't have anywhere else to put it.

I also camped outside the door of one of the guys because I thought he was in there with his girlfriend (a strict no-no) and was waiting for the door to open. Then I saw them come up the stairs together. I had a girl spill water on a boy and when I told her to clean it up, she walked away so I had to yell at her to come back and clean it up.

But tomorrow is a new day I guess.