There is no shortage of books, articles, and academic research papers describing teenage life and behavior in the United States. Rather than add more adult voices to the mountain of analysis and opinion, we decided to ask teens to tell us a bit about themselves. With assistance from some national educational organizations, we sent out an invitation for students to submit essays—written and video—about such topics as their schools, religious practices, hobbies, social lives, temptations, work experiences, and plans for the future. We promised a small prize for the best submission in both categories.

In the video category, we gave the prize to David E. Currie, 17, a student at the Baltimore School for the Arts in Maryland for his production of Skating is Art. You can view the video on the Internet at
www.usinfo.state.gov/journals/itsv/0705/ijse/skating.htm. Among the many excellent written essays, we selected the one drafted by Ian McEuen of Walt Whitman High School in Bethesda, Maryland, as the best. You can read it in its entirety on the next page. It is followed by abridged excerpts from numerous other essays that were submitted as well as from some interviews of students conducted by our contributing editors. Represented are high school students from Montana to Florida, from California to New York, and places in between. Most of them are planning to attend college, but a few have chosen different paths for their lives. You can read of their passion for music, commitment to volunteer activities, dedication to sports, and excitement over their plans for the future. Of course, there is no way to represent all the views, opinions, and experiences of U.S. teenagers; nevertheless, we hope the comments on the pages that follow will reveal some insights into what they think, how they spend their time, and the dreams they have for the future.

• I Sing the Body Electric
• Different Schools
• Cross-Cultural Understanding
• Future Plans
• Work Experiences
• Influence of Religion
• Avoiding Temptations
• Volunteering
• Music
• Sports