In today's world, social media constantly spreads millions of fast-growing trends about what a teen should be doing to be “healthy,” a word commonly used and broadly defined. Being young, teens are more susceptible to adopting these trends and defining themselves by another person’s version of health. While some of these tips are helpful, and health is obviously the goal, we find that the version pushed on social media more often is not teen-friendly. While teens want to be healthy, they believe it is difficult to achieve because it takes too much effort and money, or requires specific knowledge or equipment that they don’t have access to.

In the Teens Leading Change Cycle, the teens of the Palms-Rancho Park Library have decided to focus on health and wellness because we feel it has become an increasingly prominent issue in our lives and affects teens of all backgrounds. This is a conversation of health in all forms: physical, mental, social, and nutritional. It is our aim to create, throughout the TLC Cycle, a welcoming, open space where health becomes more accessible to teens. Our goal is to approach it in a way that appeals to teens and targets the goals they actually want to achieve. Our library, an example of an accessible community space, will act as a perfect location for this journey of health. So far, our TLC group has worked together to brainstorm and plan events that will be most engaging for teens. One point that was repeatedly brought up throughout our meetings was the nutritional recipes we had all heard about but had yet to try, mainly because we were unsure of our ability to make them successfully. We decided to create a cookbook for teens with healthy, affordable, easy-to-make, and delicious recipes. This winter break, our teens will try out different recipes and assemble their page in the cookbook. Next, we will have a cooking workshop at the library where we will make one of the recipes from the book, present some of the other dishes, and share basic cooking tips and skills with teens in the community.

In light of the New Year, we have also begun to organize a "New Year, New Me" workshop. This helps our teens organize their goals and dreams through vision board-making, bullet journaling, and time management. Not only is this great for teens' mental health, but it is also an opportunity to come together and take advantage of the New Year with other teens, improving social health.

Another event we are excited about is starting teen yoga sessions in the library this spring (dates TBD). Our culminating event will be held after the April TLC showcase, a competition we have dubbed the "Palms Teen Olympics." We plan to hold it at Palms Park and Recreation Center, next to the library. We hope to cultivate an environment of fun games and healthy competition that encourages teamwork and physical activity using resources available at local parks and recreation facilities. These are just the beginning of our ideas, and with the wide umbrella of health, there is so much possibility. Follow us along and join us as we define health in a new light!

—Written by Madalyn Pine and Zane Herndon

Madalyn is an 11th grader, and this is her fifth year participating in Teens Leading Change. Zane is an 11th grader, and this is his third year participating in Teens Leading Change.

—Annabella 'Bella' Abrao, Young Adult Librarian, Palms - Rancho Park Branch Library.