Finally, some articles!

I'm the Orlando Teen Relationships Examiner at Examiner.com, and I've been having a hard time getting a steady stream of articles going, so I set some time aside today and wrote five. I'm trying to promote them a little, so even though I don't think many people are reading this right now, I'll give it a try.

Please note that I usually publish nonfiction under a different name, but I promise it's me!

My articles

I'm especially proud of the one titled "Building and maintaining your self esteem while dating". I think it's something a lot of teens could benefit from reading. I see so many young girls and guys complaining that their partners are constantly calling, texting, and checking up on them. They don't have any independence or life outside of the relationship, and I find that troubling.

I'll be honest: I attribute some of the recent changes in attitude in young relationships to the Twilight books. I'm of the opinion that Edward is an abusive stalker and Bella has no hopes or dreams except to become a vampire and get married.

Don't get me wrong, I think this would be great if the fictional teens realized the truth eventually and tried to work toward a healthy relationship. And I'm not going to go trying to get the books banned, because at the end of the day it's just a story. But I know hundreds of kids, older teens, and even adults have little guidance aside from these books, and when you're growing up the temptation to allow someone else to define your identity is strong. I know, I was there recently. Strictly speaking, I'm still there.

I don't know if I'm that great at relating to teens and communicating my point, but I'll be happy if just one person rethinks an unhealthy relationship because of this article.