Free Teens Kick Off 2010

My Experience as a “Free Teen”

My experience as a Free Teens member has helped me by teaching me this year. It has helped me by teaching me the right way to join life.  I learn that a teen like myself should not be having sex of any kind.  I also learned that I should be abstinent until I am married to that special one. The lessons taught by my club leaders really helped me from making the wrong decisions. Free Teens is bringing me up the right path.  I think the Free Teens club here at P.S.13 is great. I have learned a lot.  Next year, I will be happy to rejoin. I think other teens should join. It will be a rewarding experience.
Dominique Doughty

As a Free Teen, I learned that boys and girls can get into big trouble if they have sex at an early age.  They can cause their parents headaches and heartaches.  I learned that if you have sex you can catch diseases that cannot be cured.  Some diseases can harm you for life.  You can get a girl pregnant and you wont be able to achieve your dreams, she will not be able to achieve her dreams. The most important thing is don’t have sex until you are married to the pers on you really love.
Jan Carlos Zovilla

I learned from my Free Teens experience that being abstinent as a teen is important. Positive relationships and setting goals, and having high values are also important. Family relationships are needed in the home.  Family members should share time with one another and communicate with each other. I learned that friendship is very important, because everyone needs someone to talk to as a friend.
Briante Wilson

During my Free Teens Experience, I’ve learned that having sex is not the right thing for a young teen.  Sex at an early age can ruin your chances of achieving your goals in life.  Once you have sex, I learned that you lose your virginity.  Your body will never be the same.  You are also ruining your life by taking the chance of getting a disease that can harm you for a lifetime, like STD or AIDS. If you get pregnant, have a baby, the baby could be deformed or have a disease or illness. When you are a teen, and you go out and get pregnant, your parents will end-up raising the baby and raising you too since you are just a teen yourself. That will make your parents disappointed in you.
Shaidah Ehehois

Free Teens has accomplished a lot for me.  I have learned to be a more positive thinking person.& nbsp; I treat people with respect, and I enjoy being around people more.  I also see myself as being more of a lady, a role model for others.
As I continue to look forward, I will be able to influence others to join Free Teens.
Alexandria Francis

As a Free Teens member, I learned about the adolescent developing female body changes as you grow older.  Even though the body changes you have to take control of your body and make positive decisions so you won’t regret it later.  Talk to your parents or guardians or someone you trust to help you make the right decisions, because sometimes you can get confused.
Abigail Hamilton

As a Free Teens member, I have learned the do’s and don’t about dating for teens.  Teens should not date at an early age.  They should talk to parents about dating first.  Parents may suggest taking you and your friends out to a movie and picking you up at a certain time.  It is good to go out on a date with other people and have fun, like skating, and bowling.  Teenagers should not get serious when dating.  They should have fun and get to know each other.
Delssie Grier

A Free Teens member, I have experienced a rewarding feeling.  Since I joined Free Teens, I have learned to respect myself and others.  I have learned that it’s okay to have friends an be around people that have different goals as long as you stay focused on your own goals and try to accomplish your goals in life.
Tavia Gomes

As a Free Teens member, I’ve learned that losing your virginity at an early age is not worth the shame, embarrassment, and pain it will cause.  There are so many consequences that I could face.  I might get pregnant or even catch an STD that will harm me for life.  I could get AIDS from someone.  AIDS is a deadly disease.  I learned that my body is sacred.  I should practice safe sex, which is no sex till marriage.  Being abstinent is something to be proud of.  Love yourself, love your body.  Stay sex free.  Be abstinent until you are married to that special someone who has the same values in life that you have.
Takero Darneel

My experience as a Free Teen has been rewarding and exciting.  I have learned a lot about life skills and personal relationships as people grow up.  One of the important things that I have learned from attending Free Teens Club is that a positive, honest attitude is important.  I learned to be true to myself and abstain from having sex.  Sex can wait until marriage because if you have sex before marriage, you will not be able to achieve your goals in life.
Zarea Carter

As a Free Teens member I have learned that teens should abstain from sex until you are married to that special one you are willing to stay with the rest of your life. It is ok to have friends hanging out but no sex, no drugs or alcohol.  Stay around positive people, stay in school and have dreams that you can accomplish.
Jose Colon

I enjoyed my Free Teens experience this year.  I attended many meetings and learned that relationships and values are important.  As a teen, I should share my values and respect others.  Relationship intelligence is making good decisions at home with the family and making positive decisions at school by achieving your goals and being successful in life.
You should not risk your life by being pressured, having sex, getting pregnant at an early age and putting your life on hold, possibly forever.
Valerie Perra

My experience as a Free Teens member has been rewarding and exciting.  I have learned a lot about life skills and relationships as people grow up.  One of the important things that I have learned from attending my club is that a positive, honest attitude is important and don’t let others influence you to do something you don’t want to do. Another thing I’ve learned is that it is ok to have friends of both sex, but don’t let them influence you to do something wrong, or out of character. Since I have joined Free Teens, I interact with other students better.  I am able to make good decisions on my own. Further more I have learned I am able to volunteer and support my friends with good advice when they are feeling down and need help. Above all, my club leaders are always there when we need advice or help with personal things, matters our parents don’t seem to understand at times. I feel comfortable talking and sharing problems with my club leaders.
Daysha M. Burney

My experience as a Free Teen has been very exciting.  I had an awesome time when I attended the kick-off in October, which was interesting and exciting.  I had a lot of fun and I learned a lot from the workshops, which I particularly liked best.  I played a role in a dramatic play, which allowed me to interact with other students, and was a very rewarding experience. I had the opportunity to meet lots of different people. Overall I enjoyed myself.  We played games and danced to music.
Stephanie Acevedo

I had a great experience with Free Teens when we attended Lincoln High School in Jersey City . The kick-off was very exciting. I met a lot of friends, we played games, attended workshops and I really enjoyed myself. This experience gave me the opportunity to meet other people, as well as share cultures and values. Most of all, I realized that even though we were from different cities, backgrounds, and cultures, we all had similar goals.
Zahir Hebron

As a Free Teens Club Member, I learned that having a positive attitude and a positive relationship with others makes you feel happy. I also learned to practice safe sex, which is no sex until you are married to the right person.  Someone who loves you for you and not for what you have. If the person really loves you, they will wait until you have accomplished your goals and achieved your dreams in life.
Khadira Taylor

I had a great time this year in the Free Teens Club.  I learned that having a positive attitude is better than being negative.  When I have a positive attitude I do my class work, do better on tests and I have a lot of friends. A lot of people say nice things about me. One of the most important things that we talked about is teen pregnancy. Some teens get pregnant at an early age because they don’t listen to their parents. They are easy to be fooled.  When that happens, their life is cut short because they lose their virginity. At that point, they will never reach thei r goal or their dreams will be ruined.  So if teens want to be successful in life, they should not play in sex roles or get involved in doing drugs.
Say No to Drugs/Safe Sex is No Sex.
Kassandra Geronimo

6 Married Couples Honored at “Love for a Lifetime” Valentine’s Breakfast

On Saturday, February 14, 2009, Free Teens of Paterson celebrated its first annual “Love for a Lifetime” event, at the Brownstone, with about 80 guests gathered to  honor 6 married couples who had been married from one to four decades! Bishop- Elect Willie McClain and Pastor Mary McClain of the True Vine Fellowship, Mr. and Mrs. Willis and Sandra  Huggins, Mr. and Mrs. Joaquim and Tanisha Thomas, Mr. and Mrs. Earl and Dana Cureton, Rev. Arthur and Mrs. Sandra Bryant, and Mr. and Mrs. David and Juanita Wilson. Honorees varied from young couples of 11 married years, to the older and wiser couples, married 42 years or more, and they all had great stories to share. Free Teens students also interviewed the couples before the event to get to know them, and some of their highs and lows before they decided who would be honored at the event.

Bishop Elect Willie McClain and his wife Pastor Mary McClain spoke about the value of marriage, and why marriage is important to a healthy lifestyle and future. Honored couples also competed in games such as We Are One, a game to see how many answers to simple questions were the same; How Well Do You Know Me?, where couples had to guess each other’s response to different questions, as well as remember important dates, places and names; and Sing To Me, where, just as the name states, each spouse had to gather the courage to sing to each other, as romantically as possible, the first song that came to mind. With the audience’s cheers as judgment, winning couples received gift baskets containing candles, gift certificates to restaurants, chocolates, sparkling cider, and other sweet treats.

Several Free Teens students performed for the couples and other guests, including a flag performance by Shandora Belton, Miss Free Teens 2005, a skit by Nefertiti Chestnut and Dante Robinson, and a song written by Dante Robinson, dedicated and performed for his mother! To close the morning, the couples, and a few members of the Paterson Community and Free Teens Staff took a moment to talk about what marriage meant to them.

Nicole Patterson
Seminary Baptist Free Teens Club
Paterson, NJ

I chose to abstain from sex until marriage for several reasons:
1st. There are a lot of sexual transmitted diseases (for example HIV/AIDS, HPV, Herpes and so on), in the world today.
2nd. I have respect for myself; therefore I am willing to wait.
3rd. I’m just not ready yet and I’m not going to be pressed into doing something I don’t want to do.

 In 5 years I will be in college pursuing my dream of becoming an entrepreneur.  I’m very talented, funny, gifted and smart. Anything I put my mind to do I feel I can accomplish. So I think abstaining is good for me right now.

I guess the reason I think this way is because, I feel that my mind and body is my temple and it should always be kept sacred. I learned these things in church, being with my family, and attending my Free Teens meetings. And even though there are a lot of temptations in the world, where I live, and even in my school. I am still strong and faithful to what I believe, and that is to stay abstinent until marriage.