Agenda for Hope: Connecting with Today's Teens
by Karina Galang Fernandez

Adolescents today live in a fast-paced, quickly changing, mind-spinning world. At the core of this new world is complexity, and with it come confusion and vulnerability. Adolescents then need much hope. Hope is not just about wishing for things; it includes knowing the world where they wish is a safe place. Parents want to help their children navigate through it all. But more than a sense of safety and security, parents want their children to be self-aware, self-assured, and self-propelling. Parents feel a need to support their children in a way that they might survive as well as soar. Parents best help their children by giving them hope.