At 16, you can drive a car outside of a farm. At 21, you can legally drink alcoholic beverages. At 15, you can sit in the exit row of an airplane and assist the crew in case of an emergency.

Celebrating my birthday this weekend, I began to ponder the significance of the big 1 8. After some quick brainstorming, I gathered that turning 18 means legally being allowed to vote, to serve on a jury, to buy pornography, to be eligible for the draft, to be put in jail, and to smoke cigarettes (but not buy them).

But the biggest thing about being 18 is that I am henceforth considered an adult (at least by the law). I'm sure my parents still think of me as their little girl, however, with the passing of my 18 birthday, I am now completely responsible for accepting the consequences of my own actions. Being at the wrong place at the wrong time is less forgivable now.

All of the sudden, I am an adult and it seems like I should get my life figured out. This is when I have to start making decisions that will affect my uncertain future.

I realize that living away from my parents next year, I will be responsible for myself. I will have to make my own choices. I will have to manage little choices like how late I stay out, but also bigger choices that affect the overall direction of my life.

On my 18 birthday this past Sunday, my father gave me an insightful letter which meant a lot to me. I feel that the value of his words extends beyond me and also applies to many of my peers who are at similar points in their lives.

My dad's note reads as follows:

Eighteenth birthdays are one of life's milestones, not so much for what you do that day as for what that day represents. You are half still a kid and half a grown adult.

As you move more to the adult side, I would encourage you to keep and cherish some of the kid in you no matter how old and grown up you get . . . As Samuel Ullman said, "Youth is not a time of life it is a state of mind."

My dad also expressed that what matters is not only who you have become and what you have done, but also who you are growing into . . . and what you are capable of doing.

All the things you have and achieve are nice, but mostly I smile at the person you are . . .

I know it sometimes it might feel difficult, my dad empathized about the stress of making your own decisions and of helping others with their decisions along the way.

He advised . . . Even when you don't have an answer, have faith that you will figure it out. Trust yourself, follow your own lead, and believe in yourself . . .

As I move on into adulthood, I will remember my dad's advice and wisdom. I will cherish my youth, strive harder to be a great person than to achieve great deeds, and have faith in myself.

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The techniques of asking a date to a big dance are endless. Some of the classics include the trail of rose petals leading to a sweet note, or writing the question on the windows of a prospective date's car. But some people take it to the next level by coming up with more personal invitations.

"Decorating someone's car or room is kinda cliché, so I wanted to do something different," says Park City High School senior, Chris Proctor. Proctor recently wrote a song and put it on a CD inside multiple boxes, which he left on the doorstep of his date-to-be.

PCHS junior, Greg Method, decorated his date's car which he admitted was "not very exciting," but he got the desired response anyway.

Method also mentioned some unique ways in which his friends have asked their dates, including whipping up an elaborate breakfast. The best of his stories, however, was that of a trail of signs along the track team's usual running route that ultimately asked a certain runner to attend the upcoming dance.

Hunter Brown, a senior at PCHS, has a pretty good track record of asking girls to dances. He once filled a bedroom with gravel and huge rocks, and left a poster that read, "It would totally rock if you went to the dance with me." Don't worry, he put plastic on the floor first.

Another idea Brown put into play related to the "Casino Royal"-themed Winter Formal. He scattered a room with playing cards and wrote a poem including some James Bond-related lines. He underlined letters throughout the verse which the reader had to unscramble to spell out his name to discover who was asking her to the dance.

A senior at South Summit asked her date to a dance by making a mud pie (with chocolate pudding, Oreo crumbles, and gummy worms) in a flower pot. She left a note with the dessert saying that to find out who was asking the reader to the dance, he must find her name on the bottom. The student dumped out all the embellished pudding, only to find that the name was on the outside of the bottom of the flower pot, not the inside. He accepted the invitation despite the mess.

A sophomore at Skyline was surprised to find on her doorstep a note attached to asqueaky dog toy attached to a note instructing her to squeeze the chew toy. She followed the directions, and at the sound of the squeak, a dog dressed up as a French maid came running out to her, with an invitation to Prom tied at its neck.

Another fun idea involves duct-taping a phone book shut with a circled name inside it, icing the book like a cake, and decorating it with words saying, "Its as easy as cake to find out who is asking you to Prom!"

If you plan on asking someone to Prom, you might as well do it creatively. Depending on how you go about it, you could annoy, humiliate, or flatter your date. At least an imaginative approach shows that you are interested enough to put some effort into the endeavor.

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Most of these are old news, but cell phone usage is a new and worrisome issue. As ownership of cellular devices spreads, they become more and more a regular part of everyday life.

Everyone uses their mobile phones everywhere, so why should behind the wheel be an exception? Weren't they originally called car phones and intended for use specifically while driving between land lines?

Though cell phones were indeed invented to use while driving, many people now worry about the safety of this activity. Can teens - or anyone for that matter - handle the distraction of using a cell phone while operating a motor vehicle?

How much multi-tasking is too much? How dangerous is it to talk, hold a phone, or text while driving?

"I'll talk on my cell phone," says high school senior, Shelby Shaw, but she thinks that texting while driving is "just asking for problems." Shaw points out that you can't really concentrate on what's going on around you while you're trying to text, whereas mere talking leaves a free hand for the steering wheel and a pair of eyes for the road.

Sophomore Brianna Alcox, who is currently learning to drive, predicts that once she has her license, she will most likely use her cell phone while driving, although she admits that it is "probably dangerous" to do so. Alcox believes that cell phone usage while driving is "OK if you use a headset."

However, Alcox went on to bring up another very important point. Even if a driver's eyes are on the road, the driver's brain "can't fully concentrate" on driving if it is also partially occupied with a distant conversation.

But really, do we need to use full brain power to drive a car? Automatic cars especially, require little talent to manage after good driving habits are initially built. Simultaneous talking and driving doesn't seem such a difficult task.

Apparently, executing these two actions at once is trickier than we think. Recent Allstate Foundation statistics reveal that multitasking doubles the risk of an accident.

There are many who believe just talking, let alone texting, while driving is highly dangerous. In fact, the use of hand-held cell phones while driving has been made illegal in Australia, Brazil, Israel, Italy, Japan, Spain, and the United Kingdom.

Many of the states in the United States have considered laws banning or limiting talking on a phone while driving, but most of them have been dropped. New York and Washington, D.C., are currently among the few places in the U.S. to ban hand-held cell phone usage by drivers.

It is currently legal to use a cellular phone while driving in Utah. The Utah Highway Patrol does recommend "common sense in the use of these devices."

Drivers are urged to take safety precautions such as dialing the phone while the vehicle is not in motion, learning to operate a cell phone without looking at it, keeping calls short, not taking notes while driving. In general, the message is. Never allow a phone conversation to distract you from driving.

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A friend of mine has a philosophy that embodies this concept what this concept requires. Rosie Brennan graduated Park City High School after 2nd quarter this year in order to pursue her talent at Nordic skiing.She has been junior Olympic champion several times.

Rosie has a motto for which she is famous among her friends. When someone is complaining, her response is, "Suck it up!"

This incredible athlete knows what it takes to work through sore muscles, but her wisdom also pertains to much more than competitive athletics. While "suck it up" may seem rather blunt, this saying applies to most life situations. There are a lot of things that are out of your control and you can choose to complain or just to suck it up and deal with them.

When you're getting tired in a race, suck it up and push yourself harder. As Rosie's favorite quote says, "Pain is temporary, quitting is forever." Don't give yourself excuses that prevent you from achieving your goals.

When you're cold because you didn't wear warm clothes, that's your fault, so suck it up. Either find some hand warmers, stop for cocoa, or just be cold for a little bit without ruining everyone else's outdoor fun with your whining and complaining. And next time, wear warmer clothes.

When you are all alone without a significant other, suck it up. Get out, get involved, and meet people. Be satisfied with the available candidates, or do without, but don't sit around feeling sorry for yourself. That won't solve your sorrows because moping really doesn't make you very attractive to anyone. Don't be fake, just realize that you're going to be OK if you don't have somebody special to hold your hand and complicate your life.

When you convey inaccurate information that is not a matter of opinion, but is simply false, suck it up and take responsibility. Don't complain of the injustice (because it's not unjust for someone to point out your incorrect assertion); learn from the mistake and start to double check what you hear to make sure it's true before you repeat it.

When you fail a test, suck it up and study for the next one instead of crying about something you've already done and can't fix. Like spilled milk, it already happened. Now all you can do is clean it up and be more mindful of where you put your drinks (or how you spend your study time) in the future.

We all have negative feelings sometimes and I'm not trying to convey that no one should ever be sad or upset. Your reactions are real and you can't deny reality.

In fact, it is healthy to share your problems with another person because it can help you sort out the issues. However, you can do this without making whining a central motif in your life story.

The best we can do is to accept the things we cannot change, change the things we can, and know the difference (Serenity prayer).

In other words, suck it up.

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Families are composed of the people who will say what others, who don't know you as well, won't dare or bother to say. For example, my sister straight out told me that this whole column topic idea was lame. But I'm writing it anyway.

An old saying goes, "Blood is thicker than water." It actually doesn't make any sense, but what it's supposed to mean is that your family ties are much stronger than any other relationships. Of course, family doesn't need to be defined by blood; there are many people who turn away from unhappy biological family situations and create a family of close friends.

"Your family is always your family no matter what," says my mom, Stephanie Fischer. You may drift away from your other acquaintances and never see them again, but when you drift away from your family you're still a family with those family ties that create a sense of commitment between family members. "They still love you when you mess up," she explains.

Even when family members are stupid and mean and annoying, you don't give up on them. You still want to find a way to help them in any way possible. Though this topic is stupid to her, my sister agrees that, "You can trust [family] to love you most of the time."

This strong trust and compassion comes from knowing your family. Being around your family a lot means that you pretty much have to be yourself when you're with them because they know when you're being fake. In this way, you get to know each other well.

Conversely, in a wider social setting, or with strangers, many people tend to act differently in attempts to make a certain impression. But family provides an opportunity to relax and be your real self in your interactions.

This relaxed and open type of relationship can lead to scolding for misconduct. "When you're getting out of line, you have to have somebody who loves you enough to tell you you're getting out of line," my dad says to back up this idea. It's because there's so much trust and compassion between family members that they can yell at you.

Getting yelled at and told that you're out of line is no fun, but the guidance needs to come from both sides so that in a relationship one person does not end up being abused. For instance, it's terrible when parents are really harsh and disrespectful with their kids, and it's also really sad when an annoyed kid snaps to her helpful mother, "Shut up, Mom."

When kids get angry and annoyed at their parents, they can think about this quote by Bill Gates (and he's Bill Gates, right, so you know he must be kind of smart). He said, "Before you were born, your parents weren't as boring as they are now. They got that way from paying your bills, cleaning your clothes and listening to you talk about how cool you think you are."

Though they can be painful, conflicts between teenagers and parents are a natural part of growing up and becoming independent by breaking away from the shelter their parents provide. And even as children grow up and learn to live independently, they can still depend on their family and their family can depend on them.

For example, when my grandma got sick a few years ago, she knew she could depend on her grown-up children to take care of her. It goes both ways everyone in a family can help out everyone else at some time, in some way. The most important thing about a family is that they are there for each other.

A wise alien experiment from the animated Disney film, "Lilo and Stitch," once said, "Family means nobody gets left behind or forgotten."

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Maybe lack of sleep only seems to be a prominent problem because we can't come up with any better conversation fillers than complaint. But when my friend woke me up in English class last week, to point out that everyone else in the room was peacefully sleeping, fatigue did seem to be a real issue.

People like to compare and even brag about it. The other day, another friend whined/boasted to me, "Oh, I only got six and a half hours of sleep last night."

I was like, "Ha, you think you're impressive; I only got three and three quarters hours of sleep last night." Except I didn't actually say that to her because she was too proud that she had become absorbed in her TV shows last night, past her bedtime, and was now surviving on six and a half hours of sleep. I couldn't take that away from her.

But really, lack of sleep is not something to brag about. It's not healthy. According to the National Sleep Foundation, "insufficient sleep affects growth hormone secretion that is linked to obesity; as the amount of hormone secretion decreases, the chance for weight gain increases." Oh, you're cool and sleepless, but you're fat. (Not necessarily, I know).

Also, when you sleep, your body repairs muscles, secures memory, and regulates hormones which control growth and appetite. So basically, if you're weak, stupid, fat, or hungry, it probably couldn't hurt you to get some more sleep.

So how much sleep do you need? The amount of sleep to function optimally varies for each individual. This amount is called the basal sleep need, and is about 7 to 9 hours each night for most adults, and 8.5 to 9.25 hours each night for most teens.

"But where things get complicated," according to the National Sleep Foundation, "is the interaction between the basal need and sleep debt." Sleep debt, as you might guess, is the amount of basal sleep you have missed out on in the past, which you now owe to yourself.

The good news is that this sleep debt can be paid off. Even if you have a basal sleep need of only seven hours of sleep per night, you might actually want to sleep more than that in order to catch up on sleep you didn't have time for last year.

The amount of sleep that a student at Park City High School gets varies among individuals. "I get a lot of sleep," says high school student, Carleigh Lake, who sleeps about seven hours on a normal school night.

But she says, "A lot of students go to bed really late because . . . they start their homework late or because they're used to going to bed late on the weekends."

"Getting up so early is what makes us so tired," says Carleigh's peer, Laurel Christensen. "It's probably different for everyone," she adds, but, "I always hear people saying they're tired at school."

Some people have trouble falling asleep because they are stressed or don't get enough exercise. We might just not get enough sleep because teenage biological clocks are generally set for staying up late and sleeping in late which 7:35 a.m. first period does not allow.

The reasons are endless, but, when the choice is between watching bad TV shows and going to bed, that's not an excuse; just go to bed.

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The Ice Lounge green concept was created by North Face. The company arranged this lounge with the help of UPP Entertainment of Los Angeles, California. The presenting sponsors were North Face, Lexus, and St. Regis, Deer Crest.

The Ice Lounge was located on the future site of the St. Regis hotel in Deer Valley. Opening in 2008, the five-star hotel will utilize some recycled building materials in its construction, and will obtain a portion of its electricity from wind power.

The Ice Lounge hosted a partnership of several environmentally-conscious companies. Lexus showcased a GS450H Lexus hybrid car, Lexus Hybrid Challenge virtual driving games, and representatives with information about living a hybrid lifestyle. The game was not just for fun Lexus donated $2,000 to selected environmental causes in the name of the high score of each day. Lexus also donated $100 for each rider in the shuttle service they provided to and from the Ice Lounge venue.

It's not hard to make smart choices to be environmentally friendly. Lexus "embraces sustainability without sacrificing style, comfort and luxury." Find out how at lexus.com/hybridliving.

North Face generously provided gift packages of high-quality winter gear as rewards for donations. The donations went to two environmental programs, Ski Green, and Go (Expedition) Zero.

Celebrities and locals who visited the venue both responded well to these programs, and were generally happy to donate. Many people were actually already familiar with the organizations.

The Go Zero initiative is to offset carbon dioxide emissions by planting trees, which absorb carbon dioxide in the process of photosynthesis. The fund is very impressive in that 96percent of the proceeds go directly to the cause.

Ski Green is a very important partnership between the Bonneville Environmental Foundation and leaders in the snow sports industry. The program encourages mountain resorts to charge just two dollars extra for each lift ticket in order to support the usage of non-polluting, renewable, but currently more expensive sources of energy.

Two dollars is a small price for snow lovers to pay to help keep winter cool by reducing harmful fuel emissions which cause global warming. Without cold winters, there is no snow, and therefore no snow sports.

Because of Ski Green's great potential to make a difference, I sincerely hope that all resorts, including those here in Park City, adopt this Ski Green concept in order to help preserve cool winter temperatures and keep their businesses running in the future. I also hope that everyone who loves winter and winter sports chooses to live smarter lifestyles in order to preserve what they love.

For more information about Ski Green, visit skigreen.org. To learn more about Go Zero, visit conservationfund.org.

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That's pessimistic, I know. But the traditionally idealistic goals for the New Year can be tricky to pursue, and people tend to bear that in mind. Even as they resolve to reach these goals, many people hear the little voice in their head whispering "you can't actually do this, why bother?" Thus, they set themselves up for failure as soon as they begin.

Accordingly, I feel my assumption that you've already given up on your New Year's resolution is fairly realistic. I didn't make any resolutions, so I don't have to worry about that guilt.

But hey, it's O.K. Just because you binged on a plate of brownies and messed up your diet one day does not mean you blew it for the year and might as well glue yourself to a couch with a lifetime supply of Twinkies and Bon-Bons for the next 11 months and 21 days. If yesterday wasn't a good day, you can still have a good day today.

I heard a clever saying, recently, that went something like this: Don't just have a great day; make a great day. We are each in control of our own choices and our own outlooks throughout our lives. Instead of hoping for a good day, or hoping that we might happen to be able to uphold our goals, we can choose to make good days and to have strong willpower to fulfill our aspirations.

The key to any goal is to think positively. Whatever you resolve, it is something you want to accomplish, and wanting something is usually a step in the right direction toward obtaining that something. You're already part of the way there. Whether it's getting better grades, losing weight, volunteering, paying off debt, spending more time with family, organizing your life, earning a promotion, starting your own business, quitting smoking, learning something new, or enjoying life more it's something you can do.

Furthermore, it is something that you will do, and you will do it for yourself because you deserve it. You know it!

New Year's is just a handy reminder of new beginnings, but it's not the only time we can choose to change or improve anything. We can all strive to make and maintain positive changes any and every day of the year.

Changes don't have to be huge and abrupt. Little things add up. Over time you can see how your small steps can create a change or an improvement that you are truly proud of.

One mistake does not make your aspiration hopeless. There is absolutely no reason why the only time we can start over is on January 1st.

Go ahead, start right now. Dismiss excuses, past failures, doubts, and uneasiness. Make a better life. Or just start off making one good day at a time.

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Then, instead of apologizing profusely and helping her find her skis and poles, he somersaulted away and flew off down the mountain. Stupid snowboarder you're one of the few giving snowboarders in general a bad name. It only takes one unpleasant experience to inspire vacationers to warn each other, "watch out for the evil snowboarders." My own grandparents are reluctant and fearful to ski around snowboarders and have generally joined the "flee to Deer Valley!" movement.

But it's not just the snowboarders who scare visitors. In fact my own sweet-natured mother got yelled at for skiing recklessly that same day. She was just cruising along, carving past the SLOW sign, passing by the slower skiers and riders at the end of the day. When she stopped at the bottom to wait for her friends, she was shocked at a woman who angrily approached her and vehemently lectured her about skiing responsibly.

Apparently my mother had cut off the woman's daughter and scared her to death. She had no idea that she had caused such a crisis. She apologized sincerely and skied somewhat timidly for the rest of the day.

Local often become frustrated with the tourists who often become frustrated with the locals. It makes me want to ask, why can't we all just get along?

Standing in line for the Thaynes lift, I overheard to men laughing and complaining about the people ahead of them who were having trouble getting on and off the chair. "If you can't ride the chair," they declared, "then you shouldn't be skiing this part of the mountain! Hahaha "

However, the woman behind them then pointed out that "If you can't handle the tourists, you shouldn't ski during Christmas vacation."

Despite popular doubts, it is possible for all different levels of skiers and boarders to get along on the same mountain. We all just need to keep an open mind and consider each other's situations.

Visitors need to calm down and realize that some locals like to speed down the mountain, but that doesn't mean they are trying to terrorize anyone. Having said that, locals need to ski responsibly, bearing in mind that our visitors might not be expert skiers and boarders, and they don't necessarily know their way around the mountain. Give them a break they just want to enjoy for one week the great recreation that we enjoy all season.

In fact, local / visitor interaction can be lots of fun. For instance, my sister worked on her language skills with the man next to us on the lift and learned how to say "Merry Christmas" in Mandarin Chinese.

A rewarding interaction with people from other places for me was learning about cities where I am considering going to college. The local view on the town can provide much more insight than the college websites.

Not only can we all get along, we can also learn from each other and benefit from interesting experiences with different cultures.

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The main character of "Click" has a good life and good intentions when he discovers a remote control which he can operate to control his life. He uses the remote to fast forward through the hard work he wants to get done, and the dull, ordinary times of his life, eager to quickly get to the rewards, such as completing a project and getting a promotion. The remote is useful at first, but then it begins to take over and he misses many important moments in his life.

At first, the story seemed like a funny, fantastical work of fiction, but gradually, I realized that it is much more. The use of the remote control reflects the sense of dissatisfaction and lack of appreciation so many of us feel about life.

The remote makes the man switch from living his life to functioning on auto pilot. He works all the time, is promoted, becomes rich, and still works even more.

The protagonist attempts to speed through the drudgery of his life and reap the later rewards without being conscious of the effort required to get there. But in his quest to do so, he misses out on many of the ordinary moments which can actually be more significant than the seemingly bigger events, like being promoted.

It's not the final destination that is really important, but the journey. The man is so caught up in his work that he ignores his wife, doesn't have time for his kids, avoids his parents, and is careless about his own health. He loses sight of what is truly important. It's not the career, or the money, but experiencing life, appreciating small blessings, truly knowing oneself, and connecting with others that are genuinely meaningful.

I am involved in a lot of activities and I'm always busy. I often have to cancel or reject plans with my family and friends in order to meet other commitments. It's easy to get caught up in obligations and to lose touch with people I care about. I am running around completing so many different tasks that I don't often step back and see that I am neglecting what is most valuable: myself and the people I love.

I didn't expect any profound revelations from this movie. "Click" made me realize that I could easily stray onto the dangerous path of mechanically moving through life without fully experiencing and appreciating the day-to-day interactions, tasks, and challenges that add up to a meaningful existence.

I don't want to lose sight of what is truly important like the character in "Click". I want to fully experience my journey, living each moment. I realize that there will be annoyances, drudgeries, and hardships along the way, but overcoming those challenges will make my accomplishments much sweeter. I will find comfort during hard times, with the realization that every experience has the potential to make me stronger and wiser.

I will be conscious and involved in my life and the people and things that matter to me. I have been given a beautiful opportunity to hire, and I must strive to make the most of it, enjoying every moment, exciting or ordinary, rewarding or difficult.

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