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Natural Awakenings Central New Jersey

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Teen Voices: Holiday Cheer

By Isabella Dussias

What is cherished the most by teens during the holiday season? Of course, we love our time off from school to relax with family and friends. It’s a nice break to pull away from what often feels like over-scheduled lives and take time to realize what matters most to us. However, in polling some of my friends, I found that teens have a lot of pride in what makes them unique in how they celebrate the holidays. 

There are many families that carry on traditions that have been handed down through generations. Learning how to make those cherished family recipes is important to us as young adults because someday we will be handing these down to future generations. Teens have pride in what we have learned from those who have come before us and taught us about our heritage. Whether it is making a special meal or going to a certain holiday event each year, it makes us feel special and have a greater sense of connection to our family as a whole. There are certain things my friends look forward to annually. Without them, the holiday season would not feel the same.

So, this year, if you think your teen isn’t interested in that traditional family activity or that maybe they’ve outgrown it, think again. We are just waiting for the custom that we have become used to—the song we always sing or the cookies we always bake or crafts we always make—that embodies holiday cheer. 

Home is where the heart is—this is what we cherish. Those special times with family and the traditions they have taught us have made us who we have become. Someday we will be the ones ensuring that these endure, that the fabric of our family is maintained and that we build a home full of warmth and happiness.

So, here’s to a season full of love, family, traditions and holiday cheer! Hope it’s a good one for you and yours!


Isabella Dussias is a 16-year-old singer-songwriter/composer from New Jersey. She enjoys writing about issues that are important to today’s youth, and she believes music is an important outlet to connect people and share messages through the creativity of lyric and melody. For more information, please visit IsabellaDussias.com. 


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Tick Talk

Spring officially sprung on March 21. We have turned our clocks ahead. We are looking forward to warm winds, sunny skies and the smell of fresh cut grass. The daffodils and tulips have recently bloomed and we are just starting with the yard work that comes with the warmer weather.  Sadly, another season has started ramping up.  Tick season.

•             The best form of protection is prevention. Educating oneself about tick activity and how our behaviors overlap with tick habitats is the first step.

•             According to the NJ DOH, in 2022 Hunterdon County led the state with a Lyme disease incidence rate of 426 cases per 100,000 people. The fact is ticks spend approximately 90% of their lives not on a host but aggressively searching for one, molting to their next stage or over-wintering. This is why a tick remediation program should be implemented on school grounds where NJ DOH deems high risk for tick exposure and subsequent attachment to human hosts.

•             Governor Murphy has signed a bill that mandates tick education in NJ public schools. See this for the details.  Tick education must now be incorporated into K-12 school curriculum. See link:

https://www.nj.gov/education/broadcasts/2023/sept/27/TicksandTick-BorneIllnessEducation.pdf

•             May is a great month to remind the public that tick activity is in full swing. In New Jersey, there are many tickborne diseases that affect residents, including Anaplasmosis, Babesiosis, Ehrlichiosis, Lyme disease, Powassan, and Spotted Fever Group Rickettsiosis.

•             For years, the focus has mainly been about protecting ourselves from Lyme disease. But other tick-borne diseases are on the rise in Central Jersey. An increase of incidence of Babesia and Anaplasma are sidelining people too. These two pathogens are scary because they effect our blood cells. Babesia affects the red blood cells and Anaplasma effects the white blood cells.

•             Ticks can be infected with more than one pathogen. When you contract Lyme it is possible to contract more than just that one disease. This is called a co-infection. It is super important to pay attention to your symptoms. See link.

https://twp.freehold.nj.us/480/Disease-Co-Infection

A good resource from the State:

https://www.nj.gov/health/cd/topics/tickborne.shtml

 

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