The right grades and being socializing, you know, trying to have the most amount of friends amongst your peers. What are some things that youve faced competition over . Sorry. Going back as far as possible, what are some things youve faced competition over . Um, i dont know. Group projects in class maybe, trying to be the first to finish a race. I did Cross Country in the spring or at least get somewhere up there, maybe not trying your hardest. Well, i feel like, as an actor, every time i have to audition for a role that i really want, i have to face competition, especially in this business where Everyone Wants to be the best they can be. Mainly sports, such as wrestling or lacrosse. From getting into prenursery school to getting into college, we seem to always be competing. [ cheers and applause ] the scientist Charles Darwin wrote that competition is part of the evolutionary process of all living things. That led Herbert Spencer to coin the famous phrase survival of the fittest. Fortunately, we dont have to compete with hungry animals or hostile neighbors like our ancestors had to in order to survive, but competition is still a major part of modernday life. And while striving for a Competitive Edge can make us perform better, being too competitive is not a good thing. To discuss this, were joined by dr. Roni cohensan welcome. Its nice to be here. Dont we get ahead by trying to do our very best . Well, its great to be motivated because that inspires us to set goals, and then we can achieve them. But we want to make sure that were not thinking were gonna be the best in everything or that were gonna be the best all the time because thats impossible. Its good to try to be the best you can be in that moment. How can we tell if were being too competitive . Well, if you find youre disappointment if you finds or that youre becoming so competitive that youre seeing your friends and classmates as rivals, that can be a problem. Also, if you find that youre not enjoying your achievements, that everything feels like its not enough, its never enough, then pretty soon, youre gonna feel like youre not enough. For some of us, competition doesnt come from ourselves, but from our parents. Of course, im not saying my parents do that, but for those parents who put pressure on kids to excel, how can they handle that . You know, i think thats the hardest things that teen face, is when their parents really put pressure on them. I think its important, if you can, to talk to your parents directly about it and to tell them how that pressure is affecting you. The thing is, yes, they want you to be successful, but they also want you to be healthy and happy. If you cant talk to your parents, find an adult that you really trust and can confide in, and perhaps they can help you what about getting tutors to give us an edge in class and applying for college . Well, if you really need the help in class to learn the material or to keep up, then fine. Its okay to do that. But if you dont, if you just want an edge for college, i think youd be so much better off spending your time doing something that you really enjoy, like a hobby that you love or resting or spending time with your friends. To be healthy, its important to have a balanced life, and that also helps you keep a good any final advice . You know, i think that its really important to set your own standards, not to compare yourselves to other people because the truth is, youll never be the best at everything. And all you should be thinking about is being the best you. Great. Thank you so much, doctor. Thanks for having me. Interestingly, a lot of Research Shows that the people who tend to get ahead in this world arent always the ones who are the most competitive. Rather, the most successful people are those who are team for teen kids news, imia. Amel in theater, theres a saying that the show must go. Well, ill tell you what it takes to actually create that show when teen kids news returns. Well be right back. Closed captioning is do you sometimes feel overwhelmed with all the w you have to do for school . Well, christins here to help with this weeks make the grade. When it comes to writing an essay or term paper, do you find that first sentence . . . Too many of us try to come up with the perfect opening sentence. And if it doesnt come easily, we get frustrated or discouraged, and that only makes things harder. Thats why you need to know about whats called freewriting. Heres how it works. Set aside a specific period of time say, 10 minutes. Start by writing your topic on the top of the page. Then just let yourself go. Write whatever comes to mind about the topic. Dont worry about spelling or grammar, and dont pause to reread what youve done. That leads the wanting to edit while youre writing, and that can really stifle your creativity. [ phone dings ] okay. Times up. Now read through what youve written. While it wont be perfect, no doubt youll be surprised at how freewriting enabled you to come phrases. Now that youve got a pretty good start on your assignment, writing that first sentence shouldnt be so daunting. Im christin, here to help you make the grade. Want to do better on your next test . Eat breakfast. Studies show that students who eat Good Breakfast usually get better test results, especially if that breakfast contains food made from whole grains, like toast made with 100 whole wheat. Of course, jus isnt enough to get good grades. You still need on study. This report is brought to you by the concordia conservatory. Long before the Movie High School musical, hollywood turned out lots of films about kids putting on their own musicals. Some of the most famous were movies from the 1930s and 40s that starred mickey rooney. Ive got an idea. Our folks think were babes in arms, huh . Well, well show them whether were babes in arms or not. Im gonna write a show for us seaport. And with the help of his friends, hed not only write the show, but rehearse andrm perfo it almost overnight. But that required movie magic. In the real world, creating a musical takes a lot more time and work. All right, everybody, tonight is dress rehearsal. Whoohoo we finally made it. We have our guitarist here tonight with us. So, were gonna get started. [ uptempo music playing ] [ indistinct singing ] this is the final rehearsal for the monster of guitaristan, an original musical written for the concordia conservatory. Well, the story is that there is a town called guitaristan. Everyone plays guitar. Everyone everyone likes guitar. Like, thats pretty much all they listen to. . Another Beautiful Day in guitaristan . And theyre all really happy, but then a monster comes. This particular monster in our story smells really, really bad. So bad, in fact, that he cant do what monsters are supposed to do. He tries, but theyre too disgusted by his smell. Fortunately for the monster, he finally finds someone to frighten, but only because the victim cant smell very well. He meets a little boy who has nose blindness or, you know, a cold permanently. And hes able to scare him, but he doesnt feel so good about it. As it turns out, the boy has bigger problems than being scared by a monster. Hes being bullied at school. So, on the one hand, we have a student whos the victim of bully, and on the other, we have a monster who really doesnt want to scare people. They make friends, and they try to help each other through these problems. And the show ends up being about its kind of an antibullying story. So now you know the story line, but this report focuses on how you write a musical. Well tell you about that when teen kids news returns. [ indistinct singing ] were continuing our report on the making of the musical the monster of guitaristan. It would be funny if you put both your arms on them, like, yeah, im the tough guy of the group. Before any rehearsal for a musical can even begin, theres a lot of work that has to first be done. So, step one is coming up with the idea. [ uptempo music playing ] [ indistinct singing ] and the idea came about i was telling a story to my two sons, who are 6 and 3 years old, putting them to bed at night. And they liked it a lot. . Its another Beautiful Day in guitaris . Is that gonna be too. A common second step is finding a partner to help you. Thats called collaborating. . Bumbumbumbumbumbum . . Babahdum . [ uptempo music playing ] in this case, rami reached out to matt van brink. He teaches songwriting and concordia conservatory. [ scatting ] oh, yeah. So, wmi hhen raad this idea and he brought it to me, it seemed like the perfect opportunity to do something together. So, i loved the idea. We definitely batted ideas back and forth, but the idea itself of a monster in the land of guitars was awesome. . You know what i mean . Step three is finding a backer to help cover expenses as the location, for the musical. Hey. Hi. How are you . Good. Sorry im a little late. So, rami and i took the idea to kathleen suss, the executive director of concordia conservatory, and she loved the idea, too, and she wanted to put on it her musical adventures for children series. So, tell me a little about how the concepts gonna come together with the guitar town and then how youre really gonna write the book and then start on you. And that brings to us when the hard work really begins composing the music and writing the song lyrics and dialogue. . I couldnt run fast . . I ran lazily . . When i called for the ball, it sounded nasally . [ nasally ] . When i called for the ball, it sounded nasally . Well, matt and i have done a lot of shows together. Sometimes one of us is writing and the other ones doing the music, sometimes vice versa, sometimes we collaborate. So, rami wrote the script and the music and the first version then he sent it to me. I did a draft and then i sent it back to rami and we went back and forth. . Its always green . With the script, music, and lyrics roughed out, rami and matt then worked side by side the polish the production. . Badoo, badooboom . [ uptempo music plays ] no . Yeah . [ indistinct conversations ] finally, it was time to start rehearsing. At the land of guitar, . A populist delight . . As youre walking along . This is your wife. This is your daughter. . You will see . [ indistinct singing ] . And all things guitary . Here at concordia conservatory, we write a lot of music for our students, whether theyre very young, age 7, or more established, older students, like the ages that youll see in this show. Theyre very excited about having something new written for them. Performing something for the first time really gets them excited. I think it is a great musical. It is very catchy. I find myself singing, you know, you got to get clean and guitaristan. And i love this play. Its for younger kids mostly, but older kids, if they came to see it, they would understand and could relate to it. I think the message is, you shouldnt ostracize anybody because everybody can have a weakness. Everyones different, and different than others, everyone has their gifts and talent. The monster of guitaristan is not just a great musical. Its a great musical with a great message. For teen kids news, im katie. Youll probably be surprised to learn which state has a flag that celebrates mother nature. Ill have the answer next on us dont know why they look the way they do. Heres eric with flag facts. . . When you hear the name new jersey, images of highways, the jersey shore and rocknrollers may come to mind. But despite its small size and large population, new jersey is actually rooted in agriculture. Thousands of acres of farmland and forest cover the state. In fact, early european settlers came to new jersey because of its fertile soil. Horse farms, dairy farms, and agriculture fueled the engines of new jerseys growth. The new jersey flag is unique because it emphasizes nature. New jersey often gets a bad rap, but theres a reason its known as the garden state. The english used it as their garden in the new world. They would plant whatever it was they were interested in growing new jerseys flag pays tribute to its agricultural history. First, theres the horse, the official state animal. Beneath that is the state seal with three plows. The goddess of agriculture stands to the right holding a cornucopia of fruits and vegetables. On the left, the goddess liberty holds a staff topped with a cap. The cap is a symbol of freedom from the french revolution. Blue images on a field of gold represent the states first european settlers, the dutch. While stationed at Jockey Hollow during american revolution, George Washington is said to have chosen blue and gold for his troops uniforms. Today, that new jersey site is recognized as our countrys First National historic park. The flag really represents all that is good about new jersey. Its not necessarily unique so much as it is an appropriate image for the state. And it proudly displays an appropriate motto liberty and prosperity. . . Lets say youre taking your elephant out for a walk and you decide you want to go into a store, say, for an ice cream. What do you do with dumbo . Well, if youre in florida, youre in luck. The law there allows to you tie your elephant to a parking meter. However, you must put money in the meter, or youll get a ticket. Good thing to remember. And if you dont, your elephant probably if you have a tough time falling asleep, heres a simple trick to try sniff some lavender. Lavender is an herb with purple flowers. Studies show that the scent of lavender not only can help you fall asleep faster. Its also helps you get a more restful sleep. You can find essential oils made from lavender in stores or online. This Important Message is brought to you by the National Road safety foundation. Road, and your mind on driving. [ School Bell Rings ] [ indistinct conversations ] . . Hey, whats up, loser . Bullies. Get out of the way, nerd. Theyre in school. . . Get out of the way, nerd. And theyre also on the road. Come on. Lets go. Lets go. Especially when they tailgate. . . Here, a sudden stop is no big deal. But on the road, tailgating can be deadly. [ tires screeching ] rearend collisions cause approximately 2,000 deaths per year. A message from the National Road safety foundation. You may know how to make mac and cheese from the box, but ill show you how to make it from scratch. Its easier than you think and even more delicious. Stick around. Teen kids news will be back students from the Culinary Institute of america are sharing some of their Favorite Recipes with teen kids news. Heres one you can make. Today were going to make mac and cheese from scratch. Its really pretty simple. Lets get started. Ill show you what you need. Ive got half a box, or 8 one cup of lowfat skim milk, one cup of heavy cream, 2 cups of lowfat Monterey Jack cheese, and 2 cups of cheddar cheese. Of course, you can use whatever cheese you like just using the same amounts. These are my two favorites for mac and cheese. Lets start by boiling the pasta. When the waters boiling, add your pasta. And stir. Make our sauce. Over medium heat, in a larger pot, add your cup of milk. Next is the cream. Using a spoon, add in the cheese. You want to be sure to continue to stir so the cheese doesnt next, the cheddar. You want to cook this about five minutes over medium heat, stirring occasionally. Once the sauce is done and the pasta is cooked, thats it. Youre ready to go. The pastas been cooking for about seven minutes now. Lets drain it. After draining it, im gonna throw it right back in this pot. And straight into the sauce. Im gonna grab the spoon and begin to stir. You want to mix all of the pasta in with all of the cheese. Mmm. Smells delicious. Now, this is the important part. You want to season it. Im using a little salt and pepper just to make sure the cheese is giving me all of its flavor. Time for my favorite part. Lets taste it. Mmm. Thats good mac and cheese, just like when i was a kid, and way better than what comes out of the box. At the Culinary Institute of america, for teen kids news, im fletch. Mmm. That yummy recipe brings our show to an end. But dont worry. Well be back next week with more teen kids news. K time for us to show ourers hammering, saws sawing vo appreciation and give back to those who have sacrificed. This is military makeover and it starts right now. Who is robert keefe . What has he done to serve his country . Why should he get a military makeover . Well, just in case you missed our first episode, youre about to find out. vo i grew up in okeechobee, florida. Graduated Okeechobee High School in 1996, and went to a couple years of college and then joined the marine cor bps. vo efore joining the marine corp, robert was working as a produce manager