Welcome to HuffPost High School, a new site devoted to teens and the issues that matter to you -- whether you're a Gleek, geek, cheerleader, jock, YouTube star, all of the above, or anything in between.
HuffPost High School is your space to be opinionated, and in that spirit we've partnered with the National Forensics League to bring together high school debaters from across the country sounding off on hot-button issues in our "Pro/Con" column. First up are Dylan and Josh, arguing about whether Obama should be reelected in 2012.
And if politics aren't your thing, check out 17-year-old Lily Gelman's blog, which questions the effectiveness of sex education in New York public schools, or 16-year-old Deepika Bodapati's piece, which argues that Adderall is "the new Redbull" for teenagers.
HuffPost High School is also your space to be creative, and we'll be featuring your original short stories and poems. To get us started, our friends at Figment.com have shared the powerful short story, "Confessions of an Emetophobe," by Leah, a 16-year-old writer from Vancouver.
You can also watch our daily video from the folks over at SchoolTube.com (first up are the singing, dancing, and quadratic-equation-loving students of Westerville South High School in Ohio) and our video slideshow from the inspiring teens of WeStopHate.org and their very personal YouTube channel about bullying and self-esteem.
Most importantly, HuffPost High School is your space to be yourselves. We know being a teen isn't just about dating drama and test prep angst. This is your platform to tell each other, and the world, about high school -- the real experience.
From college (17-year-old Mac Hart chronicles the ups and downs of your first day here), to your first time traveling abroad (16-year-old world traveler Taylor Mitchie will tell you what to expect here), to entertainment (15-year-old Devon Kerr has your ultimate list of TV comedies here), to tech (17-year-old Jess Norton explains why you should be obsessed with Instagram here) and beyond, our network of bloggers have you covered.
And if we aren't talking about what's on your mind, tell us by tweeting, Facebooking, commenting, and emailing highschool@huffingtonpost.com.
At the 2011 Teen Choice Awards, Taylor Swift said: "When I was a teen, I felt like we were always being stereotyped as being very intense, and dramatic, and passionate, and hopelessly romantic, and excitable. Now, in retrospect, I think all those things are amazing things."
We do, too. HuffPost High School is the definitive guide --- for and by teens like you --- to everything you care about.
So, what do you care about?