By Ronnie Choi
MOSAIC STAFF WRITER
Listen to an audio clip
Sometimes it's an argument with a parent over chores, homework or choice in friends that makes a teen's blood boil. Other times, it's the pressures of body image, athletic abilities or wearing the right clothes that can cause a teen to lash out.
It's no secret that some young people vent their frustrations in a negative way. Teenage alcoholism, vandalism and violence are signs that outraged kids are venting harmfully.
But not all teens are getting into trouble when they want to release their frustrations. Some are turning to poetry, music, sports and art as forms of expressing themselves and the feelings they have bottled-up inside.
When Sofia Urrutia Lopez, a student at Foothill College, begins to feel dismal, she reaches for a pen and a piece of paper. Writing and reciting poetry are her ways of forgetting about life's problems.
"To get rid of anger and sadness, I started to write," says Lopez, 19. "I started with rhyming poetry, and then slam poetry, more like free-style poetry. I guess writing down it on paper and seeing it helps me cope with it. It gets my feelings and emotions known."
A sure sign that Angela Liao has been working through her feelings is the cool colors that dominate her paintings.
"I like water colors because they're relaxing and I like the way paint flows," says Angela, 17, a student at Mountain View High School. " Cool colors like blues and greens soothe me. Complimentary colors can even relieve me, sometimes, like oranges and yellows."
It's the calming effect that allows Angela to clear her mind. But for siblings Ryan and Coreena Coleman of Lodi, stress relief sometimes comes in the form of traditional Polynesian dances, which rely on the banging of the drum to keep the beat.
"It relieves stress because you're doing something," says Ryan, 12, as he and his sister practiced for a performance at the recent 13th Annual Tahiti Fete at San Jose State University earlier this week. For two years, Ryan and Coreena have been competing with 'Anapa Nui a Polynesian dance group.
Coreena, 16, says they continue to participate in the dance group because it's a fun outlet.
"Basically, it's something I do for fun, and I like to share the culture with other people," she says. "We're doing this for fun."
Fun - and a way to drop a few pounds - was the reason Mike Ho first started skateboarding. Now, the 17-year-old Milpitas High School student likes to jump on his skateboard and ride when life gets stressful.
He doesn't buy the argument that some kids are damaging property or abusing their own bodies just for the sake of relieving tension.
"They use stress as an excuse to do stuff like that," he says. "If I am having problems at school, I skate anywhere to keep my mind off it. Everything is gone. There are no troubles going on in your head."