I Need Sun!

It's March but it feels like mid May.  The sun is shining and it is nothing but clear blue skies in Pennsylvania.  The daffodils are blooming and it's been in the 70's all week.  Trust me I'm not complaining, but what is happening?  We didn't received any real substantial amount of snow (except on Halloween) and now it's in the mid 70's in the second week of March.  So odd...

Any who... with this week beautiful weather, I have been doing some fun things with Stage of Life. We have a new page to the site, books every high school student should read. We wanted to take a close look at what teens are reading...or better yet...should be reading to make them well-rounded citizens. Check out what our Education Consultant suggests for teens. 


Also, check out our new Writing Contests for March.  In preparation for April’s National Poetry Writing Month, we are asking teens and college students to write a poem in dedication to someone who matters in their life.  Whether it is a family member, friend, teacher, celebrity or kind stranger, write an original poem about what that person means to you.  

The FREE writing workshop we are sponsoring is this weekend in Lancaster. It should be a great event, where Stage of Life CEO, Eric Thiegs, will be presenting.

Don't forget, Stage of Life® is a free blogging community with a mission to make the world a better place, one story at a time.  Enter our writing contestsor simply share your real-life experiences to inspire others.  Pick a life stage...and start exploring...

Interns for hire!

 WANTED: INTERNS...

Stage of Life is currently searching for PR / Marketing / Creative Writing Interns. See description

PR / Marketing / Creative Writing Intern
Job Description	StageofLife.com is a York-based start-up company that has been featured on Forbes.com, FoxBusiness.com, CNBC.com and other media outlets. We are excited to work with college interns to give them exposure to projects that will show measurable growth and development of our consumer-facing website and our corporate business clients. The various components Stage of Life interns will be assigned are robust and meaningful tasks relating to... --Public relations (the firm has an account with PR Newswire which interns will get to experience) --Strategic partnerships --Guerrilla and viral marketing --Data and analytics tracking --Education curriculum development for our blogging lesson plans --Social networking strategies --Search engine optimization --Proof checking and editing --Blogger and writer outreach --Social media experiments/Facebook Fan Page management --Content generation and editorial/writing features for StageofLife.com. --Email marketing --and more. Stage of Life also services corporate clients in a consulting capacity so interns will have access to working directly with the CEO on existing clients ranging from a NYSE-traded bank, a national non-profit, a national airline account, and other leads in the business development pipeline. The position reports directly to the CEO/Founder of the company. Projects will be intensive and hands-on, and in many cases...very creative. Interns should possess... --independent thinking --the desire to learn --ability to brainstorm/make proactive suggestions based on projects assigned --ability to take constructive criticism as part of the position's learning experience. --the desire to make a real difference with a start-up company. We expect you'll learn more than you ever realized about launching a website/company and we know you'll have fun doing it. The work environment is relaxed and non-traditional as it takes place in the remodeled attic office loft of a 1905 brick home complete with sky lights and a work space specifically set up for interns. Please note - the office does has a dog (a Pug) and a cat. Hours are flexible as long as a schedule is determined between intern and the CEO and it is maintained. Lunch will be provided if you are working at the Stage of Life office between 11am-1pm. Positions are unpaid; however, CEO/Founder will work with intern on any paperwork needed to apply for course credit for the position. On this note - work duties and experience will far exceed levels of responsibilities that may occur at traditional advertising, marketing or PR agencies (the CEO/Founder having worked in said environments for over 14 years before launching his own company). If you're looking for an exciting, hands-on, and completely creative internship with a start-up company (check out the "About" page on www.stageoflife.com), then we look forward to hearing from you. --Eric Thiegs, CEO Stage of Life LLC
Salary	Experience/Internship Credits
Type of Job	Internship
Job Location	Dallastown, Pennsylvania
Posting Date	01/24/2012
Expiration Date	12/31/2012
Job Requirements
Degrees Wanted	None Required
Majors Wanted	English; Entrepreneurship; History; Management; Marketing; Mass Communication; Music Industry/Recording Technology; Political Science; Professional Writing; Psychology; Public Relations; Secondary Education - English; Self Designed; Sociology; Speech Communication; Theatre
Job Targets Wanted	Any Job Target
Special Skills Wanted
Minimum GPA	2.50
Other Job Requirements	It is preferred that the intern has a personal laptop computer with wireless connectivity to bring and use for the position.
Company Information
Company Name	Stage of Life LLC
Employer Web Site	http://www.stageoflife.com
Company Description	StageofLife.com is a York-based start-up company that has been featured on TIME.com, Forbes.com, FoxBusiness.com, CNBC.com, SocialTimes.com and more. At it's core mission, Stage of Life™ is building an online community for the generations of today's teens, Gen Y, Gen X, and Baby Boomers to share a story, ask for advice, and find resources for every stage of life between high school and retirement...and all the major milestones in between...all under one roof. Stage of Life also works with corporate clients via is B2B consulting services. Interns will have an opportunity to work on client accounts ranging from a NYSE-traded bank, a national non-profit, a major airline, etc. College interns will be assigned robust and meaningful tasks relating to both the B2C (Business to Consumer) and B2B (Business to Business). The intern positions and projects will be intensive, hands-on, and creative.
Equal Opportunity Employer	Yes
Contact Information
Contact	Name:  Eric Thiegs Email:  eric@stageoflife.com

2012...

As of Tuesday, we have welcomed our newest addition to the Stage of Life team, Katie.  Our office is constantly growing, as we also have a new intern starting the 27th, not to mention Luke (our old intern) is still with us.  It's such a great feeling to be part of something growing so rapidly. In June, when I was first hired full-time, I had no idea that by 2012 we would be making these huge changes.  2012 has so much in store for Stage of Life, it's so exciting! 

Help us reach our goals this year, Like and Follow us

Teacher Appreciation

Stage of Life wants to help teachers and students.  Recently, Stage of Life created several education pages for teachers on the site.  Check our new educational resources.

FREE Classroom poster 18" x 12" color classroom poster Please include your full name, school name, school address, and the grade level you teach when putting in request Request Free Poster

Writing Prompts

• Writing prompts deal with real-world issues important to teens
• Each prompt came from previous Stage of Life national student essay contests
• Mentor texts, lesson plans and summary pages are provided
• View Writing Prompts

How Would Teens Improve Education?

• Teens answered, "How would you improve your school?"
• Five themes emerged from the student education essays
• View How Teens Would Improve Education

Free Goal Setting Worksheet

• Help your students set goals
• Our Stage of Life Goal Setting Worksheet can be used as an in-class activity or as a take-home assignment
• Educators are encouraged to use it themselves as a personal or professional tool too
• View Goal Setting Worksheet

Making the World a Better Place

• Utilize our "Making the World a Better Place" writing prompt to get students thinking and writing about how they can change the world and make a difference
• Read past student essays about making the world a better place
• Ask your class to explore the list of student-nominated, making a difference organizations by our teen bloggers and writers
• View Making the World a Better Place

Health and Writing

• Read about the positive health effects of blogging and writing
• Help your students reduce teen stress through journaling, blogging or writing
• View Writing is Healthy

Why Educators Use Us

• Six Reasons Educators Use StageofLife.com in the Classroom...
  1. Free
  2. Unlimited space for student essay storage
  3. Interactive
  4. All about the writing
  5. Customized
  6. Real World
• View our Educational Resources Overview

Student Writing Contest

• Encourage your students to enter our free, monthly national writing contest for high school students and college students.
• Our essay winners have received mentions by the media including TIME.com, Mint Education, and more.
• Essay contest topics deal with real-world issues.
• Great practice for AP Test, SAT test, college essay writing, and more.
• View Writing Contest 

Introduction to Student Blogging

• Get the 101 on blogging
• Digital literacy - why blogging is important for the classroom
• View Blogging Lesson Plans
1. Blogging Basics lesson plan
2. Values & Beliefs lesson plan
3. Reflection & Wisdom lesson plan
4. Life stage interview lesson plan
5. Food, Health & Writing lesson plan
6. Heroes lesson plan
7. Teen stress lesson plan

Mentor Texts

• Use our past student essay winners as examples of Mentor Texts
• Our teen writing winners provide excellent essay examples of authentic voice and utilizing a stylistic point of view
• Read past writing contest winners and finalists by visiting our Teen Trends reports
• View Mentor Texts

Writing Resources

• Recommended writing workshops and seminars
• Top college rankings for programs in English, Creative Writing and Journalism
• Must visit websites that provide amazing writing opportunities for students or instruction benefit for Language Arts teachers
• View Writing Resources

Since the beginning of our teacher campaign we have sent hundreds of posters to teachers across the country. 

It's that time again...BACK TO SCHOOL!

StageofLife.com Lists Top 10 Back to College Tips

YORK, PA--(Marketwire - Aug 3, 2011) - Every teen worries about starting college. "Will I make friends?" "How will I know where I'm going?" "Is it lame to get home sick?" You get the picture. StageofLife.com compiled a quick guide to help incoming freshmen get ready for college.

1. Meet your roomie

• Call, Facebook, or meet up to avoid the awkward first introductions. This way you'll know if you're going to be "BFF's" or want to avoid each completely.

2. Pack plenty of clothes

• Business casual is a necessity for class speeches, interviews, etc.
• Avoid clothes/accessories that can be more pain than beauty.

3. Take rolls of quarters

• Mom's not there to do your laundry anymore, and it's a long time until Thanksgiving break.

4. Bring a coffee pot/mug

• Some will drink it for taste, procrastinators will use it to fuel an all-nighter.

5. Invest in organizational storage

• Bed, Bath & Beyond has a cool over-the-bed storage piece.
• Don't forget under-the-bed storage for clothes, shoes, or food.

6. Go to class

• Screwing up the first semester can set you up for G.P.A. disaster, get your butt out of bed.

7. Get involved

• Greek Life, on-campus employment, clubs, etc. Without friends, you're just that weird kid on campus that no one knows.

8. Eat healthy

• You are what you eat. You'll need energy so avoid fast food, high sugar snacks and other wasteful food items.
• Know where your dining halls are located, hours of operation, and payment options

9. Reduce stress

• Exercise your body and don't gain the freshmen 15... Americans are fat enough as is it.
• Exercise time management -- don't cram

10. Recreation

• Large groups attract attention, but never go out alone.
• If you're not 21, you simply shouldn't drink. But the reality is that many underclassmen will. Having the "parentals" see your name in the newspaper for an underage drinking citation will not be an enjoyable experience. Be smart and be aware of your surroundings.

StageofLife.com is a free blog for college students featuring writing contests, college resources and My Life Rewards®, a free discount program providing printable coupons and coupon codes for students and every stage of life.

Have you ever been bullied?

StageofLife.com Reports 91% of Teenagers Have Been Bullied

YORK, PA--(Marketwire - Aug 25, 2011) - School's starting and teens once again face the ugly reality of bullying. StageofLife.com, a free blog for high school students, reached out to teenagers during its national essay contest to ask high school and college students, "Have you ever been bullied?"

Over 1,000 teens participated in the survey and writing contest, and StageofLife.com collected scores of courageous testimonials from students.

From the survey, StageofLife.com revealed the following bullying statistics:

• 91% of teens have been a victim of bullying
• Top five bullying reasons were: Looks/Size (23%), Being Smart/"Nerdy" (19%), Interests/Hobbies (13%), Race (9%), and Family (6%)
• 3% admitted to having been a bully and now regret their actions
• 6% have never been bullied
• Other reasons identified for the cause of the bullying: being poor (5%), being rich (2%), having physical or learning disability (4% combined), sexual orientation (2%), and receiving food assistance from food stamps or a food bank (1%).

From the essay submissions, StageofLife.com revealed five bullying trends:

1. Confidence: Teens learned that the best way to overcome bullying is to be proud of yourself; have faith in who you are as a person. 
2. Friends: It's important to have a friend who helps you in standing up for yourself, or at the very least, understands what you are going through. 
3. School Officials: Sadly, many teens expressed frustration that school officials did nothing to stop bullying, even after it was reported. This has been a crisis in many school systems, who wave bullying off as a "he said, she said" situation. 
4. Racism: Teens are frustrated and surprised that in a melting pot like America, people could still be this intolerant. 
5. Body: The majority of essays submitted dealt with bullying because of looks, body shape, or body size. Several wrote about their therapy or hospitalization because of harsh bullying.

The winning essay was entitled, "I was bullied because of my acne" written by Ann Sangeun Cho from Westlake High School in Austin, TX.

A summary report is available at http://www.stageoflife.com/TeensandBullies.aspx with survey results, links to over 100 teen essays about bullying, bullying prevention resources and more.

StageofLife.com is a free blog for all generations with free lesson plans, writing contests, and My Life Rewards®, a free savings program providing printable coupons and coupon codes for every stage of life.

Teens Share Personal Stories About Bullying on StageofLife.com

BELOW is StageofLife.com's latest press release on Bullying

YORK, PA--(Marketwire - Jul 15, 2011) - Many students experience bullying during high school. For some, it may have occurred just once, but for others, it happens daily.

In an effort to dig deeper on the issue of bullying, StageofLife.com, a free blog and writing resource for teenagers, launched its national July student writing contest around the topic.

However, rather than asking adult experts to weigh in, StageofLife.com is instead taking essay submissions directly from teens who answer the writing contest prompt, "Have you ever been bullied, teased or picked on? If so, about what?"

So far, over 2,000 college and high school students have visited the StageofLife.com writing contest page. Hundreds of teens have answered the bullying survey and scores have entered the essay contest as they explore facets of bullying in their lives. Early essay submissions have come from students who were all bullied for a specific purpose, i.e. being fat, being bisexual, talking differently, being smart, being a girl, being a foreigner, and other reasons.

StageofLife.com CEO, Eric Thiegs, said, "Teens aren't alone in their fight against bullying. Our hope is that one student's essay will help another realize that there are others out there struggling with the same problem."

In conjunction with the writing contest, StageofLife.com showcases resources for teens and parents from Learning Disabilities Association of America, American Disability Association, Stop Bullying, and bullying prevention videos from KidPower.org and LearntobeHealthy.org.

StageofLife.com's writing contests deal with "real-world" teen issues. A teen trends page outlines observations learned from past writing contests as teenagers shared their thoughts about the media, education, prom, money, parents, marriage, stress, heroes, and other topics important to students.

Submissions for the bullying writing contest will be accepted through July 31, 2011 at Midnight PDT. One winner will be selected and will receive a prize package worth over $100 from sponsors KodakGallery.com, T-Shirts.com, and Comfort Research, along with SWAG and Featured Writer status from StageofLife.com.

StageofLife.com is a non-partisan, grassroots blog community hosting stories, resources and a free blog for all generations. It touts free lesson plans, writing contests, and My Life Rewards®, a free savings program providing printable coupons and coupon codes for every stage of life.