Two summers ago, Niki Bastian argued with her grandmother about going swimming. Her grandmother felt that she should do something besides hanging around the pool with her friends. Niki, 18, who lives in Los Angeles, had heard supermodel and actress Tyra Banks on the radio, talking about TZone, her summer camp. With applications due that day, Niki persuaded her grandmother to let her apply. Founded

Marriage changes lives. So does cosmetic surgery. Marriage is a long-term decision that affects more than the couple involved. The same is true for cosmetic surgery. According to Dr. William Sando, a local plastic surgeon, such surgery is "a choice that you live with for the rest of your life, and it's a choice that affects your relationships with other people." Currently, there is no law that dic

For two campers, the idea of increasing self-esteem became reality at TZone. Christina Carlos, 14, and Mara Bochenek, 15, found confidence and new perspectives on life. Christina: "I'm really like a shy person. I've always wanted to try out for like cheerleading and stuff like that, but I'm always too shy. They said (the camp) also was for your self-esteem, so I was like, 'OK maybe I can go and ge

Sally Steward, executive director of the Indiana Middle Level Education Association, knows just how much popularity can affect a student's life. "You couldn't pay me a billion dollars to go back and be a seventh-grader again, because that was the worst year of my entire life,'' she says. While Steward never had to be a seventh-grader again, she did see a lot of them in her three years as seventh-g

Most middle- and high-school students would admit that a day doesn't go by without a concern about popularity or fitting in. Why is popularity so important to youths, and how is it attained? Some say it's based on what you wear or who you hang out with. Others argue that it's all about how you act. During the summer, a group of youths who had gathered for a teen summit sponsored by Indy Parks at B

Beauty is only skin deep. Many teens might agree with that statement but are unwilling to look below the surface. Last year, 79,501 patients age 18 and younger had cosmetic surgery, compared with 11,868 in 1992, according to the American Society of Plastic Surgeons. Even though most teens won't have plastic surgery, many don't feel comfortable with their appearances. They look to movies, TV progra