Mixtape to My Future

Does the music you listen to shape who you are? As teens, it feels like the music we listen to can have an influence on the rest of our lives. In this episode, we talk to local musician and Boys & Girls Clubs staff member, Ms. Raya. She tells us about what music was like when she was growing up and what she feels is missing from today’s music. We also discuss the change in music culture in a TikTok world and how to cultivate musical taste.

In this episode, we have a debate. On one side, Ms. Jamil, staff member here at the Boys & Girls Clubs and former teacher. Her position? Absolutely under no circumstances should there be cellphone use in the classroom. On the other side, all of us teens here at the club. We make the case for why we should be allowed to use our phones in case of emergencies, how we can incorporate cellphones in the lesson plans and how schools can benefit too by making cellphone policies more lenient. Is there a winning side? Listen and find out.

Taking care of our mental health as teens comes with a set of challenges. Who can we trust with the most vulnerable parts of us? How do we navigate this time in our lives—old enough to know ourselves more than anyone else and yet not adults who can make our own decisions on serious matters? In this episode, we sit down and talk about the pressure to fit in, our favorite self care practices and what we wish the adults in our lives understood about us.

For teens like us, friendships are EVERYTHING. But it’s hard making good friends. How do you find friends that are loyal to you and generous with their time and empathy? How do you end a friendship that is no longer allowing you to grow and become who you’re meant to be? In this episode, we try to find answers to these questions. And we turn the questions on ourselves: Have we been the best friends we can be?

Come on in! In this first episode of Mixtape to My Future, we’re finding our voices and learning how to tell our stories as the teens of the Boys & Girls Clubs of the Chattachoochee Valley. And in the process of doing that, we’re introducing you to some of the main figures here in the club and in the local media scene. Join us as we document this time in our lives exploring what Columbus, Georgia means to us and how to grapple with the good and the bad here in the fountain city.