Ask Nattie

Nattie Swan is St. Charles Parish’s best new advice columnist for kids and their parents. Let her help you. Send questions to editor@heraldguide.com.I’m new in the parish and can’t make any friends at school

Dear Nattie: I am in the 10th grade and I just moved to St. Charles Parish – and adjusting to my new school is hard.

I am always nervous in my classes and I get depressed thinking about not making any friends. I have never really been a “popular” kid and I am afraid that I will be outcast like I was at my old school. Can you help me?

– Blue in Hahnville

Dear Blue: You shouldn’t be afraid. Being at a new school gives you a chance to start over and use the knowledge that you have gained from previous mistakes. You need to come out of your shell and open up to new people to make friends. Life is what you make it and if you hide in a shell that’s where you will stay.

I just want to have fun with my buds

Dear Nattie: I am a normal teenager, trying to have fun and do what I want to do.

I want to go out after school and have fun with my friends and do teenage things, but my parents watch me like a hawk. All they ever want me to do is participate in activites that will teach me something and they always have to know where I am and who I am with. I feel like I have no freedom. Am I over reacting? – Prisoner in Norco

Dear Prisoner: I can totally relate to you and your situation. I’m 16 and my stepdad treats me like I’m 6.

Anyway, it’s not that you’re not doing teenager things, you’re just doing teenage things that your parents want you to do. They don’t want you to get in trouble or get into a situation that you can’t get out of. They’re just looking out for you. Maybe you should just sit down with them and talk about how you feel.