After reading reviews that promised faster weight loss than dieting alone, Cassie, a 15-year-old sophomore, decided to use SlimQuick pills to curb her appetite.

Sixteen-year-old Anna tried to reduce her weight by drinking apple cider vinegar, a suggestion she found on the Web.

Fourteen-year-old Tyler started eating less and spending more time at the gym, inspired by the muscular and athletic men he saw in TV commercials.

All three wanted to drastically change their appearance.

For a teenager trying to fit more flatteringly into her prom dress, or a high school athlete who needs to make a certain weight limit to participate in a varsity sport, a “quick  fix” isn’t hard to find. Pick a magazine, surf the Web or turn on the TV and you’re immediately flooded with advertisements that promise stellar results within weeks, sometimes days.

But Dr. Sarah Krieger, MPH, RD, LD/N, national spokesperson for the American Dietetic Association, says it’s important for all   teenagers to know that any diet with claims such as “No exercise required,” “Lose 20 pounds in two weeks” or “Guaranteed weight loss” can be considered a fad. Maintaining a healthy and natural weight takes more work.

Dr. Susan Mitchell, PhD, RD, LD/N, FADA adds that a fad diet focuses on some trend du jour rather than on realistic, healthy eating. Whether a diet is dangerous   or not varies from diet product to diet product, but no fad can protect and nourish the body when compared to real nutrition and exercise.

“Commercials promise magic,” says Dr. Mitchell. “Everyone wants a transformation by Friday night and is willing to do anything to get that result, even if it ends up being  detrimental to the body.”

Popping pills
Cassie knew her parents would be upset to learn she had been using SlimQuick pills. First, she had no evident need to trim down, and second, her parents would wonder why she didn’t share her concerns with them before resorting to a potentially dangerous supplement.

But Cassie was confident about her decision. “I read lots of magazine reviews before deciding on SlimQuick,” she says. “I realized that I was putting on weight in the winter, and it made me uncomfortable.”

When asked why she thought a healthy diet and exercise wouldn’tbe enough to retain her natural weight, Cassie says “I think those  would be enough, but they take too  much time. And besides, reviews promised that SlimQuick would help me lose more weight than dieting alone. I know I’m not overweight, but I definitely feel fat, and if everyone’s on a diet, maybe I should be too, before I really get huge.”

When Nina was 14, she took an interest in photography.

“It began with taking simple pictures of friends and scenery and then developed into an interest for designing the photo, creating the image as a whole,” says the photographer. “I began taking fashion shots and portraits and discovered I really had a talent for it.”

As a little kid in Woodbridge, Va., Nina and her best friend dreamed about moving to the Big Apple. So when the friend moved to the city and asked her to follow, she says, “I didn’t even have a second thought.” The transition was made easier because Nina won a $1,500 prize from The Network for Teaching Entrepreneurship in 2010 for the creation of her company, Plum Porcupine Photography.

Although the move was challenging, it was worth the payoff to Nina, who says her best skill is changing perspectives.

“I like to shoot my subject from various angles – always trying different poses and changing lighting or setting,” says Nina. “The great thing about being in New York City is when you meet the model and you just say ‘Okay, let’s walk around until we find a set to match this shot.’”

Not all glamour
Getting started in business is hard for any photographer, and especially so for a young one. Nina says she has had to take risks to prove herself to designers who doubt her work and professionalism because she is so young. “I’ve had models come to my studio and ask if I am the assistant. It can be frustrating,” she says.

The worst part of the job is definitely flakes, people Nina says waste time discussing a photo shoot, laying out images and feigning interest who don’t show up the day of the shoot. There are even some make-up artists who are no-shows.

Then there are people who are unprofessional.

“Having a make-up artist do her work poorly is never fun,” she says. “Then I spend more time retouching the photos than I did on actually taking the photographs.”

Making it work
Nina says she is making enough money from her art, but she also has a regular job: walking dogs.

Being young in this business does have a positive side. Nina is seen as a “fresh innovation” and new talent.

“Artists really appreciate that I do bring a new style to the table and I’m not afraid to experiment,” she says. “I’m getting the chance to really prove myself. So when I get to work with a big name or designer, I feel like I’ve genuinely earned it.”

Nina is inspired by natural aesthetics and abstract art. “I can recognize beauty in the most banal of objects and apply it to a photo shoot,” she says.

Fashion is Nina’s strong point, with extreme make-up or, as she calls it, “vanguard characteristic.” When examining the final products, thoughts should go far beyond just what one sees, she says. Nina started with photographing girls with low self-esteem and showing them how beautiful they can be.

Persistence pays off
With hard work and dedication, Nina has earned the opportunity to photograph the most exciting fashion event in the state of New York: Fashion Week.

Photography has taught her to be determined. “You hear ‘no’ a lot in this business, and you have to keep your head up and keep working beyond it.

“This is not a job for someone who is not thoroughly absorbed by passion for the work. It takes every ability you have available to force yourself out there. But if you can accept that and still hold a talent for it, then you just have to keep working until you get noticed. And someone will notice you,” she says. “There’s a million different tastes and styles, and your personal spin will be appreciated. And once you get to know people that appreciate your work and help spread your name, it gets a lot easier.”

And so the dream becomes reality.

To learn more about Plum Porcupine photography, visit Nina’s website at http://www.plumporcupine.com/

Each had the same mantra: “This school is perfect for me; please, please accept me.”

Upon receiving news that she’d been deferred, one student wrote, “I just don’t understand; my mom and I did everything. I mean, she got me in contact with everyone.” She spoke to all the alumni she could, interviewing with everyone who had the tiniest relation to the college. Her efforts were seemingly excessive, but when the rejection package came, she began to doubt herself.

When the answer from the Ivy League is “Well, maybe we’ll see,” it’s re-evaluation time. Enter the “Gap Year.” The semester off. The parental anxiety, but hold tight, parents. You’d be surprised at the endless possibilities.

While the typical “I went to India to find myself” intrigues high schoolers and frightens parents, there is something to be said for taking a risk. Many students who decide upon this route return spiritually enlightened and academically driven. Their horizons are no longer limited to requirements and courses; instead, their focus has been set on what they can apply their degree to. Essentially, their college experience becomes more individualized.

“Seeing all the poverty is now encouraging me to work harder,” says Sara Mundy, 20, a sophomore at Emerson College. “I mean I don’t want to throw my education away with the usual college shenanigans.”

While staying in the mountainous region of Himachal, Sara learned to live simply. Her daily routine began with tending to the family’s goats, followed by a deliciously spiced meal in a circle of friends and family. The afternoons were spent mostly helping the women of her host family sew saris and other garments. Every few days she headed into the market in the main village with her host mother to buy the week’s food. She also helped tend to the community garden and bakery.

Sara’s choice to travel alone was the most ambitious of all, but having limited connections with friends and few with Americans in surrounding villages didn’t trouble her or make her feel unsafe. She also kept an open mind, while still aware of risky situations, and stayed below the radar, never attracting too much attention to herself.

“I would do it again and again, no question,” she says.

Though Sara is majoring in theater at Emerson, she feels that her India experience prepared her to get all that she could out of her studies. Her trip fostered a new appreciation for people in general, and what we’re capable of, she says, and she now feels emotionally developed. Directors can see it in the depth of her acting.

Daily, professors and students make comments ranging from, “You seem at peace” to “Whoa, you’re totally cultural.”

“I feel entitled to have had the opportunity,” Sara says, “but I don’t feel superior, you know? I don’t think I’m better than anyone; I feel like I reached a new level of awareness about myself; I bashed through a lot of insecurities that high school created.”

Group travel at its best
Unlike Sara’s solitary exploration, the typical Gap Year option involves group travel. Outward Bound, a popular education program, offers leadership trips through which outdoor enthusiasts can explore career options and get certified. Max Shapiro, 19, a senior at Bard College at Simon’s Rock in Great Barrington, Mass., took part in the process and became certified in numerous safety and outdoor procedures in the jungles of Costa Rica, while still receiving college credit. He has been a camper, rock climber and wilderness junkie his whole life.

Along with six other college students and two leaders, Max hiked to a remote Costa Rican village and established a base camp. Over a four-month period, the crew took day trips around the surrounding uncharted territory. The scariest moment, he recalls, was training to get his Wilderness First Responder certificate. While strapped to a 50-pound dummy, he had to rappel down a 100-foot waterfall.

Becoming certified was a small portion of the trip. He learned to cook, scuba dive and create a safe stretcher made entirely of wood and vines. Three months later, unharmed and successful, he came out of the jungle stronger and nicely equipped with laminated certification cards.

A rare opportunity
Gap Years should not be shrouded in taboo and parental dismay. The chance to experience all that you can free of grades and other commitments is rare, and you may not get the chance after college.

There are other programs that offer a different approach to travel. The Center for Interim Programs  gives students the chance to develop a résumé and real-world, out-of-the-classroom experience. A graduate of the program summed it up: “On a very practical level, they’re building a résumé before college, and some things they do can lead to major focus down the line.”

While traveling around the world, students can continue harnessing work skills that will ultimately enhance their college experience. Whether it is hiking through the mountains of New Zealand or teaching language classes in Chile, the benefits are equal to those of Max and Sara.

A Gap Year is in your hands. So, explore the Internet and Google Maps and find what truly makes you tick. Whether it is a program, an individual trip or an internship in a town next to yours, there are opportunities everywhere.