This Is So Awkward

Senior Year of High School, Unfiltered

This Is So Awkward

Show Notes

Senior year of high school looms large – not just in the minds of teens, but their parents, too – for all its stresses and tribulations. In this episode, we hear straight from Vanessa’s daughter about her experience navigating senior year of high school: what she did to prepare the summer leading up to it, her approach to the college application process, how she attempted to find balance during such an intense time, and the role her parents played. Remaining sane during the college process is an age-old challenge… teenagers have opinions about what helpful parent support actually looks like!

Show Notes:

Watch the full episode on Youtube!

Join the LESS AWKWARD MEMBERSHIP HUB

Protect your loved ones without spying on them. Go to https://heypolo.com/awkward or use code AWKWARD and get 70% off your first year!

Rula patients typically pay $15 per session when using insurance. Connect with quality therapists and mental health experts who specialize in you at https://www.rula.com/TISA #rulapod

Download Cash App Today: https://click.cash.app/ui6m/qxx6ozii #CashAppPod. Cash App is a financial services platform, not a bank. Banking services provided by Cash App's bank partner(s). Prepaid debit cards issued by Sutton Bank, Member FDIC. Cash App Visa® Debit Flex Cards issued by Sutton Bank, Member FDIC, and The Bancorp Bank, N.A., pursuant to a license from Visa U.S.A. Inc. See terms and conditions for the Sutton prepaid card at cash.app/legal/us/en-us/card-agreement, for the Sutton debit flex card at cash.app/legal/us/en-us/debit-flex-card-agreement-sutton and for the Bancorp debit flex card at cash.app/legal/us/en-us/debit-flex-card-agreement-bancorp. Savings and Offers provided by Cash App, a Block Inc. brand. Offers may not be affiliated with third party merchants. Parents and legal guardians can open a managed account for kids 6-12. Cash App will pass through a portion of the interest paid on your savings balance held in an account for the benefit of Cash App customers at Wells Fargo Bank, N.A., Member FDIC. To earn interest on your Cash App savings balance, you need to have sponsor approval. Exceptions may apply. Savings yield rate is subject to change. Visit cash.app/legal/podcast for full disclosures.

Go to Quince.com/AWKWARD for free shipping on your order and three hundred and sixty-five -day returns.

Download the FREE Playbook for Getting Your Kid to Talk

Order our book This Is So Awkward

Check out all our speaking and curriculum at www.lessawkward.com and our super comfy products at www.myoomla.com

To bring us to your school or community email [email protected]

To submit listener questions email [email protected]

Produced by Peoples Media Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

More from This Is So Awkward

Oct 20, 2026

We’ve covered boys and we’ve covered sex, but we’ve never covered male sexual health… until now. To understand more about what they’re doing and why, we’re joined by adolescent medicine physician Dr. David Bell. This episode covers a lot of ground: sexual development, porn, mental health, and the intersection of culture + technology. And as always, there’s lots of advice about how to talk about it.

Oct 13, 2026

What you think you know about marijuana doesn’t entirely translate to today’s weed. Yes, they’ve got the same active ingredient — cannabis — but the dose is now far higher, making it essentially a new drug. Enter Linda Richter, a leading expert from the Partnership to End Addiction, to explain how the pot of generations past has changed. She breaks down the wide range of cannabis-containing products, how they’re used, their risks, and the extremely confusing legal landscape across the US. Most importantly, she guides us about how to talk about it with young people… a conversation that’s much more serious than it used to be.

Oct 6, 2026

Kids have ranked other kids according to attractiveness, popularity, and sexual appeal for decades. But today’s tech platforms –– from social media to group chats to AI –– can amplify this old-school cruelty. Ranking lists reach many more people, with implications that can be extremely hard for kids to escape. This episode is dedicated to the hidden culture behind these lists: why they fuel humiliation and exclusion, how emerging AI tools fan their flames, what parents should watch for, and what schools and communities can do when an inevitable list emerges.

Oct 3, 2026

The story of the “Cornell 7” gang rape has sent shockwaves across the country. As details emerge, a parade of issues have follow, from disturbing legal loopholes to the impact of media on young people’s behavior to the responsibilities of bystanders. We are joined by Dr. Debby Herbenick, professor and researcher on young people’s sexual behavior, to discuss a way forward. The Cornell case is not singular –– how do we guide young people to ultimately prevent assaults from happening in the first place?

Sep 29, 2026

Our childhoods may be long ago, but they don’t always stay in the past. The hurts and patterns we experienced can shape relationships with adults and our kids, especially during the complicated adolescent years. In this episode, psychoanalyst and author Dr. Galit Atlas explores the conscious and unconscious ways childhood wounds can influence our parenting and pathways for understanding our past without letting it dictate our future.

See all episodes →