Student 1
Being a teenager can be difficult, but it can also be exciting.
Student 2
You’re becoming more independent and making your own decisions.
Student 1
You’re also learning to take risks and solve problems better than before.
Student 2
Changes are happening everywhere in your body and in your brain.
Student 1
Though you can’t see the changes in your brain, they’re affecting how you become an adult.
Student 2
At this time in your life, there is a process going on inside your brain that makes it work faster and better.
Student 1
Imagine that your brain is like a big road map.
Student 2
When you were a child, as you learned new things, your brain made many roads going to different places.
Student 1
By the time you become a teenager, the most important places on the map have many different roads going to them.
Student 2
Now your brain’s job is to make that map more efficient.
Student 1
To achieve this, it removes the roads that you don’t need and works to make the other roads faster.
Student 2
As a result, your experiences as a teenager affect the way that your brain grows.
Student 1
For example, if you spend hours playing video games, what skills do you use?
Student 2
You learn that you must move your hands in specific ways to achieve a result on the screen, right?
Student 1
As you learn those skills, your brain remembers the roads that you used regularly to get the result you wanted.
Student 2
Over time the roads get more efficient and your skills improve.
Student 1
So playing video games could be preparing you for a career as a fighter pilot or even as a brain scientist.
Student 2
This is a great time for you to practice new skills and to discover what you’re good at and what you love doing.
Student 1
Go out and try different activities.
Student 2
Remember that with everything you do, you’re changing your brain for the future.
