What Teens Really Think

Katy Haddow attends Stonewall Jackson High School in Manassas. (Moly Bingham - Molly Bingham)

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A similar percentage say they know someone who has been shot -- including nearly half of black teens.

"No doubt about it, it's hard for any teenager to grow up," says Ben Litoff, of Northwest Washington, a 10th-grader and varsity basketball player at Kingsbury Day School. "Any time is a hard time to be a teenager, only now drugs are a more serious problem, there are more diseases and crime, lots of bad things waiting out there. But you only have one life. I'd rather be optimistic than pessimistic."

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Of Local Teens ...

97% Have had a friend of a different race

65% Have taken an Advanced Placement class in school

58% Have visited or lived in a foreign country

57% Have had a friend who was openly gay or lesbian

53% Have had a friend who dropped out of school

48% Have known someone who was in a gang

47% Have had a friend who became pregnant

45% Have dated someone of a different race

21% Have had a friend who was killed or injured by gun violence