It's time for teens to rock the area and show what we can do with a pen, a microphone, a canvas or a spotlight.

I swam year-round until the day I tried out for my school's spring musical, Into the Woods , and now I'm hooked. If you're wanting to get started on your own artistic journey, I have some tips.

The benefits of being involved with chorus, band, art classes or the drama program are numerous. You're growing as a person, not becoming a juvenile delinquent. You're learning how to express yourself and to collaborate with others for a common goal.

You're staying involved with your school and, according to Georgia Project: A Status Report on Arts Education in the State of Georgia (which you can find at the National Association for Music Education's Web site), you are more likely to score higher on the SAT and the graduation test.

The teenage demographic is alive on Broadway. Every show likes to have a throng of screaming, happy, obsessed fans, and that's where our age group comes in. That's why a number of new shows are being produced with the younger generation in mind.

The racy new rock musical Spring Awakening tackles teenage angst head on with a talented young cast (including Georgia's own Blake Daniel). Wicked is Broadway's biggest blockbuster and a favorite of teenagers. Its pop score is a popular soundtrack on iTunes.

Do you want to break the music mold?

Maybe you've got a garage band; maybe you just have a Mac and can record your voice. Either way, you need information about what's going on locally and nationally in the world of music.

A good place to start would be to go for originality, like Sufjan Stevens. Check out his latest, Illinoise!

Music is really too diverse to cover, so I'll leave it up to you, MySpace music and iTunes to provide inspiration.

If you don't think you've got it in you to write music, just listen to Augusta's own Brian Lam on MySpace. He's young and talented and was recently on American Idol .

Do you want to splash your life on a canvas?

Get a canvas and throw paint onto it. Draw your friend a portrait for her birthday. If you desire something a little more structured, check out a few classes at the Gertrude Herbert Institute of Art, 506 Telfair St. They offer some exceptional classes for teens.

What are you waiting for? Put the paper down (after you've finished reading it, of course) and see what you can do.

Michael Ryan is a sophomore at Greenbrier High School.