We're taught from a young age that we shouldn't judge a book by its cover, but all too often we make assumptions based on what people look like, whether we realize it or not. Then along comes an example like Noah Guthrie who smacks us with something so unexpected we remember that lesson. 

Frankly, I almost didn't click when I first saw this video, because I've become a little tired of seeing everyone and their mother cover LMFAO's song "Sexy and I Know It," but boy am I glad I did. Guthrie's rendition wasn't what I was expecting at all, but it's AMAZING.

What Austin Hatch has been through is truly staggering to contemplate. Can you imagine being 16 years old and surviving a plane crash that killed your father and stepmother? Now imagine that's the second plane crash you survived in your young life -- and the first, eight years earlier, killed your mother and two siblings. I know, I can't imagine it either.

So of course I can't imagine how Hatch made it through those horrific experiences with not only his body but also his spirit intact. See, the second crash occurred less than two weeks after Hatch, a talented basketball player, committed to the Michigan Wolverines for the Class of 2013. Alive but severely hurt (Hatch sustained serious brain and rib injuries as well as a punctured lung), no one knew for sure if he would ever play basketball again.

Get ready to feel old. This month a girl named Serra Crawford will graduate from the University of Wisconsin-Madison with a bachelor's degree. This month Serra Crawford will also turn 16. 

And here I usually shock people when I tell them I was 16 when I graduated from high school. I was practically an old woman when compared to the Wisconsin teenager who started taking college courses at 10. TEN!

Every year that goes by, the outrageous prom stories leave me that much more terrified of the day my daughter wants to go to the big dance. This year's announcement that parents are blowing as much as $2,000 almost sent me into hysterics. I didn't spend that much on my wedding! And if you're anything like me, you could use a bit of happy prom news in the midst of the madness. Enter the soda tab prom dress.

It's high school junior Regan Kerr's answer to the duct tape dress of a few years back. And it's a very welcome reminder that there are still teenagers out there who realize this is one night to have FUN.

Parents who send their kids to Arizona State University may be hiding out today and hoping their friends and neighbors don't turn on the television. This is the week, after all, of the ASU Undie Run, when several thousand college students strip down to their skivvies and run around campus like hooligans. But how about we give those Moms and Dads a break and tell them to come out, with their heads held high? Their kids did a good thing here!

The kids who took part in this year's run collected more than 5,000 pounds of clothes and 3,000 pounds of food for charities near the college. Not too shabby, huh? Especially in this economy?

OK, so there is the whole naked teenagers thing. But let's talk about that, shall we?

Have a teenager who refused to talk to you this morning? Stop freaking. Just because it's 4/20 day doesn't mean they took a few bong hits before school. LGBT activists have co-opted the official holiday of pot smokers for a greater cause: the National Day of Silence.

While their peers are getting baked, teenagers who have sealed their lips for the day are fighting discrimination against LGBT kids around the world. The goal is to create "safer" schools for all kids, regardless of gender or sexual orientation. I don't know about you, but I'm thinking that's a lot more worthwhile than hitting the weed today.

I've always thought of going out for cheerleading as an intimidating experience for a teenage girl -- but when 14-year-old Jessica McCartney decided she wanted a spot on the squad, she went for it with complete and total confidence.

Which would be impressive for any high school freshman.

But Jessica isn't any high school freshman. She's a high school freshman with autism.

Who, by the way, also has a black belt in karate. Besides being a cheerleader. And manages to get good grades, too.

No wonder her mother is "exceptionally proud" of Jessica.

Full disclosure: Until I saw this video, I considered myself to be a fairly anti-pageant sort of person. Even before Toddlers & Tiaras, the whole concept of women competing against each other based on how they look in formal wear (I know there are other categories, but still) always turned me off -- a feeling which only intensified after having my daughter.

But "The Pageant of Hope" is a different story entirely.

I'm thoroughly and completely impressed with former Miss Georgia Teen USA winner Jena Sims for creating "The Pageant of Hope," a non-competitive event for boys AND girls facing serious illnesses that has nothing to do with evening gowns or swimsuits.

"My pageant focuses on not what you look like on the outside, but inner beauty," says Sims.