High school, to describe it mildly, is a dramatic and confusing four years for the average adolescent. Raging hormones and developing minds fill high school hallways, creating societies of their own, seemingly immune to the problems of the outside world.

However, problems do arise within the private worlds that teenagers create for themselves. Problems that can lead to serious health issues and even death.

From “Rebel Without a Cause” to “Grease,” the messages from these films continue to ring true today. The basic premises of these films accurately portrays the rudimentary pressures that affect high school students. Whether it is belonging to the “Pink Ladies” or the “T-Birds,” the pressure to be accepted with the “in crowd” still has an impact on today’s adolescents.

One major characteristic that does separate the high school of today from that of yesterday is the extreme to which females, specifically, will go, to fit in.

In trying to stay in the clich they desire, to keep the boyfriend they have or want, to seem appealing and loved by others, many women develop eating and other disorders, such as anorexia nervosa, bulimia nervosa, or binge eating, sometimes called compulsive eating.

The media today has set impossible and unrealistic standards for women. Computer airbrushed photos of world-renowned models are displayed throughout magazines, billboards, and other various media outlets. Rail-thin actresses are put on pedestals — images to strive for. Young women, exposed to such images, are often compelled to become as impossibly-thin as these models and actresses.

“We are all victims of the distorted image that pop culture supplies us with,” affirms Lauren Dukoff, a Malibu High School junior.

Young males are prone to pan through such magazines as “PlayBoy” and “Maxim,” where they become infatuated with this artificial image of the female body. This results in unrealistic personal standards for what they desire physically in a girl.

“I’m not going to lie to you,” says Loran Leemon, a MHS junior. “A lot of it is about first sight. So a girl’s outside appearance does play a big part.”

Though both boys and girls struggle to conform to a certain image that many feel is needed to attend school, girls, unlike their male peers, are unable to hide their physical insecurities behind baggy clothing. The pressures put on girls are distinctly different from those that are put on the guys, and tend to come at a higher price.

This pressure brought on by media ideals and high school hierarchy leads to insecurities and in extreme cases, eating disorders.

Eating Disorders, according to “Fasting Girls,” by Joan Jacobs Brumberg, have been around since the Middle Ages. Yet, prior to the last 20 years, these disorders have been fairly rare.

Ann F. Caron, Ed. D., in her book “Don’t Stop Loving Me,” writes that there are no specific causes of eating disorders. However, she says, general contributors to such diseases as anorexia and bulimia, include “a family structure that inhibits emotional expression, society’s current expectations for superwomen, developmental difficulties arising during adolescence, serious underlying mental problems or sexual abuse of the girl.”

Carolyn Costin, who runs the Monte Nido Treatment Center and the Eating Disorder Center of California, says that eating disorders can develop from feelings of guilt when one weighs themselves on a scale or has eaten a big meal.

According to Caron, the most prevalent sign that a girl has an eating disorder is obvious weight loss. Another indication of anorexia is the female’s inclination to participate in unnecessary and arduous exercise. If the disease continues to go on untreated without psychiatric or medical help, the girl will lose control, as the obsession with losing weight will take control of her.

Untreated, anorexia can be fatal. Pop singer Karen Carpenter died at age 32 of heart failure, which was attributed to her 8-year battle with anorexia.

According to the National Association of Anorexia Nervosa and Associated Disorders, 86 percent of eating disorders are reported to onset by the age of 20 and eating disorders are a huge problem across the nation, with 6 percent of serious cases ending in death.

Malibu High School, may, in some respects, be an extreme representation of the challenges that face adolescent girls across the county. MHS, according to a series of students, is generally more concerned about weight and designer clothing than other high schools.

Malibu itself is internationally known for the sexy television show, “Bay Watch,” featuring skimpily-clad actresses and buff men. Malibu is also world-renowned for being home to the stars and the “Malibu Barbie.” Image seems to be a necessity in this small town, being only 30 miles away from Los Angeles, the entertainment capital of the world. MHS, due to its location and socio-economic status, has turned members of its female student body into walking sticks, dressed to the nines in such accessories as Gucci sunglasses and Luis Vouitton handbags.

“The fact that you go to Cross Creek and see Cindy Crawford adds a little more competition,” said an anonymous female senior.

“Especially at this school, image is a big deal,” said freshman Bridgett Farrerr, backing up this view.

Many at MHS, along with thousands across the nation, are faced with eating disorders. High School counselors Luke Sferra and Nancy Pallathena are aware of this dire problem on campus. However, they have little idea to exactly how many female students on campus are affected by such disorders.

“The new kids that come to this school are amazed at the number of really thing girls on campus,” said Pallathena. “The focus at this school is clothing, which can lead to eating disorders.”

The counselors went on to explain that, at this specific high school, there is a greater amount of pressure on what clothing labels the girls are wearing, and how, on such a small campus of approximately 600 students, it is easy for girls to get swept into it.

Rarely do these counselors directly intervene with such students on this particular issue, nor do the students feel compelled to go to them for counseling.

However, “when somebody has alerted us of a problem, we call the student in and assess the situation,” explained Sferra.

Sferra and Pallathena mentioned that the new Council Program established at Malibu High was created to help solve these kinds of problems. The Council Progam, already successfully integrated in other high schools, is a once-a-week, one-hour program where students form small groups and talk about their general problems and thoughts with their peers. The program has received a somewhat negative response from the MHS student body. This is probably linked to the fact that many students are unwilling to discuss anything truly personal, such as eating disorders, with their council groups.

While there are many girls on campus that do care a great deal about what they wear in the morning, there are the many that don’t.

“Maybe if you’re into the teen and fashion magazines, but for me I’m to lazy to do anything. It just doesn’t matter to me,” said junior Liz Cole. “Though it does take a greater amount of self-respect to not get sucked into that stuff.”

Every year, for the past 10 years, a group of outstanding citizens of our town have been selected to be the recipients of The Malibu Times Dolphin Awards for outstanding community service. Since 1999, more than 100 citizens have been honored for their contributions to our town and they receive their awards at a special awards ceremony usually in late January or early February. We’d like you to help us identify candidates for the Year 2000 Dolphin Awards. We have printed a list of all the previous awardees on page A10.

My wife Karen best described Dolphins in her recent letter to the editor.

“Dolphins come in many flavors. Some contribute their energies to helping our children, our seniors or our homeless. Others make their contributions through city government, educational institutions or service clubs, while others are engaged in programs or organizations which further our city’s environmental, intellectual, esthetic and cultural life. Some have focused on recent community or personal challenges, while others have provided leadership for many years. As there are innumerable ways and means of making a difference, there are no specific categories or age requirements. Dolphins have been awarded to organizations, couples, students–the common denominator is their contributions to Malibu.”

Please take a few minutes to suggest candidates for The Malibu Times Dolphin Awards for the Year 2000. Add a few words on why you think your selection is the best and send the information to us by fax at 310.456.8986 or e-mail at agyork@malibutimes.com or even by snail mail at The Malibu Times, 3864 Las Flores Canyon Road, Malibu, CA 90265. We’ve extended the deadline to Jan. 12.

Special to the Malibu Times

The trouble with celebrating New Year’s Eve with someone is that all your friends assume whoever it is you choose to bring to a party, that person is your “significant other.” This, in spite of the fact your companion might be more of a “stand-in” or “fill-in” so you will not have to attend alone.

Let’s say you decide this year you just don’t want to endure the questions which inevitably follow the appearance of you with a fill-in companion. You decide to stay home instead, and ride out the changeover to the new year alone.

Or, let’s be real, let’s admit no one invited you to any parties.

So, the issue now is, how to amuse yourself. Here’s a suggested schedule, written by a bachelor who has endured one too many New Year’s Eve alone (no pity, now … )

1) It’s 7 p.m. Go to the nearest deli and order a complete meal for yourself. To hell with calorie counting, let’s go for broke. After all, this is the last meal of the Year 2000. Even order the New York cheesecake and make sure it’s really from New York, too.

2) It’s 7:30 p.m. Eat dinner when you get home. Put on an action movie that will take your mind away from the fact that, only minutes away, someone you know is having a party without you.

3) It’s 9 :00 p.m.: It is nearing midnight in New York. Turn on the TV to see how things went off in Times Square. Turn off the TV when the unruly rabble get to singing “Auld Lang Syne.”

4) It’s 9:30 p.m. Mix yourself a hot toddy, being liberal on the rum. Do not ingest any pills. Make sure all your windows are closed tightly so you won’t hear fireworks.

5) It’s 10 p.m. Pull the plug on your telephone in case those who are having parties realize they forgot to invite you and decide to call you, forcing you to decide whether to swallow your pride and schlep over on roads full of careening drunks, or stay home where you’re safe. It’s best at this point to remain mysteriously unavailable.

6) It’s 11 p.m. After your third hot toddy, take out your high school yearbook and look at the picture of ol’-what’s-their-name that went with somebody else to the prom. Put on a cassette, one of those they sell on TV commercials with all the hit tunes of the ’50s, ’60s, ’70s — pick your era. But make sure it’s the tunes that were popular when you went to high school.

Throw the yearbook into the fire. In fact, rip up all the pictures of now-banished lovers and throw those in the fire too. Clear the way for a clean slate for 2001!

7) It’s 11:30 p.m. Climb into bed. Turn on the electric blanket. Put cotton in your ears so you won’t hear the fireworks. Down one more hot toddy. One for the road, even if the road is in your bed.

If all goes well, you will wake up on the first morning of the new year groggy, but, having cast off the past, you’ll be ready to forge new relationships that won’t leave you adrift next New Year’s Eve.

There are good real estate years and there are bad ones. And there has never been a year like 2000.

It doesn’t matter when you bought, the notion that demand for Malibu living may some day propel prices to the highest limits was manifested this year. By every statistical measure, Malibu has moved to levels comparable to any place in the world of similar population.

This year concludes with the total volume of home sales in Malibu approaching the unheard-of-sum of $600 million. The median average sale price has leaped 58 percent this year from 1997, when the market began its meteoric climb locally.

Malibu has had the most home sales of any year, far surpassing 1998 when more than 300 homes sold for the first time.

With three weeks left in the year, the total volume stood at about $560 million for homes only, excluding condos and land sales. It took until 1997 for volume to reach $300 million. Last year, it set a record at $430 million.

This year, it may be 40 percent higher yet.

Homeowners have become awash in equity and those who sold this year did so with a smile. The local brokerage community and adjunct services, such as escrow companies and lenders, have never been so successful. And who paid for this prosperity?

More buyers than ever, willing and more able than ever to grab a toehold in the Malibu community that grows more alluring and elusive.

The average sale price of a beach home is nearly $3.5 million. The median price is at $2.5 million. Beach volume is more than double what it was just three years ago, based on 77 sales so far this year — also a record.

Half the home sales in Malibu 90265 are for more than $1.2 million — the new median average. Throughout 1998, the median was at about $800,000.

In 2000, there is less than an average of one home every square mile of Malibu for sale at that price or less.

The median average of a home off the beach, on the land side, is nearly $1 million. It has increased 42 percent in three years. Homes on the “land side” are called so because they do not adjoin the beach. In Malibu’s earliest days, most homes were on the sand. Now, only about one-quarter are beach homes.

The accompanying chart shows sales trends comparing 1997 to the current year.

Information is extracted from the local Multiple Listing Service and other sources, and likely represents 99 percent of all actual sales, including quiet, non-public transactions. Only single-family homes in the Malibu 90265 postal zone are included.

The lower portion of the chart shows how the percentage of sales in the lowest ranges has decreased dramatically in the last three years. For example, in 1997, 44 percent of all home sales in Malibu were at $700K or less. Now, it is only 19 percent. The point where the percentage crosses 50 percent is the median price so often described in real estate statistics.

In 1997, about half the land side homes sold for $700,000 or less. Now only about one-quarter of the sales are in that lowest range. Indeed, when we talk about affordable homes in Malibu now, it is in the $500,000 – $800,000 range.

Startling, isn’t it?

Throughout the Southern Californian region, there is a growing shortage of housing, which provides the foundation for Malibu prices. While affordability indexes warn of less enthusiasm in the future, Malibu real estate has partially taken on the characteristic of a form of art. The movement upward in surrounding communities have made Malibu property more than just a place to live — it is also an asset for rare quantity and quality that commands attention from the strongest bidders. So it has been for four breathtaking years, following six years of slumps.

It is worth noting that total volume in 1992 was about $150 million. In 1994 it topped $200 million, much of that from foreclosure and short sales in a depressed market.

The number of overall home sales in Malibu in the last 10 years, approximately, has been: 1991: 141, 1992: 131, 1993: 153, 1994: 207, 1995:186, 1996: 233, 1997: 265, 1998: 307, 1999: 285. This year, it will end up at more than 330, despite hints that the market is catching its breath in recent weeks.

The average sale price, weighted by sales of the big estates and beach homes, is now more than $1.7 million. That level compares favorably with those of any investigation of the most expensive locations in the nation.

Rick Wallace of the Coldwell Banker Fred Sands office has been a Realtor in Malibu for 13 years. He can be reached at RICKMALIBUrealestate.com.