What is your experience of drug use - your own, of those around you, as portrayed by the media? Do you agree or disagree with the author's contention that it often or even usually springs from a desire to alleviate loneliness? Explain your answer.

What is the symbolic value of the name of St. Nicholas Arena where the author holds his rallies? In other words, who was St. Nicholas - what was he known for in the past and what is he known for/as in more contemporary society?

What is your experience of spirituality? Has faith ever moved you to make major changes in your life the way it has moved the author and the teenagers here?

In what ways has the experience of being a teenager changed from the experiences portrayed here? In what ways hasn't it changed? What do you think...