SCOTT LINNETT / Union-Tribune Lee Houck and Joy Libs fuel up at a Pacific Beach gas station. Teens have had their summer plans changed due to the rising cost of gasoline.

Anthony Squires knows exactly what he wants to do. Squires, 18, attends San Diego City College. He wants to transfer to the University of San Diego. He wants to study medicine. More immediately, though, he wants to volunteer at a hospital so he can start preparing for a future in medicine.

Not long ago, I smugly celebrated being an empty nester. I take it all back. My baby ... OK, she's 20, but she is the youngest ... decided not to come home from college this summer. She had a good job offer. She wanted to take a class or two to get ahead. She wanted to stay close to the friends she's made over the past two years in Missouri.

News that 17 girls at a Massachusetts high school became pregnant this year is raising questions about whether pregnancy has become something alluring to teens.