by Stacey
I loved this clever marketing idea from YA author Sarah Mlynowski, whose new novel is about to come out. In anticipation, she asked fellow YA authors what they would tell their high school selves if given the chance. Not surprisingly, she's had a great response and people are loving the conversation. My personal favorite is from DGLM client, Sara Zarr: "@sarazarr: You are NOT FAT. You will be, but you're not now, so enjoy it."
If you were able to communicate with your high school self, what would you say? I wouldn't even know where to begin, but I better start thinking about it with four little girls of my own who will be teenagers before long!
Posts
"Don't waste the next fifteen years of your life. Start writing NOW."
ReplyDeleteHaha! I like the fat comment too...I'd say that for sure!
ReplyDeleteI'd also tell myself to get off my butt and work harder. I skated through high school, always on the Honor Roll, but I never really applied myself so now I have no idea how high I could have gone.
things will work out fine so don't panic so much. of course my 16 year old self wouldn't have believed me.
ReplyDelete"Those hackneyed graduation speeches are a LIE. These are NOT the best years of your life. Life just keeps getting better!"
ReplyDeleteUhm... I'm still in high school... 23 days left!
ReplyDeleteBut I could tell my 14-year-old self, freshman year was the best year. There was absolutely no drama that year. I'd tell her she should have gotten serious with looking at colleges. And I would have told her she should have joined marching band that year, rather than waiting until sophomore year.
Life doesn't always work out the way you plan it, and that's OK. You're not going to marry this guy, you will not become a veterinarian. Nothing you expect to happen at this moment will. Just relax, go with the flow and learn to enjoy what does.
ReplyDeleteI would say, "You don't know it all." I shudder at how cocky and pompous I must have seemed to others!
ReplyDeleteSara stole mine.
ReplyDeleteOh, and you DON'T KNOW EVERYTHING, and be nicer to your mother. And let her pay your college tuition. Paying for beers you had when you were a college freshman ten years later pretty much sucks.
I've already told myself the fat comment, like about every 5 years. But I'm with Kelly up top, I'd have told myself to cut out some of the mega reading I did and start writing!
ReplyDeleteEvery single struggle you go through today, will mold you into the woman you'll be tomorrow.
ReplyDeleteThings will get a lot better than this. In the meantime, you're not the only person in the world, so look around you and think of others for a change. Forget French -- learn Spanish instead. Also swim more and eat more leafy green vegetables, they won't kill you. Take out the garbage once in a while BEFORE your mother has to beg, she won't be around forever.
ReplyDeleteAnd I wouldn't have listened to a bit of it.
I'd say don't hold back
ReplyDeleteWhat a fun idea.
ReplyDeleteI'd say: "You are not a freak. Wait till they all start trying to be your friend after you graduate uni."
Don't call your boyfriend every 15 minutes just to see if he's home yet. Wait 20 years for FaceBook and THEN hone your stalking skills.
ReplyDeleteForty years ago I would have told my fifteen year old self that the little brown haired girl you fancy is a good move. Buy Microsoft and remember: When the time comes a second child doesn't diminish the amount of love you may share, it doubles it.
ReplyDeleteI'd tell myself this: "Opportunity abounds. Take advantage of it--travel, take risks, and just DO STUFF! The world really is out there to grab."
ReplyDeleteAs a parent, that's one of the main things I hope to impart to my children. I wish I'd understood that when I was a teenager, and even into my twenties.
I'd tell myself to slow down and wait. I didn't meet the man I eventually married until I was 30...others came and went...but the really mushy stuff about "it just being right when it's right" is true. Everyone feels like the love of your life, until you actually meet him/her.
ReplyDeleteI would tell myself just that everything would be OK. That life wouldn't turn out how I'd expected it, but that I'd be happier for the experiences I did end up having. And I'd probably warn myself to stay away from this boy or to go on that trip and to write even more, because I'd come to enjoy it a lot more than I would have thought and would wish I had focused more on it earlier.
ReplyDelete(And I really wish my 36-year-old self would come from the future and tell me similar things!)
I would tell my self, Don't be afraid to be noticed and do what you really want to do. Don't worry what you think others are thinking about you. And don't waste my time on high school boys because you won't meet your hottie husband till college.
ReplyDeleteI'd say:
ReplyDeleteFasten your seatbelt . . . it's going to be a bumpy ride.