22 Responses to “Monday's inspiration + a question”

1. Cheryl
   July 20th, 2009 @ 10:16 am

   What kind of stuff do you want to know? As a teenager, I lived for friendship – I loved my girlfriends. I wanted to get out of my tiny hometown. I was shy and blushed a lot. I was a goof-up with the whole boy-thing. I wished I had a sister to teach me about hair and makeup. My friends and I drove around town, sliding on the snow. We went to the next town to “drag the gut” and flirt with the boys.

   A teen photo:
   http://www.flyoverpeople.net/news/index.php/archive/the-teenage-years/

2. Marilyn
   July 20th, 2009 @ 10:54 am

   Hello, Christina, it’s been a long time. Hope all is well with you and the family. High school…a mixed bag…somehow managed to combine “normal” (cheerleader, popular, lots of friends) with misfit (dressed too hip/odd for that place/time, desperately wanted to escape to NY or Paris). Writing that, I see that things haven’t changed much…still trying to figure out how to juggle normal vs. misfit.

3. lizardek
   July 20th, 2009 @ 11:21 am

   I was friendly with everyone, but never attached to any particular group. I sang in 3 choirs, danced with the Jazz Dance group, sucked at math and read a lot. I had steady boyfriends and a best girlfriend that wasn’t in my grade. I liked being a teenager a LOT. I didn’t drink or smoke and I called my parents to tell them if I was going to be out later than expected. I was also very bible-study-youth-group religious, hard as it may be to believe it. I wrote poetry and short stories. I painted and drew and did calligraphy. I made people laugh and I laughed a lot myself. In short, expect for the bible-study phase, I was a lot like I am now, only much, much skinnier.

4. sonrie
   July 20th, 2009 @ 11:36 am

   As a teenager:
   I was athletic: I was tanned, not from the beach or pool, but due to playing tennis all summer and fall for the team. I played basketball in the winter.

   I had friends, but was still sensitive and a little lonely: I wanted to be liked by others and made it a goal to “be more assertive.” I did not date, nor did I attend either prom, due to the fact that no one asked. The night of my senior prom, I went out with my parents and younger sister to play mini golf and eat frozen custard.

   I surrounded myself with books: I worked in the library during study hall. My favorite out of school place was the library. While at the library, I discovered a book that explained the field I went to graduate school for and am now looking for a job in.

   I worked hard to do well and prep for college: I took the ACT test 4 times, and received the same score, my highest, the first and last. I was in art club. I completed a large research project on Emily Dickinson my sophomore year and The Great Fire of London my senior year. I still remember much of the information.

   I followed the rules: Due to the strict dress code, I wore a collared solid color shirt tucked into solid color chino-type pants for four years. (Denim rivets were not allowed).

   I worked: as a babysitter, volleyball referee, and for a national retailer.

   I entered college: My favorite birthday was 19; I was having a wonderful time in college discovering the art world.

   Simply writing this awakens so much.

5. sonrie
   July 20th, 2009 @ 11:37 am

   Addendum: Like Lizardek, my friends did not drink or smoke, either, and held parties where some of the guys played guitar. I was active in youth group and went on A LOT of retreats.

   PS – sorry this is so long!

6. kristen
   July 20th, 2009 @ 12:22 pm

   i love that blog, terse and to the point.

   my sister and i were talking about me as a teenager yesterday on the phone…’emo’ is the word now, although then it was ‘new romantic’. (=

   i do remember though, waiting to be older. i really longed to be on my own and an adult. on the flip side, i grew up at the beach and i loved that existence. being outdoors, skating, biking everywhere…it was idlyic, intespersed with the whole L.A., going out dancing, new romantic/emo thing. heehee.

7. Barb
   July 20th, 2009 @ 1:09 pm

   manic depressive.

8. wn
   July 20th, 2009 @ 1:56 pm

   Hey Christina! Sounds like a good Monday so far.

   As a teenage I was blissfully unaware of most of the world’s problems, but somehow aware that the world was somehow bigger than I was. I was also boy-crazy, athletic, “cool”, funny and very outspoken.

   I wonder at what point did I drop the “cool and athletic”….hrmpp

9. Bethany
   July 20th, 2009 @ 4:14 pm

   You sure know how to pick the questions.
   I mostly remember my brain taking off as a teenager. I finally realized I could have my own opinions, and it was a confusing, exhilarating, and heartwrenchingly lonely time. I was equally concerned with not being a flirt but with being liked by the boys I liked. I studied hard, talked on the phone with friends for hours, and secretly wished I had more opportunities to rebel. Some days, I thought life couldn’t get any better, and some nights, I wanted to kill myself. Maybe I was a bit of a manic depressive like Barb?
   Okay, your turn. Can’t wait to hear about teenage Christina!

10. Molly
    July 20th, 2009 @ 5:52 pm

    As a teenager… My mother and I fought all the time, but with my friends, I think I was overly kind, overly wanting to please everyone (and that has carried through to adulthood–I get nervous at conflict). I was wobbly about who I wanted to be, though confident that writing would always be a part of my life. How to get there was what I was most curious about–as you know, the famous examples of writers’ lives aren’t always to be held up as role model behavior! I was always on the fringe too–friendly with the “popular” people (mostly the guys because they weren’t as cruel to talk to), but definitely never a part of that group–more friends with the quirky folks, which is something I’ve maintained to this day (I just got together with some of my high school girl friends last weekend, actually!) and love the diversity of that. What kinds of questions do you have about your character you are developing? I look forward to your show + tell!

11. denise
    July 20th, 2009 @ 6:14 pm

    as a teen i was competitive, curious, and had a great love for breaking the rules and not getting caught.

    …love the top right photo–it looks so simple and honest.

12. lauren
    July 20th, 2009 @ 7:57 pm

    so thankful for the sun that was here today!!!
    your question got me in the writing mood…i gave it it’s own blog post!! i can’t wait to read about “teen-dom” through your eyes! thank you for sharing your words & pictures.
    *

13. katie
    July 20th, 2009 @ 8:49 pm

    Oh, I was so sad as a teenager. Gawky, bad skin, big nose, the works. I had lovely best friend and a wonderful older sister who were my saving graces, but I mostly felt very alone and wanted to get out of high school. My home life was turbulent (at best) and I could never focus on my studies so I really never fit in any aspect of high school. I had a boyfriend when I was 15 who I dated for about a school year who was quite a bit older (18, and in college) who was a big jerk. I worked at the grocery store with my older sister and kept working there after she went on to University and I loved it. I started University the summer after high school, moved into a studio apartment on my own, and met Piers all before my 20th birthday and that was pretty much the end of me as a teenager. I look back and wish I could have enjoyed it more!

14. lff
    July 20th, 2009 @ 9:45 pm

    I was quiet, kind of nerdy, and mostly insecure. I was confused about the attention I got from the world for having a woman’s body. I had a serious boyfriend and two best friends and I could talk on the phone for hours. I loved to listen to the Indigo Girls and read Sassy magazine. I didn’t get in trouble much, but I also didn’t share the whole truth with my parents. I did well in school and thought I wanted to be a chemist when I grew up.

15. Mrs. Organic
    July 21st, 2009 @ 12:50 am

    Gorgeous tomatoes. My best friends were guys, except for one close girlfriend. I liked hanging out with large groups of friends, did silly things like write anonymous cheerful notes to those who looked like they could use a kind word, and thought entirely too much about boys.

    I worked in a hometown fast food restaurant with a great group of kids from 3 different high schools (after work water fights were the best). I danced with the drill team for game halftimes – lots of early morning practices. I lived for dances on the weekends. I was also a French Club geek.

16. Lisa
    July 21st, 2009 @ 6:25 am

    Awkward. Soooo self-conscious. Great friends and family. Yet, still wishing I had a sister to share it all with. Babysitting for a dollar an hour & working as a cashier (for not much more). It was all about the social life/boys/friends/music and hardly an effort into studies. Guinnea Sax prom dress. Sleepovers with friends. Piercing eachothers ears. Still, all the while feeling AWKWARD and as if everyone was looking critically at me (they weren’t). Funny how it took until my forties for the last of those awkward feelings to finally give way to a more self-assured and confident woman… but still, that teenager still rears it’s head from time to time even now.

17. Willow
    July 21st, 2009 @ 1:32 pm

    Oooh I could talk all about Christina as a teenager but I’ll let her share what she wants. Maybe I should send you the box of our letters Christina? That’s got a whole load of teenage feelings in it.

    When I think back, I remember… not knowing what to do with the boys I attracted. Looking up to my older sister and seeing her screw up. Feeling older than her, older than everyone in my family. Just wanting to get out of town, get as far away as possible. Loving spending time at YOUR house. Babysitting a lot. Driving recklessly. Being scared to try drugs and alcohol (mostly because I’d seen my sister and brother screw up because of them). Feeling like I got no attention at home because I was the “good” kid. Being mad at my dad for never talking to me. Mad at my mom for relying too much on me, the “responsible” one. Feeling like I had way too much adult responsibility for my age. Yearning for stability.

    Wow the feelings start pouring out. Wouldn’t have guessed I’d end up remembering so much of the hard stuff when I started commenting.

    Yes, you do ask good questions, you always have (going all the way back to when YOU were a teenager!!)

18. Megsie
    July 21st, 2009 @ 8:13 pm

    I remember being so confident, I thought I knew everything. I was a relentless flirt, and loved boys. I had a couple of really close friends, one who was a childhood friend and is still my BFF today. I also had a group of friends that I was close to in Grade School through Junior High, but drifted apart from in High School. That was hard, I remember not really knowing why I was being excluded. It was probably over some boy. Boys were our hobby. Who liked who and who didn’t. I never studied, well, not until my junior year when my boyfriend went away to college. Then I decided I wanted to go to college too. I went to every stag dance and most formal dances. I went to some house parties where there were cups for sale and kegs to drink from, but I wasn’t a big drinker. I would buy a cup and fill it half way and carry it around all night. The only time I ever drank was if there was a game of quarters going on. I remember that I couldn’t wait to grow up. I had a job at the corner drug store all through high school. I went to all sporting events: Football games, Basketball games, Hockey games. Then we always went to Godfather’s Pizza or McDonald’s to hang out afterward. I remember giving up my bike and walking everywhere when biking was too baby-ish. I remember that my looks were important, so were my clothes. I was not shy, and I had a lot of friends. I spoke up in class, once I started paying attention. Boys used to call me at all hours of the night and sometimes would come and knock on my window in the middle of the night. We would sit outside on the stoop and talk. My best friend used to sleep over all the time. She was like part of my family. She still is, even though we haven’t had a sleep-over in a long time.

19. Sam
    July 22nd, 2009 @ 8:49 am

    I love this question, and all the responses!

    What makes me laugh now is how I was a very GOOD teenager. Rebellion didn’t set in until I went to college. I was surrounded by good, positive friends who were all smart and good at whatever they did – our little group included the valedictorian & salutatorian, and when I graduated I was #10 in our senior class. I sang in the choir and was deeply scared when, as a freshman, I made the women’s sextet, kinda of a big deal. I did stats for the basketball team for several years because my boyfriend & best friend played and it meant I could go to all the games. Later on I joined the band as a ‘runner’ and then played cymbals my senior year. Learning to march was a bitch. I had this enormous metabolism and was hungry all the time; my mom packed my lunch and I ate bits of it all day long.

    I had one boyfriend for two whole years, and then he broke my heart and I nursed my heartbreak rather spectacularly. Later on I fell in love w/ the guy who taught me how to march and he was such a sweetie. We dated until my second year of college. I shamelessly broke his heart.

    Oh, and I was in a very strong youth group with my best friend and an older friend who was like my big sister. We had such a good time together. Sometimes I joke that our teenagehood was like something left over from the 50s era, so pure and safe.

20. Sam
    July 22nd, 2009 @ 9:43 am

    I wrote this long comment, but I think it got ate up by the Internet gods. Still, I loved thinking about the teenage me, and wanted to say that after I read Reviving Ophelia (at 18) it made me feel so much better about myself. I really did get along pretty well with my parents during my teen years, but there were plenty of times where I wanted to be left alone in my room. That book reassured me that I wasn’t “selfish” for needing my space; that it was completely normal.

21. Toni
    July 23rd, 2009 @ 9:21 am

    I was seriously in love with a popular boy. And he loved me back but, like you, I got bored easily and cheated on him. So many interesting boys out there. I had a different best friend every year. Was friendly with everyone but didn’t run with a particular group. Was smart but didn’t apply myself. I said chasing boys was my sport. I had a good time. I went to church on Sunday but partied on Saturday night especially after me and my serious love broke up.
    I often feel I was a waste but I had a good time.

22. Genevieve
    July 23rd, 2009 @ 11:37 pm

    I battled with my weight and was lonely most of the time. I spent tea breaks in school at the library because i didn’t have anyone to sit with. That library saved me.

    Looking back, i was such an unhappy teenager. I was depressed and suicidal and hated my parents. I so often wish that things could have been different. But now, i try not to let those years define me. I’ve moved on to a much better place.

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