We All Mess Up. It's What We

Other People Have Suggested That I Write About Teens Because I'm Perpetually Stuck In That Stage Of My Own Development. That Could Very Well Be True. I Would Throw Out That Teens And Tweens Are Just Absolutely Fabulous And The Most Interesting People On The Planet. And It Is A Time Of High Drama, And Everything Matters.

I'm A Southern Girl, And I Grew Up With This Slightly Schizophrenic Upbringing Where I Bounced Back And Forth Between Atlanta, Georgia, And A Tiny Mountain Town Called Brevard, North Carolina. My Parents Were Divorced, And My Two Lives Were Very Different Because Of Socioeconomic Reasons.

She Holds Herself With Such Reserve. She Smiles, But The Smile Doesn't Reach Her Eyes, Even In The Company Of The Girls She's Chosen To Eat With. Why? I Have No Clue, And I Really Don't Want To Spend My Time Worrying About It. But My Brain Pushes At The Question Anyway. Why Are People Aloof? Because They Don't Want To Let Others In. Why Don't They Want To Let Others In? Well, Sometimes Because They're Shy, And Sometimes Because They're Convinced Of Their Own Superiority. But Those Aren't The Only Reasons. Sometimes It's Because Thay Have Something To Hide.

What Is 'power' Anyway? Power Is An Ego Trip. Power Is A Way To Rise Yourself Up By Lowering Others, And I Want Nothing Of It.

Yes, That Man Acted Ugly," She Told Us In Plain English. "but Throwing More Ugliness Back At Him Ain't The Answer.