Smart Vs. Pretty

Had a super weekend in the city with my little sis. Strangely enough, when she started introducing me to some of her friends and neighborhood peeps, one guy went, "Oh, you're the pretty one."

Uh... my sister is freaking gorgeous, people! She has always been and probably will always be the "pretty" one in the family. She's a pageant girl, for Pete's sake! So here's the question -- why can't there be more than one pretty, smart, funny, etc.. one in the family? No one is ever truly that one dimensional. No one can own an adjective.

Now for the comment I totally dug... "You must be the younger sister." Seriously. I got that more than a few times, and I credit writing YA novels for that little age-defying nod. :)

When I first began writing for teens, I put on sparkly eye shadow, cranked music from when I was sixteen, and went to work at my keyboard. My dogs eyed me dubiously, but it all worked.

I don't have to do all that stuff to get into the YA mood anymore. I love writing about the conflicted feelings you get on the road to self-acceptance and realizations about the important things in the world. I also love writing different endings to the often laughable outcomes of my various high school and college crushes and so-called relationships. The pain -- and joy -- of that time is fresh, even after all this time.

Maybe it's because everything seemed so life and death back then. Without the perspective of time, it just felt like situations meant more. Moments counted. Futures seemed so far away.

I kind of miss that sometimes...