For Clarisa

For my niece Clarisa, just twelve years old, some tips I found useful in my teen years, in no particular order.

The models in magazines are airbrushed, anorexic and look like less than 1% of the population. In short, they are freaks, while you are a normal person.
Give your parents the benefit of the doubt 51% of the time.
Don't get pregnant. Use protection every time.
People with college educations earn about $1 million more during their lifetime than people with high school educations. Go to college.
Listen twice as much as you talk.
Don't cut your hair when you're menstruating.
Be independent, and set high standards for yourself.
Wait as long as you can to have sex. When you do, don't get pregnant.
Respect yourself. Insist that everyone else treat you with respect, too.
The boy you have a crush on today will look like an idiot to you when you're 20.
Read everything. Find out what really interests you. Enjoy life.
Save 35 cents of every dollar.
Pay attention in math class.
Eat healthy food in moderation and exercise every day.
Don't get pregnant.
Take a basic automotive class.
What other people think of you means nothing. Ask some adults how many school friends they still see.
Self confidence is very attractive.
Don't try to save people. Listen to them, and encourage them to save themselves.
It gets easier.
Don't get pregnant.
People who drink too much look and act like morons.
How things are, is much more important than how things look.
People who are themselves are much more interesting than people who are trying to be someone else.
Wear sunscreen.
Have fun. Make lots of friends.
Use protection every time.

With love from Aunt Kitty and her smart girlfriends.