To celebrate the release of Like Mandarin by Kirsten Hubbard, an awesome group of writers are posting about their Mandarin (the person they idolised as a teenager). Lisa & Laura Roecker and Elana Johnson decided to take it to the next level: a non-blogfest level.
Here's the details from Elana: NON-blogfest on Wednesday, March 16. You can blog about who you would have given anything to be like when you were a teenager.
I was never one of the 'popular' people. The ones with the perfect hair, figures, clothes and boyfriends. The ones who didn't walk the halls with their head down due to chronic blushing attacks, or worry about being teased for being overweight. I wanted to be someone, anyone else but who I was.
I knew people in the different groups, but I lived on the fringes. My friends were a mix of clever, arty, musical, weird teens. We were the ones who drifted around the social groups, never fitting into one category.
My Mandarins didn't care about fitting in. They said that life's too short to be someone else. They wore what they wanted. They didn't give a **$% what people thought about them. They were brave, daring, and comfortable in their own skin. And that's what I wanted to be.
It took me a while to realise that who I am is better than who I thought I wanted to be -- everyone else. My Mandarins knew that before I did. I didn't need to be anyone else because being me was enough.
And I'm okay with that.
