I also keep a diary, just for me. I’d die if anyone ever saw it so I keep it locked and hidden. I put everything in there - good, bad and indifferent. It helps. Just putting it down in words gets it out of my head.
To feel good, I also like to read. I feel like it expands my mind. There are all these different people on the planet. Sometimes, when going down the road I look at someone and think, what’s your life like? What are you all about? What’s your world? Reading lets me see into other people’s lives and imaginations, so different from my own, and I get a real buzz out of that.
Best of all, though, when I’m feeling low I turn to my mates. I feel so lucky to have got in with Lucy, Izzie and Nesta. After my best friend, Hannah, left to live in South Africa in Year Nine, I felt so lonely and thought my life was over. They showed me that it wasn’t, and that only a chapter had finished so that a new one could begin. They’ve been totally top. I would say that friends are the best remedy for low times. They can make you laugh, give you advice and see you through the times that don’t make sense.
Here are my favourite quotes:
When spiders unite, they can tie up a lion.
– Ethiopian proverb
One loyal friend is worth ten thousand relatives.
– Euripides
Friends listen to what you say. Best friends listen to what you don’t say.
Keep a diary and one day it’ll keep you.
– Mae West
This above all: to thine own self be true And it must follow, as the night the day, Thou canst not then be false to any man. Polonius, in Hamlet
The longest journey starts with a single step.
– Chinese proverb
He who would climb the ladder must begin at the bottom.
The road of life is always under construction.
If you want a friend, be a friend.
Never test the water with both feet!
And Finally …
While we’re talking quotes, we couldn’t leave out old Confucius!
Confucius, he say: Man with no front garden look forlorn.
Confucius, he say: Who say I say all those things they say I say?
And finally finally:
Everything is possible -
except skiing through revolving doors.
Bye for Now!
Well that just about wraps it up, folks. That’s all we’ve learned so far in our fifteen years/seven hundred and eighty weeks/five thousand four hundred and seventy-five days/one hundred and thirty-one thousand and four hundred hours (approximately!) on the planet. Hope you’ve enjoyed reading it as much as we enjoyed compiling it and you never know, we might be back when we’re older and wiser with whatever we learn in the future. Watch this space!
Lots of luv,
Lucy, Izzie, Nesta and TJ.
Index
acne 70, 75, 76, 80, 82-83, 99
Allen, Mrs 11, 112-116, 118
astrology 58-61, 121, 156
Aquarius 3, 61
Aries 58
Cancer 59
Capricorn 61
Gemini 5, 59
Leo 7, 59
Libra 60
Pisces 61
Sagittarius 9, 60-61
Scorpio 60
Taurus 58
Virgo 59-60
bad times, ways to cope with 122, 164-176
Izzie 164-169
Nesta 169-170
Lucy 171-172
TJ 173-175
bathtime 74, 81-82, 89, 157
beauty 18, 56, 60, 70-94, 105, 148, 156
problem areas 82-85
routines 70, 72-81
birthstones 158
blushing 84
body language 24, 28, 31, 33
book titles and authors 141
boys 1, 4, 8, 9, 10, 14-64, 65, 66, 67, 143, 148, 151, 157, 159, 165
Boy-Speak 33-34
spells to handle 1, 62-64
techniques for 24-28
types of boys 21, 22
what boys don’t want 20
what boys want 17-19, 22
where to find them 14-16
bras 5, 8, 24, 102-103, 105
braces 45, 94, 99
breaking up 52-55, 126, 164
bullying 26, 29, 108-112, 169
clothes 18, 26, 28, 34, 58, 70, 102, 103-104, 120, 125, 134, 157, 159-160, 171
day-to-day wardrobe 103-104
holiday wardrobe 159-160
cocktails (non-alcoholic) 154
conversation 19, 20, 29, 37, 38-40, 126
Cressida (Forbes) 1, 2, 11, 126-128
dating 7, 34-49, 67, 160
asking a boy out 35
first date 7, 36-42, 46
romantic places 41-42
second date 46
diet 70-71, 77, 95-101, 105, 114, 127, 144
dieting 20, 29, 95-99, 168
dinner parties 126-128, 144-146
eating (see diet)
entertaining 142-158
essential oils 72-79, 81, 87, 88, 115, 138, 147, 165
exams 115, 116, 126, 165
excuses 22, 35, 117-120, 153
advanced 119
for acting crazy 119-120
for being late to school 118
for handing in homework late 118
super-advanced 119-120
eyes 17, 29, 43, 61, 71, 83, 84, 130, 161
bloodshot/tired eyes 84
face masks 74, 79, 80-81
fashion (see also clothes) 1, 6, 8, 18, 70, 94, 102-106
favourite quotes and sayings 164, 176
Izzie 168-169
Nesta 169-170
Lucy 172
TJ 174-175
flirting 22, 24, 27, 28-30, 38, 58, 59, 60, 65
forfeits 150, 151
Foster, Mrs 11, 131-132
French kissing (see kissing)
getting noticed 22-24
getting through bad times (see bad times)
grounded, being (see things to do)
hair 3, 5, 7, 9, 18, 19, 23, 24, 26, 29, 37, 63, 83, 86-88, 98, 105, 121, 146, 152, 159, 160, 170
hair care 86-88
hairy bits 90-93
health 18, 70, 72, 77, 95-101, 105
healthy eating (see diet)
holidays 159-162
holiday pictures 161-162
holiday wardrobe 159-160
useful things to take 160
jokes 4, 16, 21, 23, 24, 25, 26, 27, 28, 30, 37, 38, 52, 72, 77, 86, 99, 119, 123, 125, 131, 132, 143-144, 167
kissing 1, 4, 5, 7, 9, 21, 41, 42-45, 52, 65, 84, 90, 143, 151, 152, 153, 154
first kiss 7, 43
second kiss 43-44
French kiss 44-45
Lal (Lovering) 1, 5, 11, 15, 17-19, 54-55, 117-119, 125, 162, 171
love 10, 20, 35, 46, 48, 56, 59, 60, 61, 62, 167, 173
Lovering, Mr 11, 99-101
Lovering, Mrs 11, 47-49
making the most of yourself 18, 105-106, 134, 135
mates 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 15, 33, 35, 40, 48, 49, 55, 65-66, 93, 127, 147, 148, 150, 155, 156, 157, 165, 171, 174
going out with 40, 66-67
meditation 167-168
money 67, 70, 110, 131-132, 134, 149, 156, 157, 171
nail care 26, 86, 89, 105, 121
One, The 32, 46
parents 3, 5, 7, 9, 29, 49, 97, 110, 111, 119, 120, 122, 124-125, 132, 139, 145, 155
Parent-Speak 124-125
parties 22, 29, 35, 38, 65, 80, 127, 128, 135, 144-154
party games 150-154
party themes 148-149
photographs, taking (see holiday pictures)
pop star names 140
profiles 3-10
Izzie 3-4
Lucy 5-6
Nesta 7-8
TJ 9-10
pulling boys 1, 8, 19, 25-28, 40, 55, 57
quiz: find out what you are really about 141
quotes (see favourite quotes and sayings)
rats (love)
10, 21, 33, 63
how to spot one 33
re-designing your bedroom 133-140
rejection 31, 34, 55, 61, 164
relationships 1, 20, 26, 27, 34, 46, 47-55, 60, 65, 67, 126
tips for 47-49
revenge 57, 141
revision 113, 114, 115-116, 117
romantic places (see dating)
romantic fiction writer names 140
safety 1, 7-8, 66, 6785, 110, 128-131
school 4, 6, 8, 10, 14, 15, 17, 23, 25, 51, 70, 96, 97, 102, 108-119, 157, 164, 165, 169
sex 150-152
siblings 1, 3, 5, 6, 7, 9, 11, 15, 38, 125-126 145, 162, 171
skin care 70-86, 89, 90, 99, 105, 121
skin cancer 85
skin types 72-77
sleepovers 134, 142-144, 157
snogging (see kissing)
snog rash 84, 90
social etiquette 1, 126-128
special days 155-158
spells 1, 62-64
Steve (Lovering) 1, 5, 11, 15, 17, 19, 64, 125, 161-162
streetwise, being (see safety)
studying 112-116, 117, 130
tanning 85-86
fake tans 86
things to do 4, 120-121, 134-141
on a rainy day 134-141
when you’re grounded 4, 120-121
Tony (Williams) 1, 6, 7, 11, 15, 17, 19, 36, 38-45, 49, 63
travelling (see holidays)
visualisations 165, 166-167
wardrobe (see clothes)
Watts, Dr 1, 11, 50-52, 85-86, 95-98
Williams, Mrs 11, 144-146