Tarnished Angel? Psh. Angel will do.

Awhile back I hosted a very conflicted teen as one of my Anonymous Teen Readers. At the time, one of my favorite bloggers, Cat, stepped in completely without prompting and offered some truly moving words of encouragement. Cat and I spoke about it, and she was generous enough to agree to write a guest blog post to my readers.

As most of you know, I don’t usually have other people guest blog here. This place is sacred to me. A place for you and me to connect for real – and most importantly a place for me to connect with the teens who read my books. I never want to turn it into a promotional machine.

But as a once-conflicted teen herself, I think Cat has so much insight to offer. Not only to teens who are going through it, but to those of us adults who might be in a position to offer encouragement and love. It takes guts to open up like this on such a public venue, and I adore Cat even more for being willing to do so.

This is from Cat. From her heart to yours.

❤

What I think I want to Say:
Z

When I wake up in the morning I feel like the 14 year old girl I once was. When I look in the mirror confusion sets in as the face staring back at me is 20 years older than the girl I feel I am.
Z

Here are the things you need to know about me:  I was bullied incessantly from the ages of 9 to 12. My first suicide attempt was in the fifth grade to try and escape the torture of going to school every day. My depression got worse in high school and I didn’t fit in. I had a group of friends, but nothing they were interested in interested me in anyway. Boys made fun of me, girls bullied me. I had my first boyfriend at the age of 19 but was so shy and anxious about my lack of experience I hardly did anything other than hold his hand. I had a long-term relationship with a girl from the age of 21 to 26. I was diagnosed with Borderline Personality Disorder when I was 20. I have more than a comfortable number of suicide attempts to my name. I was diagnosed with dyslexia and synaesthesia during my second attempt at University while I was still undiagnosed with depression.
Z

I have had a major mental breakdown where my boss at the time found me on the floor in the stockroom and it freaked her out and almost ruined our friendship. I have been sedated, hospitalized and medicated.
Z

I never thought I would live to see 25 let alone 34.
Z

I never fit in in high school. I didn’t trust anyone due to the bullying from my elementary days. I thought I was abnormal with my fits of rage, cutting and liking things that others didn’t. I didn’t care about clothes or makeup or boys. I loved reading. I was going to be a Rock Star. I didn’t like school – except English class and I was an excellent creative writer.
Z

I never thought I’d have real friends. Ones that I could trust. I never thought I’d amount to anything and in fact one of my elementary school teachers told me just that when I got a bad mark on a composition I’d written.
Z

I thought life would be better if I was dead. I tried more than once, but never more than sleeping pills because I was too chicken to cut myself enough to bleed out. I knew that no one would care that I was gone because no one had even noticed how I was drowning and suffocating right in front of them. No one cared. I was so sure.
Z

When I was 14/15 years old and someone in their 30s told me it would all get better, I scoffed. What the hell do 30-year olds know, I’d think. They don’t understand.
Z

And it’s true. Many do not understand. Why? I’m not sure. Maybe it is because they didn’t have a tough time growing up. They didn’t suffer the same way that others do with bullying and depression and sexual orientation. Maybe for them high school was that blissful time you used to see depicted on television, in books, in the movies. Maybe they were the Head Cheerleader or Teacher’s Pet.
Z

Why people think high school is the greatest time of a person’s life is far beyond me. High school is the most stressful, passionate, depressing, Biggest Thing In The Whole World That Sucks time of your life. You don’t think you’ll survive, and lately too many people do not. But you will and one thing you’ll learn, especially if you’ve had as miserable a childhood as I did, is that high school doesn’t matter in the future – except to make you the person you will become as an adult. Choices you will make in the future will be based on what you experienced as a teen. You might not realize this until you’re almost 30 like I did, but those people? The ones who pick on you and don’t get you and tell you that being different is wrong? They do not matter. They will stick with you. Things said to you that really upset or scared you will stay with you and come back to you one day while you decide how to treat another person or what kind of job you might like. But those people, unless you’ve stayed friends with them all those years? They’ll fall off the grid.
Z

It’s so much harder now than when I was younger. Hell, I was bullied by rotary phone for God’s sake. I don’t think I would have made it to my 30s had the internet been around back then. There is so much to navigate through and so many more land mines to avoid. I wish I knew back then that admitting I much preferred to read at home (rather than go hang out at the mall for no reason other than to gossip or wait for a particular boy to pass by) would just be better for my health.
Z

In my late 20s I officially stopped caring what people thought because I had given up on people. I didn’t trust anyone. I knew people would just stab me in the back and not care a thing for me. When I stopped looking for people to befriend – they started to find me. I have a husband who loves me (whom I met while in the other long-term relationship and almost lost him in the process); I have some of the best friends a person can ask for in my life right now. These are people who came to me when I gave up on the world and brought me back from the edge. It took a long time, almost too long, and I had refused to believe in it when it happened but like a wounded dog I came around.
Z

My parents have even started to understand that depression is an actual illness and not just laziness on my part. However with all the work I did myself and with the help of doctors, who finally listened to me, I have been medication-free for 7 years and the depression that I had from the age of 3 until 7 years ago has been under control. This isn’t to say that I don’t have the manic episodes I used to have because the manic part has stuck with me but the fall from that high is nowhere near as steep as it was. I’m also rather OCD about things but the people who love me accept that. They know that I will not go out to a bar with them because I do not like it and rather than shun me for that, they tease and call me the Old Granny who needs her soup and Matlock before tucking into bed at 8PM (in all honesty I do stay up until at least 9PM most nights!) and then they find other things do to with me during my “waking hours” as they put it. Why? Because they love me and want to spend time with me. They are fine with the fact that I don’t like crowded bars and late nights and drinking. They do other stuff with me because that’s what friends do – they accept you for who you are and want to be with you because they like you.
Z

I’m finally glad that none of those suicide attempts actually worked. I would not be the person I am today without the bullies and the high school silent treatment because I didn’t own a pair of Levi’s jeans. Giving up on the world helped me discover a new world where people care and can be trusted.
Z

I survived when I thought I wouldn’t. I survived because I did actually have people around me who cared but I didn’t know it. I survived because I knew I was stronger than that, I knew that being myself had to be the right answer but I was too frightened to show it at the time.
Z

I am not perfect. My halo’s tarnished and my wings are moulting. But that’s ok. That’s why people love me and care about me. They don’t mind the discarded feathers and they help polish the halo. Once I stopped pretending everything was just the way I thought people said it should be and let the real me shine through it made a huge difference.
Z

Be yourself. It sounds cliché but it’s not. It’s harder to do than to say, yes. But I can assure you that when you are yourself like-minded people will find you. They will seek you out and you’ll discover that the world isn’t that bad a place and you can stick around for a while longer.
Z

But don’t be surprised if it takes a while to find out who you are. That’s what being a teenager is all about.

Eloise, Hard Metal, and Being Human

I’m baaaack! And I missed you guysssss! We had a wonderful vacation (even if I did end up working) and I’m ready to celebrate next week’s release of Guardian of the Gate with all of you. I’ll be giving away more gorgeous bookplates (stay tuned for more info), but in the meantime, you can enter to win more incredible Prophecy swag at the Mundie Moms. Tomorrow night my new website goes live at www.michellezink.com. This blog, all the other site information, and some awesome new features will be unveiled, so check back and take a look. It’s GORGEOUS! And now, for this week’s Anonymous Teen Reader… JUST THE FACTS Interview Code Name (you choose!); Little Mango Current country of residence; Malaysia (it’s above Singapore, South of Thailand and wedged between Indonesia and Borneo) Male or female? definitely female Age; 15 ABOUT THE BOOKS How many books, on average, do you read a month? It depends really. The number of books i read range from the most seven novels (around 300 pages each) to one. If i receive new books to review for the newspaper or my book blog – thebooksbacklot.blogspot.com, then i will probably read more that particular month. Favorite kind of book and why; I read a wide genre of books as I like to learn different styles and types of voices when it comes to writing but mostly my bookshelves consists of YA. I am attracted to YA as it is lighter substance and you don’t need so much concentration to understand the storyline. Name the single most important factor in your decision to purchase a book; Storyline What makes you feel like you’re reading or have read a truly amazing book? When I see the story play out before my eyes like a movie screening in my head. How important is a friend’s recommendation in your decision to purchase a book? Not really. But my best bud and I often discuss among ourselves on the book that we are reading. Thing you’d like to see more or less of in the YA genre; I find that books nowadays are like fashion. They have a trend and they come in seasons. So if one person makes it big with this specific storyline the others will follow suit and then the entire shelf in the bookstore is filled with that specific type of book. What I’m trying to say is, i don’t really fancy clichéd storylines. After awhile, you just get bored of them. What’s your biggest pet peeve in a book? The cover. I’m a sucker for beautiful covers. I know they say you can’t judge a book by its cover but to be frank, I’ve bought tones of books just because of the pretty cover! Paperback or hardcover? Paperback. i tend to lug books along with me everywhere i go even when i travel abroad. Hardcovers are really heavy and much more thicker so i can’t really pack that many along with me if i were to go on a longer holiday. Series or stand-alone? I’m fine with both as long as the storyline in the books are not repeated relentlessly in the series. ALL ABOUT YOU What music do you most often listen to?A wide genre. The songs in my Ipod range from Hard Metal to R&B/Pop stuff. I listen to music according to my mood and the type of piece i have to write at that time, just so i get a better feel of the mood that I am writing. Name your favorite band; Not a biggie of bands but I like The All American Rejects, Tokio Hotel, Plain White T’s just to name a few. Best movie of all time? Eloise at the Plaza and The Confessions of a Shopaholic. Without naming names, tell us a little about your group of friends; Just like the books and music i listen to, I kinda, you can put it in a way, I have a wide range of friends. I don’t really choose my friends and I mix with different types of people but if they are bad influence, i’ll avoid them. What’s your biggest concern about the world right now and/or the people in it? The fact that most of us are hypocrites bugs me. We have campaigns, we donate cash to support some funds and we are all the rage on going green however most of us just do that for show and the fact we feel good afterwards. I’ll admit that as a nature lover, I still request for plastic bags when i shop even though i know how bad the consequences are. I’ve been trying to change that for some time now. Someone gives you a million dollars, no strings attached. What do you do with it? I would love to travel to every single human inhibited state there is in this world. I would love to learn the different cultures and see the different diversities there are on planet Earth and of course, spending every single dime basking and enjoying the glorious privileged life I would live in – shopping ! You can live for one year in any place in the world. Where do you go and why? A penthouse with the view of central Park in New York Upper East Side. I fell in love with Big Apple when i was there last December. I like the energy buzz of New York. It’s nothing like I ever felt before even in other big cities like Paris or London. Have you ever “Hidden” someone on your Facebook feed? If so, why? No. I only accept closest friends, family and authors on my FB account. And why would i want to add a person and then hide them? I would rather not add them at all ! Do you get along with your family? Either way,tell us why. Yeah. My parents and i are pretty tight. They treat me as an equal, allowing me analyse and make decisions for my own. What is one thing most people don’t know about you? That I am not entirely perfect ! And that I am a pure Malaysian Chinese. People tend to mistaken me for a mix-blood or a Caucasian, a Hispanic. I even got named a Japanese/ Mongolian once ! And better yet, one day while i was shopping in my homeland the saleslady asked me if i brought my passport as there would be extra discounts for visitors/tourists! Name your biggest secret fear. I hate it that whenever i walk into a room and everyone practically stops whatever they were occupied with a minute ago and stares at me. I’m not a celebrity, I don’t do anything like wear outrageous or different clothes. In fact, I am nothing but a normal human but it seems like i have a lot of presence. My friends always tells me that they can’t help but do that. Even when I go out, shopping or anywhere else, people just look at me and it’s not fun or cool ! It creeps me out to have every single person around you looking at you at one time or another. Even weirder when they start smiling at you and start talking to you like a long lost friend ! Name something you like about yourself. I’m human. Still human and no uncanny superpowers. What one thing would you like to know about other teens? How do they turn themselves mostly invisible so that people just ignore them and stop staring ?

A Dress Named Alice? How Fitting!

You guys!! How gorgeous is this dress?

And guess what? It’s called Stupendously Alice!

😀

Just taking a moment to share this gown with you in all it’s lusciousness. It’s custom made by the obviously brilliant designer/seamstress at Curiously Alice. She has tons more stunning gowns to drool over, I mean, look at. Go check it out!

❤

Titanic, Germany, and A Good “Gay” Book

Meet High Flyer, this week’s Anonymous Teen Reader. I love High Flyer because he is symbolic of so many teens today – a fascinating combination of intellect, insight, and the struggle to express who he really is. Which is not so different from the rest of us, come to think of it. ❤ Z Z JUST THE FACTS Interview Code Name (you choose!); high flyer Current country of residence; U.S.A Male or female? male Age;15 ABOUT THE BOOKS How many books, on average, do you read a month? about 8 Favorite kind of book and why; romance becasuse i love finding out who ends up with who Name the single most important factor in your decision to purchase a book; If thres a good polt behind the cover What makes you feel like you’re reading or have read a truly amazing book? If i can truly get into the book and me feel like i am at that point in the story How important is a friend’s recommendation in your decision to purchase a book? If that person reads alot then i will take it if the person doesnt read i might not consider Thing you’d like to see more or less of in the YA genre; More authours “breaking the silence” and not being afarid to write a good “gay book” What’s your biggest pet peeve in a book? an opened story Paperback or hardcover? hardcover Series or stand-alone? series ALL ABOUT YOU What music do you most often listen to? pop Name your favorite band; 3 oh 3 Best movie of all time? titanic Without naming names, tell us a little about your group of friends; we are all a little high strung and a little full of our selves! What’s your biggest concern about the world right now and/or the people in it? equality Someone gives you a million dollars, no strings attached. What do you do with it? put some twards collage and put some twards the make a wish foundation You can live for one year in any place in the world. Where do you go and why? Germany the reason is because i would love to go and see the land! Have you ever “Hidden” someone on your Facebook feed? If so, why? yes because i didn’t need everyone to know my business Do you get along with your family? Either way, tell us why. Most of the time because we all no how to stay out of each otheres way What is one thing most people don’t know about you? my sexuality Name your biggest secret fear. coming out Name something you like about yourself. my smile What one thing would you like to know about other teens? their love of books

I’m Not Afraid

I know I’ve been on a big Eminem kick lately, but I hope you guys will forgive me one more. This is like my theme song right now.

P.S. LOADS of cursing. If you don’t like it, don’t listen. I’ve always been of the mind that music has to be authentic to be true. And sometimes authenticity is raw and makes us uncomfortable. In that context, I think it’s necessary here, but I totally get it if you don’t want to listen. ❤

Friday Poll; Most Anticipated Movie of 2010

So everybody who knows me knows that I am DYING to see Christopher Nolan’s new film, Inception. This is in part because it looks like an incredible story with a talented cast (including Leonardo DiCaprio, Ellen Page, and Joeseph Gordon-Levitt). But I have to be honest, the biggest reason is Nolan himself. With films like Memento and The Dark Knight under his belt, I just can’t wait to see what he has up his sleeve next.

And not to tip the scales too far in his favor, but since it’s Friday and I KNOW we’re going to see Inception on opening night (tonight!) while we’re on vacation, I HAVE to post the trailer again;

And now for the Friday Poll. I won’t hold it against you if you choose something else, I promise!

Thursday Night Write – Open Mic

Time for another edition of Open Mic!

Same rules apply; post your writing excerpt of 300 words or less for comment. It can be a piece of anything – a letter, a poem, a novel or short story.

Remember to ask for constructive criticism if you want it, because a lot of people (including me!) won’t offer it unless it’s solicited. And if you’d rather not, that’s fine, too! We all have weeks with our writing when we’re just not up to criticism and need simple encouragement instead.

😀

Don’t forget to comment at least one other post if you leave on of your own, this way we can continue to foster the incredibly supportive, encouraging writing community we have here.

Happy Writingggg!

❤

I Want One! And I’m Going to Give You Guys One!

So, I came across this amazing ring from Chris Mueller Jewelry the other day and HAVE to share it with you.

Look familiar?

😀

Anyway,when I say to share it with you, I mean it literally. Sometime in August, I’ll be giving away one of these babies to celebrate the release month of Guardian of the Gate. Stay tuned!

And in the meantime, Check out Chris’ store at Chris Mueller Jewelry. Chris is so talented. There are some INCREDIBLE pieces there!!

❤

Mysterious Bad Boys, Adventurous Girls, and Being an Outcast

This week's Anonymous Teen Reader is JelicACrze! She's an avid reader 
and is just as interesting as out other teen readers. Get to know her!

Interview Code Name (you choose!); 
JelicACrzE

Current country of residence;
US

Male or female?
 Female

Age; 16

ABOUT THE BOOKS

How many books, on average, do you read a month?
8-9

Favorite kind of book and why;
Young Adult Fantasy, because it’s nice to get away from all the stress at school
and get lost in a world, where the characters have epic adventures and end up
falling for the mysterious bad boys or the adventurous girls every guy desires.

Name the single most important factor in your decision to purchase a book;
Whether any of my favorite authors have recommended it/blogged about it
(Goodreads.com)

What makes you feel like you’re reading or have read a truly amazing book?
I know I’ve read a good book when I begin to dread the fact that I’m so close to
the end of the book but at the same time, I can’t wait to finish it so that I
find out how the story ends. If it leaves me wanting more from the author then
it was definitly amazing.

How important is a friend’s recommendation in your decision to purchase a book?
Actually, out of my group of friends I happen to be the only one who reads a
variety of books. I’m usually the one to recommend books but if I were my
friends, their opinion would matter because I’d probably end up passing it on to
my other friends.

Thing you’d like to see more or less of in the YA genre;
I would like to see more emphasis on the conflict between the main characters
who fall for each other but with passionate make ups and reconciliations.

What’s your biggest pet peeve in a book?
When authors foreshadow early on in the book that the two lovers that are meant
to be will not end up together and end up with another usually the "best
friend".

Paperback or hardcover?
Paperback, they’re lighter to carry since I always happen to have 2 or 3 books
on me almost all the time.

Series or stand-alone?
Series :]

ALL ABOUT YOU

What music do you most often listen to?
Indie rock 

Name your favorite band;
Top 3: Temper Trap/Phoenix/MGMT

Best movie of all time?
Usually the most recent one watched: Get Him to the Greek

Without naming names, tell us a little about your group of friends;
They are involved in many school clubs/ASB. They are the funniest, dorkiest, and
sometimes most embarrassing group of teenagers but very intellectual and
outspoken.

What’s your biggest concern about the world right now and/or the people in it?
Ignorance and discrimination against people considered to be “different”.  
people have lost their moral values and are indifferent towards things that
actually matter and alcohol/drug abuse among teens.

Someone gives you a million dollars, no strings attached. What do you do with
it?
Help my mother pay off her medical bills and help pay for my sisters education
into college she deserves to go to. Buying a larger house so that all my family
can live comfortably. And of course, books books books!

You can live for one year in any place in the world. Where do you go and why?
Any place where being outdoors surrounded by forests or jungles. I love
uninhabited areas that where ever you look there are trees, lakes, mountains, or
just plains. I would prefer some place in South America rather than metropolitan
cities like New York or Paris. The cities are a beauty but I’m just not into
that type.

Have you ever “Hidden” someone on your Facebook feed? If so, why?
Yes, my friends happen to be impulsive stalkers so if they were to see some
recent activity with a guy they didn’t know on my page, they would be all over
that in a heartbeat. I need some sort of privacy :p

Do you get along with your family? Either way,tell us why.
Most of the time I do. It’s only my mom but I have siblings, all girls in their
teen years so we have many similar interests but many times it can get chaotic
with so many girls, especially teenagers! I sometimes wonder how my mom puts up
with us (;

What is one thing most people don’t know about you?
Most of my friends are outgoing and very friendly and people get the impression
I’m also like them but really, I am a very quite person and I prefer to spend my
time alone in silence. I’m not shy because I do love meeting new people and
making new friends.

Name your biggest secret fear.
I’m afraid I’ll end up spending too much time on my own reading or drawing and
end up shutting off my friends and then ending up alone.

Name something you like about yourself.
I like that I’m my own person. I usually march to my own beat and I am
constantly doing things and saying things my friends wouldn’t. I love being an
outcast sometimes.

What one thing would you like to know about other teens?
Do they truly believe that he/she will ever find the type of love is always
reading about?

Eat, Pray, Love

I don’t know about you guys, but I’ve passed this book up a million times in the bookstore. I blame the cover, which makes it look kind of like a nutrition or diet book.

Or am I just crazy?!

Anyway, they’re making it into a movie, and when I saw the trailer, I decided to read it because it looks NOTHING like what I expected. It’s on my reading list while I’m on vacation over the next two weeks, so I thought I’d post the trailer. I’ll let you know how the book is when I get back!

❤