We all have things we’d like to tell our teen selves (my list is miles long… Don’t worry about what other people think, Teen Katy!). Because of this, a group of young adult authors have compiled letters to their teen selves in a book called Dear Teen Me, published by Zest Books.
From Goodreads: DEAR TEEN ME includes advice from over 70 YA authors (Lauren Oliver, Ellen Hopkins, and Nancy Holder, to name a few) to their teenage selves. The letters cover a wide range of topics, including physical abuse, body issues, bullying, friendship, love, and enough insecurities to fill an auditorium. So pick a page, and find out which of your favorite authors had a really bad first kiss? Who found true love at 18? Who wishes he’d had more fun in high school instead of studying so hard? Some authors write diary entries, some write letters, and a few graphic novelists turn their stories into visual art. And whether you hang out with the theater kids, the band geeks, the bad boys, the loners, the class presidents, the delinquents, the jocks, or the nerds, you’ll find friends—and a lot of familiar faces—in the course of Dear Teen Me.
To celebrate the launch of Dear Teen Me, lots of people have started writing letters to their teen selves. Some have also coming up with Dear Teen Me videos. I was lucky enough to be invited to take part in one that my talented friend Erin L. Schneider put together. It’s full of familiar faces and seriously awesome six-word advice, and it’s so, so well done! Please do take a few minutes to check it out: DEAR TEEN ME
What six words of advice would you give to your teen self?
katyupperman.com 
I loved your six words when I saw them in the video. So good! And can I just say that you still look so much like Teen Katy! 🙂 The video turned out great and was fun to be a part of. Oh, if only we could pass these words of wisdom on to our teen selves for real…
Such a great video—very inspiring! I think I might have a thing or two to say to my teenage self. A future blog post, perhaps? 🙂
Have a great weekend!
I watched the video and thought it was so great! Love your six words. Inspirational and yet a little something practical too 🙂
I wish someone would have told Teen Jess to save money. That’s a good one!
Thank you so much for being a part of this, Katy – and of course, for helping spread the word, too! It’s because of amazing and talented writer friends like you, that I was even able to pull this off – so thank you!
I love what you chose to tell your teen self. This is such an awesome idea. Off to check out the video!