The roller coaster in Uglies is one of my favorite images from my own work. So I was mighty thrilled when, few months ago, a commenter named Geslepen pointed me at a Flickr set of decaying roller coaster photos:
Photo by El Rebelde
There’s something about the sinuous, elegantly mathematical lines of roller coasters mixed with the chaos of nature that’s just gorgeous. I can see Tally and Shay zipping around in there, getting whacked by tree branches and laughing it up. (Good times.)
Click here for the rest of the Flickr stream.
In other news, Terri Brown posted this interview of her by me in celebration of her debut novel. Read My Lips is about a deaf girl who is co-opted by a popular clique for her lip-reading abilities. A really interesting point-of-view character in a classic YA plot of gossip, acceptance, and what we’re willing to pay for the promise of popularity.
Im mystical but thats not the point
you should disregard all others just change to what you really are and summers a great time to discover yourself and it seems thats what we all want I sure do
so if I help you, will you help me
Ha, change used to bug me SO much. I’m used to it now though. I’ve been to…I think…nine different schools since second grade, and I’m going into ninth. In my whole life I’ve lived in I think 14 different houses. We used to have to move around a lot because of my Dad’s job, but we’ve been in the same place for a while now. I used to cry every time I had to say goodbye, but one day I figured, heck my whole life is just one big goodbye, so why say hello in the first place? I stopped getting attached to things. I stopped making friends. I was scared to do anything, cuz I knew it would end as soon as it began. But now…I have a group of friends that I’d give the world for.I was only able to stay close to one friend through the whole time. She’s my best and truest friend now, and I’d trust her with absolutely anything. I guess that’s partly why I’ve never cared about popularity, cuz nothing ever seemed permanent. Now it is. But my way of thinking in that aspect, didn’t change. Cuz I realized what is important to me and what’s not.
PLEASE OH PLEASE HELP ME! Look, I can’t just go off and “discover who I am”. With me it doesn’t work that way. At school when asked a question I give the answer straight from the text book. I can’t just start thinking for myself. Life doesn’t work that way.
Sorry, ranting.
Change is beside the point. Why is the question. You really have to become attached to things. I became attached to my best friend in the world but we both moved away, so I haven’t seen her in over a year. Which brings me to a quote from the book Stargirl, “Can you loose your favorite person without loosing yourself?”
make it work that way
you need to forget everything anyone has taught you about your lifestyle
you need to make your own opinions and go with them
i promise you, ill help to the best of my ability because i know it will help me discover my own true self
Also, ranting is good. I wish I did more of it.
But do we have a true self? Isn’t that the question?
I have opinions, just they mostly come from books/school. And forgetting doesn’t work with me.
So, are we going to try washing off the paint on the shoe, or color over it?
you make your true self go somewhere to think, to be alone without people pushing and pulling you to who they think you sould be you are yourself its just hidden by others opinions
But paint doesn’t wash off of shoes.
And let’s face it. I could act like a hundred different people, but tell me to be myself and you have me analysing people and who they want me to be.
you dont do either you only enhance yourself. Your opinions may be from books and school but with every opinion your given ask yourself do you agree with it and why
And I think almost too much. I am truest when writing in my journal or on my blog. I am untruest when with my friends. I view this as an issue.
But then I start analysing stuff. Which could lead to me being locked up in my room until I come to the conclusion that the world sucks and I don’t know what to agree with because no one told me which to agree with.
put your opinions in a journal you carry with you in your heart(or on paper that works too) and stay true to those ideas others can affect you but dont let them make you
But then again, I have a different outlook on life than most people. I see things differently, I’ve been told, like an “Old soul”, whatever they seem to mean by that.
I see things differently too. But I spend half the time feeling like a piece of purple fluff, and the other half wishing I was one.
Also, others have made me my whole life. I’m a piece of purple fluff. I can’t think for myself and I only move because of people’s movements around me.
If I would have read all the things that I’ve said in the past few weeks on here until now, I would have thought that I was the most opinionated person in the world. But I guess my opinions were just an act. But still, I can’t help wondering about being popular. Is it good or bad? Evil, or angelic? Stupid, or incredible?
my outlook lets change happen around me but only in me if I want it to. I lay back and watch things change the way they happen without concerning me. I watch others and take mental notes alongside my opinions and beliefs
My mental notes turn out so often to be mental.
You keep asking if we actually have our own true self. I tend to analyze things too, to the point that people get annoyed with me, and tell me it’s just the way that it is. And I get so frustrated when there isn’t a clear answer. This is one of those questions where there is no clear answer. Because we are ourselves, whether we realize that or not. But we are other people too. There can be 100 people in a crowd, and I’d bet you they could ALL find similar feelings and things between eachother, at least one other person in the crowd. It may be little, and it may be just plain creepy how alike you are to them, and you could have gone your whole life never knowing about that person! Think of it! We’re all carbon copies of eachother, made equal, but made all UNIQUE at the same time. Yes, it is WEIRD, INSANE, PSYCHO, I know. Lots of things are. You are yourself. You are other people. You watch, you learn from others, subconsciously aware that you’re always taking traits from others. What makes you YOU though, is if you choose to take the good traits or the bad. What makes you YOU is filtering the influence. Cuz it’s everywhere.
To comment 1570:Andrea-la, I think it’s all those things balled up into one.
No, but you don’t get it. We are what society makes us. We are unique because we are made out of a lot of different people, not because we are us. I don’t always agree with what I just said, but right now it makes sense. There is no such thing as being ourselves, we are only bits of pieces of other people. Or at least that’s me. Hopefully you people are unique.
But something CAN’T be good and bad at the same time.
right TZ
you are everything and everyone but yet still yourself
life has no true answer, it may have a definition in the dictonary but so does normal but thats an opinion among us
so you live life on first thought in things like your personal thoughts
if you like those tripp pants in the window wear them
if you like that cute blue shirt in AE buy it
if you like both wear them both because its what you like
I can’t ever get what goes on in your mind, or anyone else’s, because it’s yours. Not mine. Andrea-la, what’s your favorite name?Kenzie too, what’s yours? (Just go along with this for a sec please.)
Favorite name…Janelle or Sonora. I can’t decide. And I can’t comprehend my own brain, so I don’t excpect you to.
name?like peoples
well I like my middle name Jolene
but also Alyss (alice) because its oldfashion in a new way
ooh and Tegan
those are just girls im very indesicive
I didn’t say I was going to try to. So don’t get snappy.(Jk,please don’t be angry with me though I’m just trying to explain what I think of this.) My favorite name is Cassian. I’ll give Kenzie a sec, cuz Idk if she’s still here or not…
Why are you asking us our favorite names?
Oops, nevermind. She commented before I saw! Okay, favorite color now? and favorite animal? Sorry…these are the last questions. My fav. color is turquoise and my fav. animal is…well I love tons of animals but let’s go with…bengal tiger.
Fav color is neon green and maroon
and animal is owl small owls perferrable
I’m asking you cuz I want to show you that we are all different. We have different preferences, different ideas of what’s “cool”.(lol)Just forget the favorites, just us discussing this with different views is an example of you having your own opinions. Society didn’t tell you to have that opinion, it didn’t tell me to have mine. You came up with it. No, you’re probably not the first to come up with it, but you did nonetheless.
actually wolves I love wolves
Favorite color is blue and animal is…irrawaddy dolphin.
Janelle is my mom’s favorite name. Blue is my older cousin’s favorite color. Irrawaddy dolphin is my friend’s favorite animal. See, not my opinions.
That’s what I think, you don’t have to agree. I’m not trying to “brainwash” you, but I’m calling truce. I’d rather you not be mad at me, I don’t like it when people are mad at me, so I’m stepping down now that my opinions clear. I don’t understand you. You don’t understand me. I’m letting go of trying to understand anything. So can we go back to talking about metaphorical dr. pepper & lemon shoes???
*holds up white flag and steps out of bomb shelter*
And blue was “in” fairly recently but is switching to green (and so am I), Janelle was what my mom almost named me so naturally I am attached to it, and “going green” is “in” right now and Irrawaddy dolphins are going extinct. See, hard as I might try, these are not my opinions, they are someone else’s. I hate being asked my favorite thing because I don’t have favorites, which is a sign of not having opinions.
but you still like those things im sure
its just you share opinions
*twitches* Yet, you are extremely opinionated about not having opinions…odd…
Metaphorical Dr. Pepper shoes are stupid. I don’t see why I came up with them in the first place and I don’t see why I am arguing for opinions that I am not even sure are mine. But I don’t get mad at people for voiceing their opinions because frankly I’m jealous that they have them. And to an extent I do understand you. You remind me somewhat of how I wish I could act on a regular basis, but that would be acting. You kinda remind me of how I was in grade 5. And I wish I was still in grade 5.
lol. Yes, I am opinionated about not having opinions. You are right about that being odd. I am an opinionated person without opinions. I’ll opinionate the few opinions that I do have which are about opinions. Did that actually make sense?
I really dont have faorites i had many answer
but it was because im horrid at making decisions
you just need to have an open mind but strong opinions like in religion you stuck to your guns during that
your opinions just need to be something your happy with
and I agree with TZ but We can continue it elsewhere like email or such if you like I would like o continue but also have some simple convo too
Later we can continue this conversation via email.
Made complete sense. But really, I’m a writer. I have an extremely active imagination. As far as I’m concerned,I’m in grade 5 for eternity, at least in a sense.
But I’m happy here for now. I think. I’m starting to question what I think. Sometimes I think I go on autopilot and turn into a robot.