There's this incredible pressure, especially on teens, to be perfect, look right, have the right clothes, date the right people, get into the right school, have the right home life, and so on.

Letting go is the hardest part... but you have to look at it through their eyes and realize the pain you caused them is that same pain you feel now.

There's this incredible pressure, especially on teens, to be perfect, look right, have the right clothes, date the right people, get into the right school, have the right home life, and so on.

Once the initial excitement wears off and it's time to sit down to write, the authors are usually still very eager, but the reality of doing the work can be a little daunting.

It may not always feel wonderful. but you're out there doing it. You're running while others are just walking. Or sitting around. I mean, come on - you're out there running, for goodness sake. You're to be taken seriously.

We have a society that is going through life not talking about what's really hard about life and trying to pretend like everything's great when it's not. As a result, people feel more and more isolated.

What would happen if people practiced openness and honesty? If people talked about their real challenges without shame or fear of rejection? My guess is that people would feel less alone and isolated. People would be willing to share more, and as a result, society would feel more connected to each other and their experiences.