Growing up, my best friend and I were obsessed with reading. We would spend time together whiling
away the summer in the hammock in her yard, voraciously reading through any books that came our way. My best friend's sister was 5 years older than us. Although she was basically nerdy too, she was, by age association alone, more advanced and thus cooler than us. It was through her that I discovered Sassy Magazine at the age of 11.
When I think about the major influences on my life, the bits that I've clung to and that have truly created and informed who I am today, the first thing I think of is The Beatles and the second is Sassy. Sassy was utterly unique-- a teen girl's magazine that addressed feminism, individuality and intelligence. Sassy gave voice to ideas I was too young to communicate and also acquainted me with relevant topics I had never read about before. It bolstered my already- formed beliefs in honesty and creativity, and it gave me a sense of self-esteem in those dreaded m
iddle school years. It showed me there was a world outside of my preppy high school-- a world where there was more going on than wearing Gap Jeans and driving a Mercedes.
It was written by a small group of young women (and a few men) in their early and mid 20s who had clearly made it out of adolescence and had, in my eyes, made something of themselves. They embraced the high and the low culturally and taught me to look with an even keener critical eye at popular culture. They seemed to have complete freedom in their lives and spent their days, as I imagined it, meeting stars and adequately tearing them down or flirting with them, listening to music, gossiping amongst themselves and of course, writing.
away the summer in the hammock in her yard, voraciously reading through any books that came our way. My best friend's sister was 5 years older than us. Although she was basically nerdy too, she was, by age association alone, more advanced and thus cooler than us. It was through her that I discovered Sassy Magazine at the age of 11.When I think about the major influences on my life, the bits that I've clung to and that have truly created and informed who I am today, the first thing I think of is The Beatles and the second is Sassy. Sassy was utterly unique-- a teen girl's magazine that addressed feminism, individuality and intelligence. Sassy gave voice to ideas I was too young to communicate and also acquainted me with relevant topics I had never read about before. It bolstered my already- formed beliefs in honesty and creativity, and it gave me a sense of self-esteem in those dreaded m
iddle school years. It showed me there was a world outside of my preppy high school-- a world where there was more going on than wearing Gap Jeans and driving a Mercedes.It was written by a small group of young women (and a few men) in their early and mid 20s who had clearly made it out of adolescence and had, in my eyes, made something of themselves. They embraced the high and the low culturally and taught me to look with an even keener critical eye at popular culture. They seemed to have complete freedom in their lives and spent their days, as I imagined it, meeting stars and adequately tearing them down or flirting with them, listening to music, gossiping amongst themselves and of course, writing.