ASSIGNMENTS:
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Courtney Reagor
Savannah, Georgia USA
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REPORTS:
PREVIOUS NEXT
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To Courtney Reagor at age 14:
1. let yourself fall in love with a boy and lose your virginity to him before you graduate high school. You will be able to avoid being seen as a novelty in college. You will not have to go through the dramatic events of losing it to Alex, a notorious manipulator. You will not be seen as a badge of honor. You will be able to see through Alex's sorry attempts at getting into your pants for the 3 years that he tries. You will not buckle, and become victim to his persuasion. If you don't do this, you may think you are strong enough to resist the urge to fulfill a romantic fantasy but you won't. You will go to New York for him and spend $600 on a plane ticket and your expectations will let you down. You will be hung up on his lies and bullshit for months. It will haunt you because you knew he was completely unworthy and you will therefore become incapable of letting yourself be loved. You will feel cheapened by your decision. this will lead to a series of horrible choices and worthless boys and lots of tears. smiling faces tell lies...sometimes.
2. hug mom, steph, and dad more. tell them you love them with out words. never give them the cold shoulder or choose your friends over them. tell dad to rethink declining the offer to buy stock in a little coffee company called "starbucks"
3. listen to carly when she tells you she's worried her mom might have cancer. she will die when you are seniors in high school and will need you more than ever. do not abandon her for Aly because she will turn on you one day.
4. just because mark and jeff tease you about having sideburns, do not shave them off. they aren't even weird. this will be worse than dealing with their taunting. there will be a horribly awkward growing out phase.
5. tell mom she is beautiful. she won't believe you. but you need to bolster her ego. she has always felt cut down by her family and she needs you to support her. help her cook dinners because it is the one thing she hates to do.
6. force yourself to take adventures downtown in Chicago. You will miss this place dearly when you go to art school in a small southern town. sneak out at night. this is the safest place you will ever live in. and one of the only times you will ever be able to enjoy walking around at night alone.
7. Ask Mr. Bleck to tell you, specifically, why he became an art teacher. Force him to expose you to the artists that had an impact on his life. Convince him that you will become a passionate yet misguided, hopeless, ball of tears, if he does not nurture your urge to create. Ask him show you the different worlds that exsist within fine art.
8. eat like a pig in front of boys. its obvious you're hungry, they can tell. don't be one of those girls that is easily disgusted by facts of life. you may have food on your face or in your teeth or hair. this will be humbling, real people make messes of themselves. if you do not bring shame to the things that you get grossed out by, then its not there. say the word "breathe" a million times so you get over your verbal phobia.
9. take risks. stop trying to be an adult. DO NOT get your belly button pierced. it will fulfill a typical generational stereotype. and you will be left with a stupid hole in your belly when it falls out your freshman year at art school after getting too drunk.
10. realize that not many people in the world have it as good as you do: health, wealth, and a loving family. in this bubble it seems like that is what the whole world is like. its not. realize how lucky you are
11. know that perfectionism is a mean, frozen form of idealism, while messes are an artists best friend
12. draw from life; if you don't do this everyday you will find yourself about to graduate from art school, with a focus on illustration, with a near perfect GPA, but with a crippling fear of drawing. let yourself make mistakes. NEVER tear anything out of your sketchbook or scribble it into nothingness.
13. know that a person's faults are largely what make him/her likable
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