Things I Have To Tell You - poems and writing by teenage girls
Edited by Betsy Franco and Photographs by Nina Nickles
ISBN 0-7636-0905-6

“If you could say what was really on your mind, what would you say?
The voices in this collection have a lot to say. They have so much to question, so much to grieve. They have so much to celebrate, so much to rage against. They’re ready to speak up and begin the conversation – with you and with the world”

The poems and prose are taken from the mentioned book (above) – Things I Have To Tell You. I have taken photographs – very different to those in the book to represent how each of the poems and prose, I chose, reflect me.

{Featured Poems and Prose}
“as a child i was taught…” by Idit Meltzer Agam, age 15
“I’m Sayin’” by Mahogany Elaj Foster, age 16
“A Girl Snapping” or, “My Application for Advanced Placement English” by Marijeta Bozovic, age 16
“New Honesty” by Jessie Childress, age 16
“Hallway Between Lunch and English” by Danya Goodman, age 15
“Be Perfect…” by Laura Veuve, age 15
“As Good As She Looks” by Gabrielle Turner, age 19
“A Man’s Strength, But a Woman’s Mind” by Marian Liu, age 17
“Tall Single ISO Coffee” by Anonymous, age 16
“I am stuck inside of this cocoon…” by Julia Gillam, age 15
“Apricot Bath” by Lindsay Henry, age 17
“Just Another Girl?” by Cindy Lisica, age 18
“It’s not the size that counts” by Julia Gillam, age 14
“Born at 15” by Melissa Parker, age 16
“Afraid” by Cindy Lisica, age 16
“A Letter to My Great-Grandmother” by Sayyadina Denishia M. Thomas, age 14
“Song for a Girl” by Jessie Childress, age 16
“Words” by Mahogany Elaj Foster, age 16
“To Live” by Miriam Stone, age 16
“I know I am strong…” by Laura Vueve, age 15


[COMMENTS]
I have always been inspired by women. I have always found their stories, their different walks of life so fascinating. I have some very influential women in my life who I have admired for – well, as long as I can remember. Each one of these women has told and taught some of the most important things in my life. The women in my family have nearly always been phenomenal – my mother and her mother, my grandma and her mother and the beautiful (in every way possible) Elma. They have left memories and so many lessons from their walks of life – with me. It’s always been my most honoured experience to listen to their stories and memories from times I never knew. Not only have my family inspired my but also the women I see everyday – my teachers, the school nurse and my peers and also the women who are constantly presented in the public eye. Delta Goodrem, Farrah Fawcett, Lauren Conrad, Olivia Newton-John and so many more - all of these women hold and possess such admirable qualities. Women have thrived and fought against the odds, now and in the past – think of all those women throughout history who have achieved something TRULY great, regardless of age. Mother Theresa, Diana, Marilyn Monroe, Rachel Joy Scott, Anne Frank – these women have endured and enabled women of the future with unlimited opportunities.

Throughout history, the role of women in society has rapidly changed. Women are no longer below everyone; they are no longer seen as nothing, as they once were. They are sophisticated, deserving, hard-working, compassionate, strong women and not one is worthless… I truly believe that. I am not sexist by any means, because men have succeeded and done so much in their own right. Look at the examples – Pythagoras, Beethoven, Einstein, Leonardo da Vinci - I do not believe that either one is higher than another, I wish for us to find an equilibrium. However I fear that this may never be the case.

This writing was triggered by the book (mentioned above) and an argument in the car with my dad – at the end of last year. I said that I believed in equality between sexes, compassionate love and actions and building towards a better – more united - future. Sure we pay each other out with emails, harmless sexist jokes and it’s funny because we can have a sense of humour about each other’s faults. My dad retaliated quickly and harshly. He said – quote – “Women have single-handedly destroyed society and you women are the reason it’s as screwed up as it is. And YOU contribute to this destruction every day. It insults me. ” I made so many excuses for my dad – and what he said – the women in his life had treated him badly, his childhood was FAR from perfect, I really tried. But I cried that day. And it has made me want to fight harder for the relationship between sexes to be. I cried not because I was angry or sad, but because he just proved my point in the harshest way possible.

I wanted to dedicate the “mini-project” Things I Have to Tell You to all of these women.
Past. Present. And Future.

PS>> I haven't finished them yet - so I apologise for the probably VERY late posts.