We are absolutely thrilled to have Cecily White on the Honestly YA blog today! Not only is Cecily super fun, but she also tells the best stories. Don't believe me? Just check out her YA novel, ANGEL ACADEMY, which debuted YESTERDAY. Trust me, you don't want to miss this one.
Now, let's hear from our guest herself. Take it away, Cecily!
The Worst Advice I’ve Ever Received:
Now, let's hear from our guest herself. Take it away, Cecily!
The Worst Advice I’ve Ever Received:
When Pintip told me the topic of this post, I immediately
thought, “Oh, that’ll be a snap. I’ve gotten so much bad advice, how can I
choose?”
Upon reflection, I’ve decided that’s a load of crap. The
problem wasn’t so much that I got bad advice. The problem was that I didn’t
listen to the good advice I was given.
Example #1:
“Ask him to dance. The worst thing that can happen is
he’ll say no.”
-I should have asked him to dance. I should not have shoved
my way onto the dance floor and shimmied so close to him, I could have been
arrested for Frotteurism. (If you don’t know what that is, look it up. SO worth
it!) True, if I had asked him to dance, I may have experienced one moment of
humiliation. But I wouldn’t have gotten the reputation as a slutty skank with
no boundaries.
Example #2:
“Don’t get bangs. They’ll make your nose look even bigger
than it is.”
-This phrase, uttered by my mother, was about as effective
as a neon beacon screaming, “CUT YOUR HAIR. GET BANGS NOW!” So I did... and the
result was a poofed out, teased-up, year-long nightmare from which I have yet
to recover. Seriously. So much time wasted on nose-minimizing makeup
strategies!
Example #3:
“You probably shouldn’t go out the night before your GRE.”
-Okay, for the record, I knew that was a mistake. But he was
so cute! And, in my defense, I really, really, really wanted to
go. The good news was that I ended up not being hung over during the test.
Granted, that’s because I was still drunk...and a little dizzy... and quasi
bad-smelling. But the point is, I didn’t bomb it completely. In the end, I
managed to get into grad school and obtain the doctoral degree despite my bad
decisions. But for future reference, tequila and GRE’s don’t mix.
So, long story short, with enough stubbornness and
creativity, you really can pave a road to hell with the good intentions of
others. Trust me. It’s alarmingly simple.
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Visit Cecily at http://cecilywhite.com |
Cecily Cornelius-White, Psy.D. makes a habit of avoiding boredom whenever possible. She has enjoyed careers as a hand model, GAP salesgirl, movie projectionist, psychotherapist, yoga instructor, university professor, artist, dance choreographer, eating disorders specialist, psych diagnostician, book reviewer and copy editor. None of which are as much fun as writing novels.
She currently lives in Springfield, MO with one husband, two FABULOUS kids, and a schizophrenic yet well-mannered cat. She can swear in Klingon, take down an alien aggressor using only her mind (or a pair of chopsticks), and kill giant spiders without getting schmutz on her shirt.
When not singing to herself, she spends time creating new worlds and thinking up ways to make this one better…
Cecily was a 2012 Golden Heart finalist, and her book ANGEL ACADEMY came out April 2, with Entangled Teen!
6 comments:
Cecily,
I have had so much good advice that I've ignored that I can completely sympathize. Bangs? Been there, done that. It was awful. The only thing worse was the perm that my mom begged me not to get. The outcome: Dried out hair that fell out on the sides, making me look like I had a mohawk. Not a pretty picture for 10th grade!
I, too, have pulled the whole staying-out-late-when-I-should-be-home-studying thing. I remember frantically reading my notes for my final exam with one eye closed because I was hungover and seeing double. Never again did I do that! I ruined my nerves for days! DAYS!
Thanks for visiting with us today, Cecily! I can't wait to get my hands on ANGEL ACADEMY!
Girl, I've met you, and you do not have a big nose. You could shave your head and still look gorgeous.
Your GRE story reminded me that my freshman-year college roommate and I stayed up all night watching a Damien Omen marathon instead of studying for exams. Guess who bombed her Botony final! Oopsie.
Too funny ladies! Thank you for the smile on my face this chilly DC morning :)
Didn't know what Frotteurism was. I did look it up. It was worth it.
I generally ignore good advice (particularly if it came from my mother) too. Like, when I was in high school, she told me "Don't hang out with that girl. She's crazy."
Then I proceeded to hanging out with that girl ... and it turned out she was crazy and tried to use a nail gun on my little brother. To be fair, my brother was annoying. Not nail-gun-to-head annoying though.
Great post :)
Great article Cecily - so glad to have you!!! And I agree with Mel, you don't have a big nose. :)
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