Harriet S. Mosatche - Getting to Know the Real You. 50 Fun Quizzes Just for Girls

W ouldnt you like to get to know yourself better? Have you thought about how you deal with people problems or manage your time, or how far youd go to be popular? What about how you relate to friends, guys, teachers, and parents? By taking the quizzes in this book, youll learn lots more about yourself and have fun doing it, too. Both of us have always liked taking quizzes in magazines, and we had a great time writing them for you. And if you find out some things about yourself that are maybe less than flattering, well give you tips that can help you change your style and your world.

While youre discovering more about yourself, we thought we should share a little about ourselves, too. At the end of each quiz, along with an explanation of the scoring and a listing of the tips, youll see a Harriet Says or Liz Says section, or both. Thats where we admit, confirm, confess, and remember interesting, embarrassing, personal, and true tidbits about ourselves. We hope these will let you see us as the only-too-human people we are, with our fair share of humiliating moments, bad judgments, and shining accomplishments. They add up to pieces of us, not the whole picture, but enough to give you a good idea about where we stand and what were like.

Before you grab that pen or pencil to take your first quiz, we want to formally introduce ourselves.

Harriet says: I have to admit I havent been a teen in a long time, but believe me, I have vivid memories of those years. Im just one of those adults who has never forgotten what its like to be your age, which helps when youre a developmental psychologist, which is what I am. Besides, my daughter is thirteen and my son is sixteen, and they and their friends keep me very connected to the teen world. And, Ive been giving advice to preteens and teens since 1997 on the Girl Scout Web site (Ask Dr. M at www.girlscouts.org). Girls from all over the world write to me for advice, asking everything from what to do about their annoying siblings to the best way to get boys to notice them. My daughter and coauthor, Liz, answers many of the questions, too.

This is the second book Liz and I have worked on together. The first was Girls: Whats So Bad About Being Good? How to Have Fun, Survive the Preteen Years, and Remain True to Yourself, and from that experience, we learned that were not a bad team.

Liz says: My most important qualification for writing this book is that Im a young teen. I like giving advice, both online and in person, to my friends. I love taking quizzes, and Ive learned that I also like to create new ones. You can be sure that every quiz in this book is Liz-tested, partly because I wanted to know how I scored and partly to make sure it would work with girls your age.

When Im not writing quizzes, Im usually dancing. In fact, some of the time while I was thinking about how to construct particular questions, I was dancing around my computer. Of course, I also go to schoolIm in the eighth grade. And I love hanging out or talking on the telephone with my friends. Just like you, I get more homework than Id like, argue with my parents sometimes and with my brother more of the time, and am passionate about musicyes, I do listen while Im doing my homework.

We divided this book into ten chapters, each one focusing on a different theme, from your feelings to your friendships and from your body to the boys in your life. You dont have to go through the chapters or the quizzes in any particular order. We want you to have fun while youre learning about yourself. Be honest as you take these quizzesthats the only way youll really learn the truth about yourself. And make sure you read and follow some of the tipsin other words, challenge yourself to become the best you can be!

I s your self-esteem way up in the stratosphere, down in the subbasement level, or somewhere in between? Are you courageous enough to take a serious risk now and then, or do you hide from anything that might even hint at the unknown? Youll be clued in to the answers to these questions as well as other equally important ones by taking the quizzes in this chapter. So if you want to know more about what really makes you you, get your pen or pencil out, and start making some choices.

Is Your Self-Esteem Sky-High or Down in the Dumps?

High self-esteem means that you feel good about yourself and your abilities. Are you confident enough to find out where your self-esteem stands?

1. When your English teacher calls on you in class, you:

   • _____ a. begin by saying, Im not really sure, but the answer might be

   • _____ b. speak in a clear, confident voice.

   • _____ c. state the answer quickly and quietly even though you know your answers right.

2. The boy who sits behind you in science class calls you at home. You think:

   • _____ a. he probably likes me.

   • _____ b. he probably tried a dozen other kids first, and no one was home.

   • _____ c. he was probably calling on a dare.

3. Youve just turned in a term paper you worked very hard on. You:

   • _____ a. are afraid your teacher will fail you.

   • _____ b. assume youll be receiving at least a B+, and maybe an A.

   • _____ c. expect to get a passing grade.

4. When a new girl about your age moves into your neighborhood, you:

   • _____ a. think shell probably have more friends than you have in a matter of weeks.

   • _____ b. want to meet her to see if the two of you might become friends.

   • _____ c. are sure shell like you once she gets to know you.

5. Your gym teacher has demonstrated a new game. You:

   • _____ a. are not sure that you want to play, but since the aerobics stuff youve been doing has gotten boring, youre willing to give it a try.

   • _____ b. cant wait to play the new gameyoure always up for trying something new.

   • _____ c. hide behind some other kids hoping you wont have to play until youre sure you understand all the rules and wont make a fool of yourself.

6. Your best friend has invited you to a party. You decide to wear:

   • _____ a. the loudest outfit you own so the other guests cant possibly miss you when you arrive.

   • _____ b. your usual jeans and T-shirt.

   • _____ c. your new top with spaghetti straps.

7. When you get your report card, you:

   • _____ a. are shocked by how much higher your grades are than what you had expected.

   • _____ b. arent surprised at all by your gradesyou pretty much figured out how well youd do.

   • _____ c. dont even want to look at how youve done.

8. When your guidance counselor at school asks you to complete a personality test honestly, you write:

   • _____ a. I really like myself, even though there are a couple of things I might work on.