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" Where did you grow up? I grew up in Bloomington, Indiana, and attended Bloomington High School South. Were you a good student? I was a good student in the classes I liked (English, art, history, psychology). I was terrible in the classes I didn&amp;#039;t like (Algebra, Chemistry). My parents pretty much assumed I was going to be a huge failure in life because I got such bad grades and SAT scores in things I hated. I really hated school, except Drama. I tried out for and got most of the leads in all the school plays. The only reason I didn&amp;#039;t become an actress is because the other actors and actresses in Drama Club bugged me. They were always being so...dramatic about everything! I liked writing better because you were saying your own lines. And there was no one going all &amp;quot;dramatic&amp;quot; on you. Did you have an after-school job? I was a world champion babysitter. I loved kids and camp counseling. I also temped. I could type 80 words a minute (still do)! What was the worst popular trend when you were going to school? Leg warmers. Also preppie stuff like Izod. UGH! Do you have a quote in your high school yearbook? No. My yearbook didn&amp;#039;t have quotes. We were pretty boring. What did you want to be when you grew up? I probably would have told you I wanted to be an actress, but that was just a front. I really wanted to be a writer, but I would have thought it was stuck up to say that, because it would be like saying I thought my writing was good enough to get published. Somehow I thought it was less stuck up to say I thought I could act more than that I thought I could write! Isn&amp;#039;t that weird? I still feel stuck up when I tell people I&amp;#039;m a writer! I just tell them I&amp;#039;m a freelancer. I never say a freelance what unless they ask. Usually they don&amp;#039;t. What is the craziest thing you ever did to get a guy to notice you? I sent him anonymous love letters. Which was so stupid. How was he supposed to notice me? They were anonymous. I still talk to him and he still doesn&amp;#039;t know it was me (we are both happily married to others. I would dieif he found out it was me. I don&amp;#039;t like him that way anymore)! Find out how Meg&amp;#039;s life has changed from then to now on the --&amp;amp;gt;.  What was your style when you were 17? What is it like now? When I was 17 I was like Jennifer Beals in Flashdance. Now, I&amp;#039;m Jennifer Grey in Dirty Dancing. What kind of clique were you in back then? Now? It used to be drama, now I&amp;#039;m a writer. What were your hobbies back then? Now? It&amp;#039;s always been writing, biking and swimming.  What rumors were people spreading about you then? Now? People used to say that I went all the way with my college boyfriend. Now there&amp;#039;s a rumor that my character is going to go all the way with her college boyfriend. What nicknames did you have back then? Now? It&amp;#039;s always been Meg.  Who were your best friends? Are they still your best friends now? Erika S./Kim G/Annie M. We just emailed 5 minutes ago! I have some other best friends now too though. What did you do for fun? Now? Wrote steamy novels. And I still do! Wow! This is weird! What advice did your parents give you when you were 17? Now? They always told me to Study Algebra harder. Now it&amp;#039;s to hire a better accountant. What did you worry about back then? Now? I used to worry that I&amp;#039;d never get into college. Now I worry that I have skin cancer from tanning too much in high school. Who was your idol back then? Now? My idol used to be Lisa Bonet. Now it&amp;#039;s Nigella Lawson. Who were your celebrity crushes? Now? It used to be Harrison Ford . But now it&amp;#039;s Al Gore.  Head to the --&amp;amp;gt; to read Meg&amp;#039;s letter to her 17-year-old self! Dear Meg, Stop worrying so much about college. IT DOESN&amp;#039;T MATTER WHERE YOU GO. SERIOUSLY. What matters is what you do when you get there, how well you apply yourself, how much you take in, and of course what you do with yourself AFTERWARDS. Also never move in with a guy without finding out if he really sees you in his future or not. Because if you see wedding bells and he doesn&amp;#039;t, you are NOT going to change that by moving in. Also no tattoos. What seems like a good idea now will NOT five years from now. Trust me on this.  Xoxo Meg Cabot&amp;#039;s newest book, Princess Mia (Princess Diaries Series #9) is available here. "^^<http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema#string>
<http://www.seventeen.com/celebrity/interviews/a1326/meg-cabot-wiw17-1207/>