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" Where did you grow up? I was born in San Diego, and we moved to Los Angeles when I was seven. A couple of years later, I started acting! Were you a good student? I always worked hard at school, both on set and at my actual school (I went back and forth \u2013 it was challenging!). Most of the time I liked school and got good grades. In junior high, though, I hit a stumbling block with math \u2013 I used to come home and cry because of how frustrated I was! But after a few good teachers and a lot of perseverance, I ended up loving math and even choosing it as a major when I got to college. What type of jobs did you work? Well, just acting. I played Winnie Cooper on The Wonder Years from ages 12-18, and did a few other movies during some of the summers. What was the worst popular trend when you were going to school? Wearing those army-style Doc Marten boots with dresses. I never understood that one! Do you have a quote in your high school yearbook? No...I guess I didn&amp;#039;t say anything quote-worthy... What did you want to be when you grew up? Well, I was already acting, but at that time I thought I wanted to be a director, too. I&amp;#039;ve done a little directing, but I love acting more. What is the craziest thing you ever did to get a guy to notice you? When I was 15, I had a crush on this guy who was really good at magic, and so I learned to juggle, thinking it would impress him. I spent hours and hours practicing, planning to show him. And then I never even saw him again. But at least I learned how to juggle. Find out how Danica&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 a more conservative and &amp;quot;practical&amp;quot; dresser than I am now. I tend to have a lot more fun with fashion now, mixing the latest trends with my own ideas. I guess I would define my style now as &amp;quot;flirty/glam/classy.&amp;quot; What kind of clique were you in back then? Now? I wasn&amp;#039;t in school often enough to really belong to a &amp;quot;clique,&amp;quot; but my friends all studied hard and got pretty good grades. They were good people with self-respect. I still like to be friends with people I admire something about; I really believe that we become like the people we&amp;#039;re surrounded by, so I choose my friends carefully! What were your hobbies back then? Now? My hobby was acting, and I studied math. Now my job is acting, and my hobby is math...hmm... What rumors were people spreading about you then? Now? Since I didn&amp;#039;t spend full time at school, I didn&amp;#039;t always feel like I fit in, and that made me really shy around people who weren&amp;#039;t in my immediate circle of friends. So some people thought I was stuck up. The rumor I hear the most these days is that I&amp;#039;m a &amp;quot;math genius,&amp;quot; which to me is really funny. I did major in math and publish one math theorem, but when I think of a math genius, I think of someone like Einstein or Sophie Germain. These people were really geniuses and made huge contributions to mathematics. I just love math and worked really hard in college. So I consider that to be a rumor \u2013 a very nice rumor. What nicknames did you have back then? Now? My nickname in school was &amp;quot;Dani,&amp;quot; but not everyone used it. Nobody really calls me by a nickname anymore, now that I think of it... Who was your best friend? Is she still your best friend now? Yes! My best friend since I was 12 years old is still my best friend now. Her name is Kim... and I included her all throughout my book. What did you do for fun? Now? I used to love to go to the movies \u2013 I&amp;#039;d see two in a row. A few times I even snuck into the second movie after it started... now that I think about it, that&amp;#039;s kind of like shoplifting! Needless to say, I still love going to the movies, but I don&amp;#039;t sneak in anymore.  What advice did your parents give you when you were 17? Now? Same advice: &amp;quot;Remember to relax sometimes. We&amp;#039;re proud of you, but make sure you don&amp;#039;t work too hard.&amp;quot; I think I&amp;#039;m getting better at taking that advice... well, maybe a little better? What did you worry about back then? Now? I remember worrying about my grades a lot, and whether or not boys liked me. Now I worry about the state of math education in this country, I worry about girls dumbing themselves down because they see it &amp;quot;glamorized&amp;quot; in the media, and they might not realize how important intelligence really is in order to lead a full, happy life. Not to mention world poverty, disease, abuse toward women, children, and seniors. I worry about losing our beautiful oceans to pollution...but I know that worrying is only helpful if it&amp;#039;s quickly replaced by positive action. That&amp;#039;s probably one of the most important lessons I&amp;#039;ve learned \u2013 because in high school, it was easy for me to start worrying about something and let the worry consume and exhaust me. And that doesn&amp;#039;t do anyone any good!  What was your high school boyfriend like? Describe the guy you&amp;#039;d want to date now. My high school boyfriend was very sweet. He was a year older than I was. We went to different high schools, and we met in acting class. He wasn&amp;#039;t sure what he wanted to do with his life, but he was a great balance for me. I was always so driven, and he always reminded me to take it easy and just have fun. My current boyfriend is very different \u2013 he&amp;#039;s very driven, and knows exactly what his path is. (Of course, age makes a big difference.) He&amp;#039;s brilliant, a gentleman, funny, and very creative. Most importantly, he appreciates and respects me - and makes me feel great. Who was your idol back then? Now? My idol growing up was Jodie Foster, because she started acting at a young age, and went on to go to a great college \u2013 Yale. I had so much respect for that decision. Now, it&amp;#039;s hard to choose just one &amp;quot;idol&amp;quot; \u2013 I guess it would be my mom and sister because they&amp;#039;re such strong, grounded women. Who was your celebrity crush? Now? When I was a teenager, I had the biggest crush on Rob Lowe. Now? Well, I worked with Rob Lowe for months on the set of The West Wing and I have to admit \u2013 my crush remains! Head to the --&amp;amp;gt; to read Danica&amp;#039;s letter to her 17-year-old self! Dear 17-year-old self, Stop wishing for that one guy to call you! When a guy really likes you, he&amp;#039;ll call. Any guy that isn&amp;#039;t calling is NOT worth your time, energy, and heartache. Seriously. I know it sounds like a clich\u00E9 \u2013 but if you are true to yourself, then everything that you want will ultimately follow. Don&amp;#039;t change yourself for other people \u2013 especially boys. Any guy you try to change yourself for really and truly isn&amp;#039;t a guy that you actually want.  Keep writing in your journal every day. It&amp;#039;s amazing what you will learn from what you write. You already have so many answers to the questions you have, and you have all the love and support you need...inside of you.  Danica&amp;#039;s new book, Math Doesn&amp;#039;t Suck, goes on sale August 2! "^^<http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema#string>
<http://www.seventeen.com/celebrity/interviews/a546/danica-mckellar-wiw17-0707/>