Brendan wrote: PLEASE, folks, don't go on thinking that life ends at 18. If you're a writer--or just think you are, like I do--then 16 is a creative wasteland filled with broken down love poems. The real characters come out of the shadows of the late night, when you don't have to get up for school in the morning. Hello, I didn't mean that life ends at eighteen at all. I think what I was trying to say was that in high school there are so many different kinds of people to observe and interact with. I often find myself watching people in the cafeteria or in class because I see that I'm fascinated by how different from myself or my friends other people (people who are my *peers*) can be. I like to create characters from people I've met or have been fascinated by. This doesn't end with high school, of course, but I'm somehow under the impression that as soon as one enters the workforce all kinds of variety just vanish. I know that sounds absolutely ridiculous. I think, though, that maybe after high school the angst factor also diminishes and my view on many of these things will be altered. - Marta ______________________________________________________ Get Your Private, Free Email at http://www.hotmail.com