I was a quiet teenager introverted full of angst.

Everybody is a teenage idol.

All teenagers have this desire to somehow run away.

My teenage years were exactly what they were supposed to be. Everybody has their own path. It's laid out for you. It's just up to you to walk it.

You have teenagers thinking they're going to make millions as NBA stars when that's not realistic for even 1 percent of them. Becoming a scientist or engineer is.

Your modern teenager is not about to listen to advice from an old person defined as a person who remembers when there was no Velcro.

Heredity is what sets the parents of a teenager wondering about each other.

As a teenager you are at the last stage in your life when you will be happy to hear that the phone is for you.

As a teenager I was so insecure. I was the type of guy that never fitted in because he never dared to choose. I was convinced I had absolutely no talent at all. For nothing. And that thought took away all my ambition too.

When I was a child I used to read books by Gerald Durrell who founded Jersey Zoo. He had a job collecting animals for zoos and for a long time that is what I wanted to do. Later when I was a teenager I had a fantastic English teacher called Mrs. Stafford. Her enthusiasm made me decide to be a writer.