I spent about three hours getting ready [for the party]. We got our hair done and our makeup done and got our outfits finished and hung out for the rest of the time. We all consulted each other and decided what look would be better. I helped everybody with their hair because I'm good at it. I did everyone's makeup, too.

Whether you think clothes are important sort of places you in a group. Our group has their own kind of fashion—laid-back, clean-cut outfits. We shop at about six different stores, and we all keep up with the trends.

Our group tends to wear a lot more makeup than other people. I don't want to look trashy. I try to look natural. [When I was getting ready, I was wondering] if I should spend a long time worrying about my hair or if I should just put it up and bring a ponytail holder and not care, because I knew by the end of the night it wouldn't matter. And with my makeup, it was the same deal. Should I spend a long time on it? Would it be all blended in by the end of the night? Would it really matter?

A lot of girls [at the party] were making a big deal about things that teenage girls make a big deal out of, like guys. They might be ignored by their boyfriend, or they might be flirting with someone else.

I had been going out with Jeff, and he's kind of popular, too. I know this sounds really shallow, but people told me it's kind of like the Barbie-and-Ken relationship. At our school, being popular is, for a girl, looking the best, having the best clothes, being liked by a lot of the guys. And for the guys, it's being kind of the “jack,” having a whole bunch of girls chasing after you.

This year, relationships are getting a lot more meaningful. Last year, [Jeff and I] went out and we didn't know each other that well. But this year, we were like best friends. When you've got a serious relationship with a guy at thirteen, it means you can really, really relate to him.

A lot of girls like Jeff. Like, Katie got really, really mad at me and was really mean to me because he didn't ask her out. And she got mad because I said yes when he asked me out. I knew that was a really shallow reason for her to get mad, and she'd get over it.

I'm not exactly sure about the group of friends I'm in right now. Sometimes our friends can be really, really mean. In our group, people get criticized if you don't look a certain way. If you have a flaw, then you will be criticized whether you like it or not.

My parents can't relate to some of the problems I have, because things have changed. My parents didn't have a relationship when they were thirteen. Maybe they didn't have groups of friends. Or maybe they didn't like to dress well.

I've been approached by people who think I'm older. Maybe because of the makeup, the way I dress, and, generally, the way I look. It makes me kind of uncomfortable, because I might look older than I actually am, but underneath it all, I'm only thirteen. It's kind of scary. It's a hard feeling to not know where you fit in yet.

Greenfield, L. (2002). Girl Culture. San Francisco, CA: Chronicle Books, p. 16. Retrieved April 21, 2005 from http://dizzy.library.arizona.edu/branches/ccp/education/girlculturefacultyguide/.