Pretty silly, right? Oh well, maybe you have to see them to understand. Anyway, I do love art. And junk food. What else? Well, I love to read mysteries — especially Nancy Drew stories. My parents don't approve because they think those books'll rot my brain. (They don't approve of junk food, because they think it'll rot my teeth!) But I keep on reading — and eating — what I like. I just keep the books and food hidden, and figure what my parents don't know won't hurt them.

Except for their lack of taste in food and

reading material, my parents are basically great people. They are Japanese-American like me. And although they can be strict, they are also fair. They do their best to treat me and my older sister equally, even though sometimes I think Janine (that's my sister) gets more attention than I do. The fact is, she earns attention by doing exceptional things, like getting all A pluses, for example, or by being invited to join this program in which she attends college classes even though she's still in high school.

Janine's a genius. I mean it. She's not just smart or intelligent. She's asuper-brain. Sometimes I wonder how we're even in the same family. I mean, I'm not dumb, but I don't do well in school. I never have, and I probably never will. And you know what? I don't really care. I mean, sure I wish I were a better student, but being a good artist means more to me. I know my parents think I should "apply" myself, since my teachers say that that's all I need to do to get better grades. But I guess things like spelling and math just aren't that important to me.

Janine sometimes teases me and tells me I'm "shallow" because I'm interested in hairstyles and cool clothes. I'll admit that I love to wear trendy stuff — in fact, sometimes I'm even the one toinvent trends in my school. And I do

love to try all kinds of wild things with my hair, which is long and black and straight. I even love to experiment with makeup. I like to try accentuating certain features. But I don't think that makes me shallow. These things are part of my artistic nature. I see my body as a blank canvas, and I can put anything I want onto that canvas, depending on my mood. Does that make any sense?