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In the article “I Once Was Miss America”, the female author living her life vicariously through the novel Sweet Valley High expresses her struggles as a teenage girl being black, Haitian, and an outcast. As the author expresses how she values the popular people but also has to work hard to defend and prove herself to them, she puts into perspective about what a majority of teenage girls suffer with throughout high school. Many young girls feel the need to attest themselves, express their worth, and find a place that they belong within the community. In each institution, there is a group of individuals whose social status and popularity is more valued than any other quality. Many aspire to have this ‘fame’ at school and to be apart of this type of group, as did the female author, but the perspective begins to shift as nostalgia is brought to light. Just as the example the author used when Sweet Valley Confidential was published, the nostalgia that she remembered from the first series did not compare to the memories and joy she had from reading the series in the past. In life and in the specific moment, popularity is something where an individual desires at the moment and it tends to take away from focusing on the more important qualities in a person. After going through high school and sharing similar qualities with the author, I wish teenage girls would pay attention more to the significant qualities, important attributes, and what makes someone unique. Also, I have learned that everyone has a story nobody knows about and it is important to be kind and respectful to every single person because it is unclear what everyone is dealing with. This article is important to show a personalized perspective of a minority who struggles with the same issues that many American teenage girls do. She emphasizes her flaws through living through the novels but indicates learning experiences and importance of valuing others.