Day 306: Lauren Cook

August 2, 2010 at 12:01 am, Category: Inspiration

“I think more than anything, teens are happy people.  I think there’s a stigma a lot of the times that, you know, teens are really sullen and rebellious and have bad attitudes.  That is so untrue.  I’ve been interviewing teens.  A typical question is ‘On a scale of 1 to 10, how happy are you?’ … most teens will tell you they’re either an 8 or a 9, and they don’t say a 10 because obviously they want to keep reaching.  But teens are happy these days …”

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Toni Reece: Thank you so much, Lauren, for agreeing to be part of this Project, and before we begin, can you please introduce yourself?

Lauren Cook: Yes, I’d like to.  My name is Lauren Cook.  I’m also known as the Sunny Girl with my project, the Sunny Side Up.  I just finished my first year at UCLA, so I’m a proud Bruin, and I’m so excited to be a part of the Get Inspired! Project.

Toni: Well thank you!  We’re excited to have you here.  Well, Lauren, when you think of the word inspiration, who are you inspiring, and how is that happening?

Lauren: Well, my main goal is to inspire teens and young adults.  My project these days has been working on the Sunny Side Up, which is all about teen happiness, and I really want to study how, when, and why teens are happy, and most importantly, what we can do to recognize and increase and appreciate happiness in teens even more so.  So I’ve really been trying to work with teens to see what makes them happy in their lives, and what we can do to increase that even more so.

Toni: Wow!  Well give me an example of some of the work that you’re doing.

Lauren: Well, I’m currently interviewing over 300 students on different things that make them happy in their life, whether it may be their dating life, their spirituality, their relationship with their family and their friends, and really it’s been interesting to hear some of these stories that you would never know that teens are going through.  I’ve heard stories about recovering alcoholics, eating disorders, all kinds of things, and it’s been really inspiring to see how these teens have still been able to find happiness despite a challenging situation.

Toni: How do you think that you are helping others to explore their potential by the work that you’re doing?

Lauren: The main thing I’m wanting to do is get teens to write and really explore what they’re going through.  So much of the time these stories stay hidden within teens, and for me it’s been so enlightening and empowering to ask these teens “What is going on in your life?” because so much of the time nobody seems to care, and nobody seems to ask.  So it’s been really healing, I hope, for them to be able to share their story with me, and then learn that other teens are going through the exact same thing, and they’re not alone.

Toni: So it’s really a way to showcase … there’s a couple things I’m hearing.  It’s a way to showcase their stories, it’s a way to create almost a teen mentoring situation, teen-to-teen, and what a way for them to journal what’s going on in their lives so that they are given a voice to their story.

Lauren: Most definitely.  I feel like writing can be so healing and so creative, and you learn so much about yourself through the process of writing, and so I hope that’s how the teens who have been part of the project have felt as well.

Toni: What inspires you, Lauren?

Lauren: What inspires me?  A big thing on my blog is what I call Five Daily Gratitudes.  Every day at the end of the day I kind of reflect on my day, little things that may have happened.  Those little moments in the day inspire me, and studies have shown it’s the little things in life that make you happier.  So for me, I love my cat, so he makes me so much happier at the end of the day; that inspires me.  You know, seeing a butterfly float outside my window or hearing a good song to sing along to in the car.  Little things like that give me so much inspiration and so much happiness.

Toni: Have you always been this way?

Lauren: I definitely like to consider myself a happy person.  I mean, everybody definitely has setbacks in their life, and you know, I’ve certainly been no exception to that.  But I think it’s really important to try and see the positive side of life, and look for those little moments in life to be grateful for.

Toni: Lauren, what brought you … since you just finished your first year in college, correct?

Lauren: Yes.

Toni: What brought you to the decision to work with and help other teens be happy?

Lauren: I think it’s really important to work with people who are going through a similar experience with you, and I’ve always wanted to be an author and hopefully a motivational speaker someday, but I feel like it’s so important to come from a place of understanding and empathy rather than preaching, necessarily.  I really want to be able to relate to my peers, and I feel like I’m in the perfect place to do that right now since I’m their age and I’m going through the exact same things they are.

Toni: Absolutely.  So when you’re finding yourself in a day that you’re needing a little bit more inspiration than maybe the previous day, what do you tend to reach for?  What are your go-to tools or inspirational resources?

Lauren: I would definitely have to say mentors really get me through, especially trying to be a young author, I truly have my moments of self-doubt where I wonder “Is this really possible?  Can I do it?”  And it’s been so nice for me to see mentors, especially people who are my age and who are authors who have been successful, and for me to ask them questions and for them to be open to sharing with me what they’ve experienced.  That’s really given me inspiration when I can’t seem to find that within myself.

Toni: What do you see as a trend that’s starting to come out of your happiness seeking for teenagers?  What’s trending?

Lauren: What is trending?  I think more than anything, teens are happy people.  I think there’s a stigma a lot of the times that, you know, teens are really sullen and rebellious and have bad attitudes.  That is so untrue.  I’ve been interviewing teens.  A typical question is “On a scale of 1 to 10, how happy are you?” and every teen just about … I mean, obviously there are cases of depression, but most teens will tell you they’re either an 8 or a 9, and they don’t say a 10 because obviously they want to keep reaching.  But teens are happy these days, and that’s been so exciting for me to see.

Toni: Why do you think that is?  Why do you think there’s a perception issue?

Lauren: You know, I really don’t know.  I think everybody has their off days, and I think teens in general are not necessarily given the credit they deserve.  We’re not necessarily seen to be as intelligent as a 35-year-old or a business woman or career man, and you know, we’re just as intelligent and we have just as much passion and drive for life.  Maybe not as much experience, but teens are happy because they’re thriving and they’re meeting their goals, they’re reaching out, and I’m hoping that people will see that and have faith in teens.

Toni: So Lauren, are you going to be inspired to educate those of us who are not teenagers to the real face of the teenager?

Lauren: Oh, most definitely.  You know, there’s such a generation gap sometimes between our parents and the current teen generation, and I think there’s so much that I would hopefully like to convey to parents and to even grandparents about here’s what teens are going through nowadays.  Everything with technology and Facebook – that’s something I’m trying to help my mom with a little bit these days, so you know, there’s a connection gap, and I’d really like to be able to be the one to help with that.

Toni: The connection gap – I like that.

Lauren: Oh, thank you.

Toni: There’s a connection gap, because it’s sounds as though that’s also what you’re trying to do.  You’re closing the gap between teens, you know, so that there’s resources available to them and also, you know, closing that gap between adults and teens, and that’s pretty cool how that comes around like that.

Lauren: Thanks.

Toni: You’re welcome.  So what are you doing now to explore your own potential so you can continue on this path?

Lauren: Well, my main thing has just been writing every day.  I have this blog, the Sunny Side Up, and I’ve made a commitment to myself to write every day, which is a bit of a challenge sometimes to make that time out of my day, but it’s been so nice for me.  I’ve learned so much more about myself just in the time that I’ve been doing it, and people have been really receptive to it, and so that’s definitely encouraged me even more so to have so much support, especially from teens.

Toni: What else are you doing these days?  Are you going back to school?

Lauren: I am.  I’m getting ready for my sophomore year.  I’m in a sorority, Chi Omega, which I really enjoy being a part of, and I used to do pageants.   I was Miss Teen California for a year, so I’ve just been thinking a little bit about maybe getting back into the pageant circuit.  I’m currently retired, but it might be fun to get back out there.

Toni: Wow!  So when were you in the pageant?

Lauren: When was I in the pageant, is that what you asked?

Toni: Yes.

Lauren: I started when I was 13 years old, and I thought I never would have any chance, but I ended up winning my first pageant.  And then by the end of it, I was fortunate enough to be Miss Teen California for a year and went onto the international pageant and placed third runner up.  So that was a really fun and exciting experience for me.

Toni: Well, congratulations, and congratulations to all of the work that you’re doing here with teenagers, for yourself.  I think that there’s a lot that all of us can learn from the work that you’re doing and the writing that you’re doing, and congratulations to you for just having the energy and the forethought to do this.  I think it’s an awesome project, and I wish you just a lot of success on this.

Lauren: Oh, thank you so much.  That’s really nice of you to say.

Toni: Well, you’re quite welcome, and we will have your link to your blog at the bottom of the transcript for those who are listening to the audio.  And good luck to you, Lauren, and thank you so very much for being part of the Get Inspired! Project.

Lauren: Oh, thank you for having me.  I love what you’re doing, and it definitely inspired me, so keep  up the great work.

Toni: Well thank you, and take care of yourself.

Lauren: Thank you.  You too.

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For more information about Lauren Cook:  thesunnygirl.wordpress.com

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