People Who Rock: Friday Talent Showcase

I'm a creative person. I am never happier than when I am elbow-deep in paper, and paint, and print of all kinds. And because I'm a creative person, I like other creative people.

I've been so blessed that publishing BIF has brought me into contact with all of these incredibly passionate and talented young people--artists, writers, photographers, etc. And I'd like to start featuring some of their work. I mean, I'm cool and all that, but it can't be all Lauren Oliver, all the time! It gets boring to talk about myself!

This week, a young songwriter sent me a song she had composed that was inspired by Juliet, a Very Important Character in Before I Fall. Juliet is, in some ways, an inscrutable character, at least for the majority of the book: misunderstood, isolated and ostracized, she is alternately ignored and tormented by her classmates. I think Paige evoked all of this so brilliantly in her lyrics, below. Don't you? Now she just needs someone to set it to music (hint/hint, nudge/nudge, to all of you composers out there...).

She’s the girl in the hallway with her face hidden in her hair
She’s the girl who’s unnoticed because nobody cares
She’s the girl with so many secrets to hold,
That she has no place for her own
She’s the girl walking around hidden by a mask
And if she was gone the next day, nobody would ask

Chorus
Cause she’s the invisible girl and no one really knows her name
She walks around, head hung low, is she really to blame?
Her life went downhill because of one simple act
It all started when her best friend stabbed her in the back
And yet no one gets it,
But her name’s Juliet

She’s the girl who walks around with so much pain
She’s the girl that everyone takes in vain
And she’s the girl with the beautiful smile
You know, you’d love her if you talked to her for a while
But she’s the girl labeled as an outcast
And if she was gone tomorrow, no one would ask

Repeat chorus

She was the girl who didn’t want to be saved,
But she was saved anyway
Who knew that her tomorrow would end today
She was the girl who willed her life away
She was so close to tomorrow, but too far away
And she was saved, she was saved, she was saved…

She’s the girl in the front row of the funeral, who was so close to death
And she’s the girl whose life was changed when her enemy took her last breath

Cause she was the invisible girl and no one knew her name
She walks around, head held high, cause no one has her to blame
Her life was turned upside down because of one simple act
And now she’s living her second chance because she got her life back
They might not remember, but now they’ll never forget
That her name’s Juliet

And here is a pic of the lovely Paige herself! (Don't worry, her mom said it was okay for me to post her pic!) Follow her on twitter: @fearlessmuchh. Love the twitter name, too! Paige...you rock.