Adolescent Labels

The 'How Bad Teens Become Famous People' keynote by Maggie Stiefvater tells the truth about labelling teens in the American system. Maggie reveals that the only thing that has changed from her past as a 'bad teen' to her current success as an author is perception.

To some, her success may have appeared inevitable, but not at the time. Maggie reflects back to an alternate high school she delivered a speech at, and saw her teen self in these individuals that were labelled as being different. People have a problem with thinking one cannot think outside of the box until one is already out.

The 'How Bad Teens Become Famous People' keynote stresses that there is a fine line between brilliance and deviance. Weird people are what comes next, and sometimes the only difference between "successful people" and "bad teens" is one's point of view. Be careful when labelling teens because these are the people that come next, and the label given to them may stick with them their whole lives.