The Demands on a Teen Blogger

by Sophie Epstein

Hi, I'm Sophie Epstein! I'm a twelve year old girl, and I'm the author of the blog Mrs. Magoo Reads.

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Now that school has started again, my schedule has gone from slightly busy to busy busy busy! On a typical weekday, my parents wake me up at 7:30 (7:00 when they are feeling particularly cruel and unsympathetic), and I get ready for school. School ends at 3:00, and I come home and have a snack. If I don't have soccer practice, I start in on my homework. There's a lot of it.

Then there's my blog, Mrs. Magoo Reads. It may seem like all I do is write reviews, but there's a lot more. I facilitate interviews with YA authors, keep in touch with various publishers and marketing agencies, run contests (I'm currently running a contest to win a copy of She's So Money by Cherry Cheva, as well as one to win an awesome shirt--please head on over and check them out!), make review videos, email other book bloggers, respond to readers, work on blog promotion, and make sure that I haven't committed some sort of faux pas along the way. Oh, and, of course, I need to read the books. Details, details.

You might be wondering why this post is being published late at night: I was watching McCain's acceptance speech. Now that the 2008 elections are upon us, I am doing my best to keep up with the politics. This is another time consuming factor.

I also participate in Teens for Safe Cosmetics. Our mission is to "...educate the public about safe and healthy lifestyle choices that create healthier homes, schools, and community environments that are free from harmful chemicals and pollutants." Judi Shils founded the group as a part of Search for the Cause (yes, there are certain chemicals found in some cosmetics that increase your risk of getting cancer). We are going to be launching our Teens Turning Green line at Whole Foods. All the products in the line will be organic and fabulous, so please check it out! We meet every Sunday, and I also very recently made a short video for us.

Soccer practice, soccer games, Bar/Bat Mitzvahs, and piano are also contributing factors to my busy schedule.

I am still working on managing my time so that my life is less hectic and less crazy. What about you? How do you manage your time?