Best Way to Have More Fun in Your Life

Okay, life isn’t all fun and games. But why can’t most of it be? Seri­ously, why not be . . . less serious.

When we were teens, we were both way too serious, cre­atively frustrated, even a little depressed. Every little thing seemed to be a life-and-death deal. A bad thing happened, and it was like the end of the world. A bad week felt like a month … a bad month seemed like a year. Hey, we all have bad days and bad moods. But then we realized, as dorky as it sounds, that we could channel that energy into good. We could write and shoot photos and make clothes and sell homemade cupcakes; we could keep busy with the silly and the fun.

So, first step: Loosen up. From their book, Hey Day! (unci from their very own mouths), here are Keva and Clea’s ways to do it:

Embrace your dorkiness. There are embarassing, awkward, freaky sides to everyone. Like, you can celebrate your inner dork with an inner dork mobile. Take the dorkiest photos you have of yourself (you know, the kinds of pictures you want to rip up!) and hang them on a clothes hanger. It’s a constant reminder that being a dork is fun; it’s way okay!

Celebrate YOU. There’s nobody like you, so celebrate your unique self. Make a photo self-portrait. Take pictures of each of your body parts, like your head, then your arm, then your tummy, then legs. Then put them all together in a photo collage.

Don’t be afraid to be silly. Lose the fear of looking stupid. Find ridiculous things to do and enjoy. Get rid of your inhibitions and act crazy.

Create traditions. Not just holiday traditions, but some for any day you want to do a certain thing. Like have an Oscar party on Oscar night. Every Christmas, Clea watches Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory. On the Fourth of July, Keva gets together with pals and hangs out on her deck and tries out all the beauty tips from the teenie mags.

Create a Future File. When you’re reading magazines, you see things you like. You soak it in, but then later on you won’t have any recollection of that very thing that grabbed you. So from now on, anytime you see something in a magazine that you like, cut it out. Put it in a Future File. It’s really just an elaborate way to hold on to magazine clippings and, therefore, your thoughts. Have different files on things like Fashions, Jobs, Places to Live, Books to Read. Then, say, something aboutSeattlecatches your eye, and you stick it in the Places to Live file. And when you need inspiration, you open your file and look through everything in it and remember.

Involve your girlfriends. Get together with your friends and have fun. Have a potluck at school, where you all bring an assigned part of the meal (like Clea brings a main dish, Keva brings a dessert) to share. Play a board game, like Scrabble. Have an out­door movie night. Put a small TV in the window facing outside. Set up lawn chairs in rows and watch the “movies”! Set up a kiddie pool in your backyard, get a beach ball, and put some beach chairs in the pool. Put on some sunscreen, drink lemonade, and gossip. Or, get out the Slip ‘n Slide!

Have a happy day. Forget all your troubles and think only cheerful thoughts. Smile lots (even if you don’t mean it). Hum. Play with a puppy or a kitten. Walk with a bounce. Or dare to skip. Wear yellow (it’s the happiest of colors!). Draw happy faces and sunflow­ers in the margins of all your papers today. Go to the library. Look up Elvis and chick painters and alien space ships. Sit back and imagine yourself in an exciting situation.

These things may sound trite or, urn, silly (and they are a little!), but when you learn not to take yourself too seriously, the bumps along the road (and there will be bumps-that’s life!) are just a little smoother. The best part of being, in our humble opinion, is explor­ing new things and hanging with great friends. Cheesy? Maybe. But who cares? We’re dorks and we’re proud!