Karen the editor's page.

Just saw the adorable new movie 13 Going On 30. Nice girl Jenna invites the most popular group in school (the Six Chicks) to her 13th birthday party. They agree to come--if she'll write their group paper. Jenna, so wanting to be cool and popular, agrees. Though her sweet but not-quite-quarterback-material best guy friend Matty warns her that the Six Chicks aren't really her friends. Jenna doesn't listen.

The girls show up to the party, make fun of her behind her back, then blindfold her and shove her in a closet, telling her the hottest guy in school is coming in to play Seven Minutes in Heaven with her. The cool crew splits paper in hand, and Matty, not the hottie, finds poor Jenna. Not knowing she's been had, Jenna blames Matty for the Six Chicks leaving and vows to never speak to him again--that is, until some magical dust grants her one birthday wish ... to be 30 and flirty and thriving.

The next morning, Jenna wakes up to discover her wish has been granted. She's 30, gorgeous, and has a killer job as editor-in-chief of a fashion magazine, Poise. She also discovers she's a huge witch who's hated by almost everyone and that Poise is being clobbered by a competitor. I don't want to spoil the movie for you, but I'm sure you can guess the rest. Yep, Jenna tracks down Matty and vows to be better to everyone around her. She also cooks up a plan to save Poise. How? By remaking the magazine to reflect the best parts of herself--the nice person she was when she was 13.

It's hard to believe, but GL's next issue, August/September '04, will be our 10th-anniversary issue. When we started a decade ago, our goal was to make a fun magazine that celebrated being a girl. Why did we choose to focus on young teens? Because when I was 11 to 16 years old, I was totally annoyed that every teen magazine focused on being 17 or older, I always thought to myself, "What's wrong with being younger than 17? Don't I matter now?" That's why GL focuses on those years between fifth grade and applying to college. There's so much to think about and deal with, so many changes to go through, and so much to figure out about yourself.

Ten years later, we're still here celebrating girls ... and hoping to help them remember like Jenna in 13 Going on 30, that the best part of who they will be is who they are right now.