Karen the editor's page.

It's hard to believe I've been writing this page for 10 years. When I started GL a decade ago, I had one small goal in mind--to make the best magazine I could for young teen girls. I wanted it to be fun and positive and, at the same time, be honest and have a real impact on girls and their futures.

I'll never forget holding the very first copy of GL in my hands. I was sitting on the front steps of a printing plant in Mendota, Illinois. When the first magazine rolled off, the press guy handed it to me. "Here," he said with a wink, "save this--maybe it will be a collector's item one day." I still have that issue tucked away--though, I doubt it's worth much to anyone besides me.

But what is worth something is what you, our readers, have told us about how GL has affected you. I can't put into words how much it has meant to everyone who works on GL that you've come back, issue after issue, to see what we've created for you.

To celebrate GL's 10th birthday, we asked readers to share their stories of how the magazine has helped them over the years. The response has been, to say the least, overwhelming--and in more ways than one. The sheer volume of mail alone is amazing. But, more than that, it's what those letters and e-mails say that really means a ton to us.

Readers share how we've helped them start friendships, communicate better with parents, score better grades and even get the guy. But above all else, over and over, girls tell us GL has helped them realize they are loved, respected and worthy of all the good things life has to offer.

While that is about the greatest compliment I could ever imagine getting, many readers also say something I'll never forget: "I hope GL is around when I have a daughter because I want her to have this magazine, too."

The world has changed a lot in 10 years. When I sat down to write my first editor's letter in July 1994, I didn't foresee that GL would have to talk about things like 9/11. Or two wars. Or Oklahoma City. Or school shootings. I doubt any of us did.

I don't know what the world will be like in 2014.

But I do hope, with all my heart, that I will be sitting here writing you about our 20th anniversary and how we've spent two decades making you the best magazine we know how. I plan to be.