In October, I wrote about all the things that stress out kids today. It was kind of a downer. I mean, from my post, you’d think life pretty much sucked for anyone pre-21.
Is that the case? No! Sure, kids today have lots of stresses, many of which are bigger than the same stresses were fifty years ago; on the flip side, fewer of today’s young people stress out about where they will get their next meal or whether Dad will come back from war in one piece. Stresses come and go with time.

Since then, I’ve been wanting to follow up with something more upbeat. Yes, today’s young people face lots of pressure and stress from multiple directions, but they also experience more pure fun in a week than most of us fuddy-duddy grownups manage in a year. I think that’s part of why I enjoy writing for young people: it reminds me to see life’s joys and wonders as if for the first time—as if I, too, were a child.
Are you writing for children or teenagers? Then maybe this list of “firsts” will inspire!
- First pet
- First day of school
- First show-and-tell
- First best friend—first person like yourself
- First school trip
- First contest
- First time you realize you’re good at something
- First win
- First performance
- First sleepover
- First party
- First slumber party
- First summer camp
- First team sport
- First club or after-school activity
- First opportunity to help a friend
- First time at being an expert at something
- First time in authority
- First choices of priorities
- First time solo trip across town
- First night home alone
- First time hanging out at the mall
- First time you have a “group”
- First crush
- First boyfriend or girlfriend
- First kiss
- First school dance
- First gift for a significant other
- First time driving
- First car
- First financial responsibilities
- First job
- First all-nighter
- First time considering college
Many “first” are really changes in understanding:
- Realizing that, against all odds, you’ve found friends who like some of the same stuff you like, think sort of like you, and laugh at your jokes
- Realizing that you can save money for something you want
- Figuring out that there are things that matter more than…well, things
- Starting to figure out who you are and what’s important to you
- Understanding that you can make a difference in this world
- Realizing that there is something you like about yourself
- Finding something you don’t like about yourself
- Figuring out that you can change
- Seeing that you’ve worked really, really, really hard at something and accomplished something you’re proud about
- Realizing that you have choices
- Seeing that your life spreads before you like an amusement park waiting to be explored
- Believing that you have some degree of control over your future
- Realizing that you can follow your dreams, and that attaining them might actually be possible
- Figuring out that you are more than your parents’ words and wishes
- Figuring out that, despite the above, you kind of like your parents and they might be okay people.
- Believing that you can actually survive embarrassment
- Knowing that you can survive failure
- Seeing that you are stronger than you thought
What “firsts” do you see kids enjoying today? What “firsts” appear in your writing?
Great post, Cheryl. There is a lot to think about here. I added your post to my list of links for “Firsts” under the ABCs of writing middle grade fiction over at my blog.
Hi Andrea, thank you!
Great lists–just glancing at some of those and I had an immediate emotional response.
Perfect for creating stories!
Cool–I had the same thing happen as I wrote the lists. These are the sort of memories that stick with you…