YA Outside the Lines

    The topic for this month revolves around rules. Was I a rule follower when I was young? Not always. For the most part, I probably appeared like I was. I was as quiet as a mouse, so scared to make waves. I kept my head down, slipped beneath the radar, and learned early that sometimes the best way to get around a rule was simply not to draw attention to yourself. Of course, that didn't always work. I learned how to break rules very young. I was taught early how to break into snack machines. I won't explain how, because I would never do it now, and I don't want to encourage anyone else to try. But I knew how. To be honest, when I think about that now, it makes me a little sad—not because I think I was some terrible kid. More because I can see now how different I was—and how different life was for me—then. Back then, breaking rules could feel like a way of getting what you needed. You figured out the system. You found the weakness. You got what you wanted and moved on. In e...