Every Girl is Unique
Hey Girls! Big announcement! Now you can share your birthday on New Moon!!! You’ve been asking for a long time if you can share your birthdates with each other. So we reviewed our policy and decided, “Yes!” So celebrate each other’s special days! But, just like everything on New Moon, please ask your parents before you share your birthday.
I recently got a sticker from New Moon Girls member Purplemelon asking me if I would do an interview for the newsletter she does for the site. I decided to answer her questions here.
1. Do you agree with girls who say the NMG Magazine is getting carried away with the advertisement of the website?
I take girls’ concerns about this seriously, and there will be fewer calls to go online in the next issue. However, we will continue to let girls know about the website through the magazine for two important reasons: 1) Every issue of New Moon Girls is somebody’s first issue. If a girl picked it up off the newstand and there was no information about the website, she might never know it existed; and 2) Because so much more can fit on the web than on the page, we’ll continue to have special features on the site that enhance the articles in the magazine, and we’ll continue to let girls know about these through the magazine. The most important thing to remember is that the website and the magazine do not compete with one another. Instead, they work together to give girls the best possible experience.
2. Did you like this issue of the NMG Magazine?
Definitely! The GEB, writers, artists, and adult editors work hard on each issue, and I’m always pleased with the result.
3. How did you feel about this issue compared to the past issues?
Although change can be hard, I’m glad that we tried some new things with this issue. Some of these new things will continue, like the larger paper size, which actually saves paper. Some of them won’t continue, based on girls’ feedback. For example, we’ll have more Luna letters in future issues and fewer calls to visit the website.
4. Do you think that you really did have a couple small flaws in this issue?
Although both girls and adults work very hard on each issue of the magazine, nobody is perfect, and no issue of New Moon Girls magazine is perfect, either. We try to have something for everyone, and we listen to the feedback we get. So even if an issue doesn’t have technical flaws (such as mispellings or printer errors), we may make changes going forward if girls really like or don’t like something we’ve done in the issue.
5. Do you like the website or the magazine better?
I love them both for different reasons. We’ve been publishing the magazine for 17 years, and it will always hold a special place in our hearts for being the first place where we were able to bring girls’ voices to one another and to the world. I like that the magazine allows girls to see their work in print and that they can carry it with them, collect issues, and curl up and get comfy with it. I love that the website allows us to share MORE girls’ work, and that we aren’t limited by space. I also like that girls can connect with one another almost instantly online. The real heart of New Moon are the girls, and I love the magazine and the website because of the girls who make them great.
6. If you have a virtual version of the magazine, do you really need to have a paper version, too?
Right now, we have no plans to stop printing the paper magazine. Girls have told us they love having the paper version because it’s fun to get it in the mail and hold it in their hands. It’s also easier to bring with you when you travel than a computer is!
7. I hope these questions didn’t bother you. That’s all. Thank you SO much Luna!
You’re welcome! Please leave a comment with the link to your new issue when it comes out!
I love it when girls share their inspirational creations on New Moon! And I loved hearing Zoey’s thoughts about inequality in the workplace in her song, “Gonna Be You.” Check it out!
Click Here to Listen
Plus Zoey has other songs you can check out too. If you like Zoey’s songs, leave her comments, or send her a sticker. Then grab your digital camera or recorder and submit your own clip to Music & Video.
Love,
We’re looking for girls’ artwork to become the official illustrations for “How Aggravating!” and “Howling at the Moon” in New Moon Girls magazine. The winning illustrations will appear issue after issue in the magazine, featured on those department pages. Create an original drawing or photo of a girl in action or in a pose that conveys the feeling of “How Aggravating!” and “Howling at the Moon.” Then email them to submissions@newmoon.com, or upload it to Your Stuff, submit it to the Moon Glow Gallery, and check the box that says you’d also like to submit it to the magazine. I can’t wait to see your creations!
Love,
Luna
Hi, girls. Today, I saw the following post on the How Aggravating! Shout Out message board:
In the Beautiful Girls issue of new moon almost all of the girls seemed alike to me. Almost all of them seemed perfect in their own way. Some were described as “strong”, “empowering”, “smart”, “loving and caring”, “always being themselves”, “never following trends”…etc. And I sometimes think, “How is that possible to never follow a trend or always be yourself?” We are growing up in a world with tons of ads being thrown at us from every angle, urging us to be like everyone else!
Of course there is nothing wrong with being all these qualities if anything it is good! But sometimes I feel like new moon has an “image” of sorts.An image of being yourself and never giving up and sometimes I feel like I have to be perfect to be on new moon even though I’m not.
I’m really glad that a girl brought this up. Sometimes, it can be hard or scary to criticize something. But I felt sad that she thought she had to be perfect to be on New Moon Girls. I’d like to give the following message to the original poster and all New Moon Girls:
Dear New Moon Girls:
I want to assure you that we know that NO ONE is perfect, and it’s totally OK not to be perfect. We can still love and appreciate one another with all our imperfections — in fact, true love and friendship does accept you for the whole person you are, imperfections and all. We work very hard to create the kind of environment where no girl feels like she has to be perfect to be accepted.
The thing we love about girls being themselves is that there are an endless number of ways to do it! For some girls, following trends IS their way of being themselves, while for other girls, being themselves means marching to the beat of their own drum. There isn’t one “right” way to be true to yourself. I also know that it can be really hard to be true to yourself, which is one of the reasons that we celebrate girls who do it. But we also understand when sometimes it’s just too hard, and that’s OK, too. All girls have to make their own choices about what makes them feel comfortable, safe, and OK about who they are.
