I was born and raised in Michigan (just look for the giant mitten on the map--it'll likely throw a snowball at you). I spent most of my time in Michigan, but while in the army got to call KS, SC, MO, and CA home for awhile as well.
As a kid my family moved around a lot. Try spending both your freshman and senior years at new schools (yeah, loads of fun). I could've changed my name to "new girl".
I love writing for teens because those are the years I remember falling in love with most of my favorite books. Some of the authors I couldn't put down were L.J. Smith, Christopher Pike, R.L. Stine, Richie Tankersley Cusick, Joan Lowery Nixon, Lois Duncan, among several others.