My Advice to My Teenage Self: Newsweek Revisits Houston Teen Profiled in 1966

Few of us would want to answer for something we said as a teenager – whether that was in the recent past or decades ago. But that's exactly what happened to Laura Degan.

Back in 1966, Newsweek profiled teenagers from around the country for a cover story examining the lives of American youth. Degan was one of them. At the time she was a 14-year-old Houston middle school student.

Recently, Newsweek followed up with some of the teens to learn about their lives today – 50 years later – and so did our own Michael Hagerty.

He talked with Laura Degan, who still lives in Houston, and got her reflections on her teenage self all these years later. But first, he asked her about the experience of being profiled in 1966.

(Above: Laura Jo Degan — then Laura Jo Davis — as shown in the 1966 Newsweek profile and today. Images Courtesy Shel Hershorn and Eric Kayne for Newsweek)

MORE: Then and Now: 14-Year-Old Laura Jo Davis Just Wanted to Be Happy (Newsweek, May 12, 2016)