Yes, a teacher could "pick on" a student to answer a question, so in that context it could mean choose. However, in this context it means other kids are bullying or making fun of her. For example, "I'm always getting picked on at school because my shoes are old and dirty."

A "falling out" is when there is an incident that leads to the end of a friendship. So in this case the two characters stopped speaking to each other after having a fight.

"Valley girl" refers to a way of speaking that is stereotypical of women from Southern California. It is high-pitched with a lot of vocal fry at the end of words and frequent use of the word "like".

I love stuffed vegetables. I must admit sometimes I'm not in the mood to make them, as it requires a bit more time than just preparing vegetables the "regular" way. However, I think they're tastier this way and "funnier", so to speak. Plus, you can personalize your dish because you're allowed to set your creative side free. It's a dish I usually prepare whenever I have people over, for some occasions, or simply when I want to spice things up. It's good to switch your meals up a little bit.

Of course, there are people in my life I admire, and my daughter is one of them. I'm not ashamed to say that, because I think sometimes children deserve to be admired and respected more than some adults. I learn a lot from her and one of the greatest lessons I get is how to react to small pet peeves. It's simply amazing the way she can get over things which, obviously, are not under her control. Most of the time she's smiling and happy, and the reason is not because my husband and I are great parents. Instead, I guess she has a beautiful character, which allows her to approach even new experiences with a positive mindset. She easily gets excited and I must admit having her as an everyday model has helped me adjust part of my character.

I remember when I spent my days off from school playing with my friends in my neighborhood. We played a lot of games in the street. I am 30 now and 20 years ago almost no one used computers, as obviously social media didn't exist yet. I had a really great time without technology in my childhood.