97 Things to Do Before You Finish High School Read online

  Can't-Miss Classics

  Spin the following landmark albums that represent the best of these artists' signature styles:

  Kind of Blue — ultra-cool jazz masterpiece by Miles Davis

  Cello Suites — Bach's classically perfect six solo works

  Revolver — perfect pop/rock songs in every conceivable style by The Beatles

  12 Greatest Hits — torch and twang treasures from country queen Patsy Cline

  The Girl From Ipanema — sultry Brazilian singer Astrud Gilberto's smooth samba treat

  In the Wee Small Hours — Frank Sinatra's timeless ode to late-night heartbreak

  6 Give Technology a Break

  American teens spend an average of four hours a day staring at TV and computer screens, and log another few hours fiddling with handheld video games, digital music players, cell phones, and PDAs. As part of the most technologically dependent generation in history, you're hooked up, plugged in, and turned on most of your waking hours. That's cool, as long as all these images and gizmos are enriching your life. But machines can zap your soul if you rely on them too much. To end high-tech domination, put your gadgets aside and live off the grid for a weekend.

  How to Do It

  Finish up your channel surfing, emailing, downloading, and texting on Friday evening in preparation for two full days of tech-free bliss. Announce your plan to family and friends — they'll hold you accountable should you cave in after a few hours and check for text messages or sneak a peek at VH1. What to do with all this newfound free time? Spend the weekend reading a new book, writing in your journal, and taking walks around the neighborhood or through a nearby park. Break out the watercolors or practice yoga poses. Take a nap. And don't forget to enjoy some in-person quality time with friends or relatives you usually only instant-message with — they'll be thrilled to see your actual expressions, not just emoticons. It's crazy how much longer the days seem when you're not spending hours online, isn't it? Come Monday morning you'll feel refreshed and ready to dive back into the digital world.

  Tech-Free Scheduling

  Be sure to plan your no-tech weekend for a time when your schedule is actually clear. Living without a cell phone while shuttling from basketball practice to work to a party just isn't going to happen. And your English teacher probably won't take “I was having a no-tech weekend” as an excuse for turning in a handwritten paper.

  7 Look Closely at a Work of Art

  School field trips to museums make looking at art seem like work. After all, they typically amount to some boring tour guide rattling off what sounds like a lot of useless information as your teacher shushes your chatty classmates and you fantasize about lunch. That's because it is really hard to appreciate art in a group. If you want meaningful interaction with a work of art, go to a local museum or gallery alone or with one close friend or family member — someone who can appreciate the experience with you and share thoughts and feelings about the works on display.

  How to Do It

  To start, randomly roam around until you find a painting, sculpture, photograph, or installation that's got the “wow” factor — a certain something that stops you in your tracks and appeals to your senses. Study it closely to figure out how and why it moves you. Consider the artist's intention: Is he or she reflecting a deeply personal perspective or perhaps commenting on historical events or political turmoil? What do you think the artist was thinking while working on this piece? Let your mind drift as you gaze at your new favorite artwork — you'll be surprised at where it takes you. Focus on various aspects of the work, including the artist's use of color, shape, lighting, and symbolism (sure, at first it just looks like some naked chick, but maybe that nude figure represents power or freedom). If you find yourself drawn to different pieces by the same artist, get more info on that person; understanding an artist's life and history helps to better understand the work. Viewing art on a regular basis encourages you to look at the world differently, opening you up to colors, lines, and hidden meanings that can be found in lots of stuff in everyday life.

  Take It With You

  Flash photography is usually not permitted in museum galleries, but ask a guard if you can snap a pic without the flash, or look for a reproduction of your fave work on a postcard in the gift shop. If you go to the museum regularly, you can build up a collection of these postcards and put them into a small, funky photo album or make a mosaic out of them on your bedroom wall.

  8 Attend a Theater Performance

  If you think theater is dry or stuffy, think again. Theater is an arena for expression, and that means pretty much anything goes. Even in Shakespeare's day, there was scandal and intrigue on the stage, with power-hungry characters going all homicidal, affairs being had, and empires being lost. (Shakespeare, when you break it down, is actually pretty racy stuff.) Today, the great history of drama continues. In the edgy 1990s musical Rent, bohemian artists (mainly HIV-positive twentysomethings) struggle to make ends meet and sustain their dreams. And in the politically charged musical Urinetown, a water shortage leaves people having to pay to pee on a daily basis. Attending a professional performance of an epic drama (like Hamlet or The Crucible) or a scandalicious musical (like Cabaret or Chicago) can be a revelatory experience. You'll laugh, you'll cry … you'll find out why your gay friends knew all the words to the Dreamgirls soundtrack way before the movie came out.

  How to Do It

  Check your local paper for theater listings. You could look for a well-known drama or a musical that sounds familiar — maybe a play you've read in school but haven't had a chance to see performed live. If you live in New York, Broadway is in your backyard, and there are always discounted tickets for students available. If not, Broadway-bound performances often tour throughout the country before their New York City runs, so if you're willing to take a chance on an unknown hit (or miss) you might be able to catch the next Wicked right in your hometown. Large regional theaters are also worth checking out and small theaters are your cheapest and least conventional bet as they like to do plays by local, up-and-coming writers and directors. The really small ones tend to do more experimental performances that include stuff your parents (and even you, too) might think is weird, but they do provide great conversation fodder.

  Sixth Row, Center Aisle

  Volunteer to be a theater usher. All you have to do is show patrons to their seats and point out drinking fountains and bathrooms in the lobby. In exchange, you'll get to see the play for free and maybe even meet the actors and behind-the-scenes crew at a post-performance party. Contact the theater's administrative offices to sign up.

  9 Connect With a Role Model

  The adults in your life, from parents and teachers to bosses and coaches, are (for better or for worse) your main authority figures. They try to teach you right from wrong and urge you to maximize your potential. They also, often, get on your nerves. Sometimes we love the adult figures in our lives, and sometimes we wish they would just go away. But that doesn't change the fact that it is important to have some kind of role model in your life — someone you actually look forward to spending time with and whose abilities, intelligence, and gusto drive and inspire you.

  How to Do It

  You probably already have a role model and don't realize it. That person might be someone you know, like a particularly gifted friend of the family, a coach, a yoga teacher, or an older cousin. It might even be a local community leader who has done much to improve your neighborhood. To connect with this person, simply ask for a bit of his or her time. If you look up to your ballet instructor, ask her if you can help set up before or clean up after class. If it's a professional photographer you want to learn from, ask him if you can assist on his next shoot. Talk to your role models about how they've gotten to where they are. What you learn from them will stay with you long after high school.

  Put Into Words

  Some role models are people you'll never meet — they're famous or from another time period or both. These people are
still definitely worth reading up on, and many, such as Lance Armstrong, Sidney Poitier, and Maya Angelou, have even written memoirs and autobiographies. Reading these tomes is like having a revolutionary figure serve as a personal mentor, inspiring you to become the next great thing.

  Flaws and All

  Throughout your life, your role models will change as you do. You'll outgrow one and connect with another and eventually become a role model yourself. It's important to remember that the point of having a role model is to get inspired, not to have unrealistic expectations of a fellow human being. Don't put them on a pedestal: Even the greatest among us will make mistakes or say dumb things from time to time, just like everyone else.

  10 Develop the Art of Conversation

  “Hey, man, what's up?”

  “I don't know, nothin’. What's up with you?”

  “Juschillin’.”

  “OK, cool.”

  “Yeah, okay, cool. Later.”

  If this sounds like one of your recent conversations, it might be time to raise the bar a bit on your verbal ping-pong. Laconic head-nodding should not be mistaken for deeply meaningful communication. People measure us by what we say, so even if we are the most incredible, interesting, thoughtful people on the planet, it means little if we can't express it. Don't worry if the gift of gab doesn't come naturally for you. Conversation is an art, which means it takes practice.

  How to Do It

  So, how does one evolve out of the caveman stage of conversation? Easy: Just talk. You're an endlessly fascinating person with tons of interests, opinions, and good advice. So is whoever you're talking to — they just might not know how to express themselves yet.

  Next time you're stuck in the communication dead zone, take the lead by asking questions: What did you do last weekend? What college are you thinking about going to? Which basketball team are you rooting for in tomorrow's big game? And don't accept one-word answers. Ask follow-up questions, like: What was your favorite song at the concert? Why are you interested in that college? When did you become a Knicks fan? It's all about the details. It's also fun to bond over shared concerns and complaints: too much homework, dating woes, and clueless parents. And, above all, take the “um” challenge: For one day, try substituting “um” (and overused words like “nothing” and “cool”) with more creative word choices.

  The Lost Art of Listening

  Good conversation is about a lot more than talking. To really be able to keep a conversation running, you have to express genuine interest in what someone is telling you and truly listen. This will ensure a chat with balanced give and take, instead of one that's about you, you, you.

  11 Make a Public Speech

  Do you suffer from glossophobia? That's the fear of public speaking, and it's one of the most common phobias worldwide. Even the most confident person is bound to get a bit nervous when standing up in front of a crowd to pontificate on current events, Tim Burton, or the dangers of Digital Rights Management (aka DRM). At some point you're going to face a group of strangers, all of whom are intensely focused on what you're about to say. Learning to make a public speech is unnerving but ultimately very rewarding, and with a few helpful tips and plenty of practice, you can learn to captivate an audience better than the next crazed television evangelist.

  Learn From the Laugh Masters

  Usually, jokes are delivered in a circular pattern — they begin with a statement, tell a story to back up their stance, then revisit the original statement, which becomes the punch line. Great speeches have similar patterns. To see for yourself, study the way actors deliver their opening monologues on Saturday Night Live or how your favorite comedian delivers her material.

  How to Do It

  Do you think MLK rattled off his legendary “I Have a Dream” speech without staying up all night to prep and revise? Doubtful. The key to making a good speech is thorough preparation. That doesn't mean simply having a sheet of paper in front of you with some notes scratched on it. Use the checklist on the next page to ensure a great speech.

  Keep it short and sweet. Unless you've been given an allotted time for your speech that dictates otherwise, keep your talk to 20 minutes or less or you'll likely lose your audience (just think of how bored you get when your history teacher drones on and on).

  Provide background and relative examples. If you're talking about digital rights to a group of geezers at the senior center, be sure to break down exactly what DRM is and compare how record companies are infringing upon your rights today to how forms of censorship may have infringed upon their rights when they were young.

  Practice, practice, practice. Read your speech several times before debuting. You'll get to know it so well that you won't have to glance at your notes the entire time, freeing you to make all-important eye contact with audience members.

  Use more than words. Choose specific visuals, like colorful charts or pictures, to add visual impact.

  Don't flatline. Allow your tone to fluctuate to express surprise, shock, authority, and other emotions. (But don't overdo it — you're not Tyra Banks.)

  12 Interpret a Dream

  You enter a room lit only by candles. Your biology teacher flies in through the window, dressed like Ozzy Ozbourne and playing Death Cab for Cutie's “I Will Follow You Into the Dark” on the banjo. A talking dog appears out of nowhere and makes fun of your haircut. You try to explain that the Titanic is about to sink in a bathtub filled with strawberry yogurt, but just then Antonio Banderas calls to remind you about tonight's prom at Disneyland. Your cell phone turns into a lobster. Just as you're about to discover the cure for boredom, you awake to the sound of your alarm clock. You're just thankful that the dream is over, but what does it all mean?

  Dreams and Sex

  You may have heard before that Sigmund Freud, the father of modern psychoanalysis, believed that most dreams are a representation of the dreamer's sexual desires. But that's just one man's opinion. So don't freak out if that weird kid from school shows up in your dream wearing a cheerleading uniform and talking like Stewie from Family Guy. It probably just means you need to watch less TV.

  How to Do It

  Interpreting your nighttime visions is a fascinating trip into the deep, dark secrets of the unconscious mind. To start on the journey, keep a dream journal on your nightstand, and jot down as many details as you can remember as soon as you wake up. Read over your notes and think about what each element of the dream might symbolize. Maybe your bio teacher is telling you that music, not science, is a likely career option. Did you forget to brush the dog last weekend? A-ha! And maybe you've been eating too much yogurt lately and feel like you're drowning in it. It's all beginning to make sense. As for Antonio … well, you'll have to figure that one out on your own. If your dreams are not too embarrassing, share them with your best friend and swap interpretations. You can also consult online dream dictionaries for further analysis. The most important thing is to keep an open mind and embrace the subconscious.

  Bad Dreams

  The occassional scary dream is totally normal, but if you're having a lot of nightmares, you should talk to someone about it. The realities of homework, chores, and curfews are stressful enough — your dreams shouldn't suck too.

  13 Join a Club

  Do you have guilty pleasures that your friends can't identify with? Are you addicted to Glee, enamored with Supergirl, or obsessed with Samuel L. Jackson? No matter how esoteric your hobby or obsession — from Wes Anderson movies to unicycles to Battlestar Galactica — fellow fanatics lurk nearby, eager to swap stories and out-geek you with their mastery of related trivia. If you can't beat ’em, join ’em! Sign up for a club and meet like-minded people. You may have only one thing in common, but for one night each month it'll be a blast to get together and revel in your shared love of whatever that thing is.

  How to Do It

  Search online for local meetups of hobby enthusiasts — type in the name of your hobby, followed by the name of your city, and see what comes up.
If you're into baseball cards, model cars, or another highly popular collectible, attend a convention and discover local groups that gather regularly. Lots of bands and TV shows have periodic fan club meetings in cities across the country, where you can good-naturedly argue about Led Zeppelin's best album or the worst America's Next Top Model contestant (find out about these gatherings online). Check out your local community center for activity clubs such as conversational Spanish, advanced chess, poetry writing, and tae kwon do. If you can't find a local club in your area of interest, start one yourself by posting a notice on your favorite networking site. When investigating an already established group, keep in mind some clubs are geared toward teens only, while others will mix up members of all ages and backgrounds. For those that mix ages, go with an adult to the first meeting to make sure the other members aren't creepy.

  Did You Know?

  Legend has it that Shakespeare was a member of the Friday Street Club, a social group that met once a month at the Mermaid Tavern in London from 1612 – 1613. Just imagine him complaining about writer's block with poet Sir Walter Raleigh and other Elizabethan-era scribes.

  TWO: With/For Friends

  14 Host a Film Festival

  Film festivals are held all over the world as glamorous showcases for Hollywood blockbusters and independent flicks. Film fests are not limited to entertainment capitals such as LA, New York, and Berlin — they happen regularly in many towns across the country. If you're a movie buff but can't yet jet-set to Cannes or hobnob with Chloë Sevigny and Johnny Depp at Sundance, it's easy to start your own festival. With carefully selected programs, a cozy screening space (like your living room), and exclusive invitations to a few lucky friends, your fest will become the can't-miss event of the season.