Dear High School Freshman
an essay requested by a reader; and a live event coming up open to all
On Wednesday, March 27, at 1 PM New York time, I will be discussing the Jennifer Burns biography of Milton Friedman with Brian Doherty, author of Radicals for Capitalism. Open to all, but first you must register here.
Dear high school freshman,
I am old. My advice may or may not turn out to be relevant.
Make friends with normal, well-adjusted sophomores. As you progress through high school, they are the ones who will help you feel connected. Also, on average they will be more mature than your classmates.
Keep a journal. It is good to practice writing, on a regular schedule. A journal is different from a diary. A diary is a recitation of events. A journal tells little stories about you, your classmates, and your teachers. Use fake names, in case your journal falls into the wrong hands. Make your stories more interesting than reality. Feel free to make up people’s pasts or futures. If you write less than 300 words in a day, maybe this is not your thing. If you write more than 800 words in a day, you are getting carried away. Stop and save some ideas for tomorrow.
Choose electives for the people. Good teachers and good classmates are more important than the right subject matter. I don’t know whether freshmen have much choice, but if you do have electives look for ones with normal, well-adjusted sophomores. For what it’s worth, I like the AP Statistics curriculum. I don’t like the AP macroeconomics curriculum. But if the people are better in the latter, then go with the latter—just make sure to disbelieve what gets taught.
Use the public library. I am pessimistic about the future of books, but for now I think that books are better for a young person than screens. I recommend books that transport you to a different place and time, even to a fantasy world. The Wind in the Willows. Ender’s Game. Little House on the Prairie. Biographies of all sorts of people: Woody Guthrie, Babe Ruth, Queen Elizabeth, Charles Darwin, Marie Curie, Thomas Sowell, Andrew Carnegie. If you are up for longer reads, there is the three-volume biography of Winston Churchill begun by William Manchester.
Spend some time outside of your social class. This could mean a job where you talk to co-workers or customers who are from a different social class. It could mean volunteer work for a charity.
Practice being independent. Make your lunch; occasionally make dinner for your family; do your own laundry.
Try some form of dancing. At first, it will be hard on your body self-esteem. But eventually it will be great for it.
Really good advice (some of which I even followed myself, as well as telling my kids). Missing age: 9th grade at 14, 10th at 15.
Friends with those in another class is good, but really really hard. Unless you're in an ECA, like dancing(??), band, choir, sports, clubs (chess! cars? book), Boy/Girl Scouts (if available).
All boys should be in some sport. (I did cross-country, tennis not track, & golf; my kids did swimming, after trying soccer)
Dancing is great but not easy in HS. In college I did: ballroom dancing, modern dance, folk dance, tap dance, & jitterbug. (In HS no dance.) Dance usually has lots of girls.
If you're not yet a touch typist - Take Typing. My college counselor advised against it, but it's been one of the best skills I actually learned in HS.
Take a shop class, or home ec/cooking -- make actual, physical things, including cooking meals.
Successful people keep journals. (7 Habits ... etc) Doesn't have to be different than a diary - the practice of writing is more important than exactly what is written about.
Public Library is GREAT -- read the book and return it (rather than have it clutter up the house). As Twenge noted: 7 Harry Potter books, and also the Twilight saga, are hugely popular because they're so good. EVEN IF you've seen the movies, the books are valuable.
[Making good movies out of great books insures fewer in the future will read those book. LOTR, and likely also now Dune. ]
I would add: spend more time outside. Nature is good for your mood and mental health, makes you feel less isolated even if you are alone in it, and tends to give you more "normal" levels of stimulation and fewer engineered superstimuli.