97 Things to Do Before You Finish High School
By Steven Jenkins and Erika Stalder
4.5/5
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About this ebook
Being in high school is about a lot more than going to high school.
It's about discovering new places, new hobbies, and new people—and opening your eyes to the world. This book is about the stuff they don't teach you in high school, like how to host a film festival, plan your first road trip, make a podcast, or write a manifesto. Want to make a time capsule? Spend a day in silence? Learn how to make beats like a DJ? Or shut down your house party before the police do?
Whatever your creative, social, or academic inclinations, you'll find 97 ways on these pages to amuse, educate, and interest yourself, and your friends. Because your life doesn't stop at 3pm each day—it just gets started.
"Make your high school experience the best possible with this brilliant book." –Justine Magazine
Steven Jenkins
Steven Jenkins is a San Francisco-based cultural critic whose writings on film, music, art, and literature appear in national periodicals, exhibition catalogues, and artist monographs. He is the author of City Slivers and Fresh Kills: The Films of Gordon Matta-Clark and Model Culture: James Casebere, Photographs 1975-1996.
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97 Things to Do Before You Finish High School - Steven Jenkins
Capsule
ONE: For Your Personal Development
1 Redo Your Bedroom
Face it — your bedroom is the only place you can call your own. It should reflect your ideology, personality, and charm. But who chose the furniture, wallpaper, and paint? Were these stylistic atrocities forced on you by clueless decorators whose ideas of cool were ballerina figurines and tiger-striped throw pillows? Reclaim this precious space by redecorating. All it takes to transform your bedroom is some ingenuity and a little (very little) cash. Even if a complete overhaul isn't possible right now, you can style your space with personal touches to make it unmistakably yours.
How to Do It
1. First, clean up. It's a drag, but that's the only way to get a good look at the space. To redesign, you need some room to experiment. Free up space by moving out things you no longer want or need. (Keep your out pile
around until you are totally finished because you may re-use that stuff for other purposes.)
2. Once you have a partially blank slate, start putting your stamp on your stomping grounds. Think about who you are, and make your design reflect that person. If you're a sports nut, pick out memorabilia from your favorite team. Music lovers can frame old record albums and create a grid of classic covers. Maps of the world and a cool collection of international postcards work for travel lovers and adventure seekers.
3. After redecorating, revisit the stuff you took out. Can you do something to wake up that old bookshelf or nightstand? Try throwing colorful fabrics on chipped tabletops, or sanding and staining old furniture to make it look new.
4. When you're done, responsibly throw away, donate, sell, or recycle whatever you can't use.
Now, your room is your own personal creative space and the refuge from the outside world that it is supposed to be!
An Exercise in Compromise
If you share a room with a brother or sister, one option is to join forces and come up with a decorating plan that both of you can live with. But if compromise is impossible (you're all about death metal and your sib's got a thing for pink, or vice versa), just concentrate on making your half of the room a space you can truly call your own.
2 Start a Collection
Does the term collector
bring to mind that weird old lady down the street whose house is overflowing with old phonebooks, vintage cat toys, and dustballs galore? Her collections may be an overgrown mess, but don't let that deter you from starting your own. Collections can actually be cool — if they are artful and well-maintained. It's really just a way to surround yourself with the things you love. And, if those things increase in value as time goes by, they can turn into an excellent investment. Original Natas skateboard decks from the ’80s now sell for thousands of dollars, and classic Barbie dolls pull in hundreds. Whether you're into lunch boxes, snow globes, or random things with penguins on them, building a collection will send you on a rewarding quest that can never be completed. Of course, completion is not the point. The fun is in the endless search for those last three Buffy the Vampire Slayer action figures missing from the lineup on your desk.
How to Do It
Begin by surveying your possessions — if you have three or more of a certain type of object, you already have the makings of a collection. Do some investigating. What about a drawer filled with classic Hello Kitty stationery or that box full of original Hellboy comic books? Make sure you go with something you love that's both accessible and affordable. Mint-condition LPs from legendary indie labels like Rawkus Records or Sub Pop will feed your music fix and look great framed and hung on the wall. Old-school video game accessories and vintage jeans make for both quirky and functional collections, as do items from nature such as abalone shells (which can double as jewelry holders). When starting any collection, consider space — you don't want to gather a ton of musical instruments and then realize you have no room to store them. And be selective. If that Mavericks cap isn't in pristine condition, hold out for one that is. Keeping high standards will keep your collections streamlined — which will keep you from ending up like that lady down the street.
Online Buying
If you haven't yet been sucked into eBay, check it out for items to add to your collection. But keep in mind:
Before buying, check the seller's feedback to ensure they have a track record of delivering the goods (don't deal with anyone who has racked up negative comments from buyers).
When paying, never use a personal check. PayPal is best because it can provide buyer protection if a product never arrives or arrives busted.
Always check the shipping rates to be sure you're not being charged too much.
3 Create a Journal
Documenting your daily ups and downs is a great outlet for frustration, confusion, and secret crushes. In the midst of all the drama, take time each day to reflect on the highs and lows of your ever-changing life. Granted, there's plenty going on these days that you'd rather forget than remember, but years from now you'll be glad you recorded high school-era high points and horrors for posterity. Was Ms. Whoever a complete troll today? Did you bomb tryouts for the team? Is your sister possibly the most annoying person on the planet? Write it all down. All of this will seem funny one day. Really.
How to Do It
Fill the pages of a diary with anything and everything you're thinking and feeling. There are no rules to follow — you can write long entries covering every detail of your day, or just make lists of things that drive you crazy. Write poems or confess first (or second or third) loves, record your little (and not so little) white lies. The journal is for your eyes only, so ensure privacy by keeping it locked or in a hiding place. If you're fortunate enough to have your own computer, consider keeping an online journal that mixes your textual expression with photos, illustrations, and video clips. Protect your private thoughts and images with a password. (And it doesn't hurt to have a biometric fingerprint reader enabled for extra security.)
Blog About It
If you don't already have your own blog (and, no, MySpace doesn't count), it's really easy to start one. Go to www.blogger.com or www.wordpress.com and follow the straightforward tutorials to create an account, name your blog, and set up a template. Creating posts is unbelievably simple (no HTML knowledge needed). Now your triumphs, tragedies, and innermost desires will be made public for the whole world to follow!
Of course, there is a downfall: Privacy is pretty much out the window. Learn how to use different settings or services (like Vox) for controlling who can and cannot have access to your blog. And never post personal identification information — people can and will lift your home address, phone number, and email address to stalk you, commit identity theft, or try other creepy stuff.
4 Assemble a Photo Album
Documenting dysfunctional family trips, out-of-control birthday parties, and your younger sister's sorry attempt to cut bangs is tons of fun, but what good are photos if no one ever sees them? It's time to do something with the thousands of pictures you've taken over the years. Even if every photo you've ever taken is saved on your hard drive, not a single one is accessible to the public for viewing. Real, physical, holdable photo albums are great because you can carry them with you and tell stories while people are looking at them — instead of staring at a screen. Before taking even one more snapshot, take some time to organize your Kodak (or Sony or Nikon) moments in a book.
How to Do It
To release your photos from the confines of your hard drive and share them with family and friends, log in to a site like Shutterfly, Snapfish, or Webshots and upload your photos. Choose pics that cover a time frame (summer ’07), event (prom), or group of friends (your renegade fixed-gear bike crew). Order the most flattering prints — they should cost 10 to 15 cents each and arrive in the mail a few days later. Buy a classic photo album and insert your photos. The easiest ones are those with photo slots in plastic sleeves because you just pop the shots in. You can also get the kind with blank pages and insert photos into those little black corner adhesives — this style is better for adding captions. Spending time with photos not only helps you get them in order but also makes for a great way to revisit the events you are chronicling and reflect on the good ’ol times.
Last-Minute Prezzie
Forgot to get a gift in time for Mother's Day, your good friend's birthday, or your cousin's quinceañera? Give a card letting the guest of honor know their gift is being custom made. Then, photograph the event and assemble the photo album the following day. You can quickly create an album online through most photo sites and have it shipped directly to the recipient as a complete book. When taking pictures, be sure to shoot more than just the people — details like that bikini-clad supermodel cake, over-the-top flower arrangements, or the dog's unexpected splash into the pool will help capture the feeling of the entire event and make your album an irreplaceable gift.
5 Listen to New Music
When it comes to music, you have your faves. Maybe you're a sucker for trip-hop or reggaeton, or a die-hard fan of country blues or hard rock. But as the adage goes, you don't know what you're missing till you try it. Next time you're looking for tunes, venture outside your auditory box. Download a few R&B classics, or some Latin jazz or dub-heavy reggae. New musical genres are often stylized variations of older ones. The roots of house music are steeped in disco, and the beginnings of rock emerged from gospel, so by going outside your usual genres, you're likely to find similar rhythms and styles that surprisingly rock your world.
How to Do It
Start with the type of music you love and trace its roots. If you're a hip-hop fanatic, seek out the songs Nas is sampling from — maybe classic R&B hits. If balladeers like P!nk and Christina Aguilera fill your iTunes, check out old soul or bluegrass singers. Chances are, the same chords, notes, and progressions that you dig in your modern collection will be just as prevalent in related genres. Or raid your parents' music collection and find out what was so hot about Jimi Hendrix (rock), The Cure (pop/rock), Leonard Cohen (folk), LL Cool J (rap), and Billie Holiday (jazz). You can also check out your friends' social networking pages and visit artist websites to download free MP3s of songs and styles you've never heard. If you feel like you have discovered
a new genre, share it with a friend; rockabilly's always more fun to sing aloud to with someone else.
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