High School Hindsight

Looking back at my school days, there are definitely things I wish I hadn't spent so much time (and effort and emotions) on and other things I wish I had paid more attention to.

For example, boys. My junior high and high school days were filled with obsessing about my crush du jour, and I can honestly say none of them ever returned my affections. Of course it's only natural to have crushes, but I would plan to be particular places at particular times just to get a glimpse of Cute Boy #452. I'd race to my classes hoping to get to sit near my crush. I actually wished upon a star every night for so-and-so to like me back! I have friends who went so far as to join a club just because they guy they liked was in it. (Personally, I would join whichever clubs I found intriguing and then chose one of the boys in that club to be my new crush.) If I could go back and talk to my teenage self, I'd say, "Wendy, take the hint. None of these dudes will ever become your boyfriend, so just concentrate on having fun, and when you're in college, you'll need a personal secretary to keep track of all your dates." (Well, I need to give teenage Wendy something to look forward to so she's not too depressed.)

As far as something I wish I would have spent more time on? Plays and musicals. I love(d) acting and singing but as those of you who play(ed) sports know, being in the school theater productions takes up a LOT of your time and it's hard (maybe even impossible) to do both. Regardless, the times on stage were some of my fondest memories and if I could go back and talk to teenage Wendy, I'd say, "Audition for more plays and musicals. They're a lot of hard work but you'll never forget those experiences."

So, for those of you who've already graduated high school, what is something you wish you hadn't wasted so much time on, and what's something you wish you had done more of? And if you're in high school (or junior high), what do you plan on doing more of (and less of) in the future?

Tweet

How to Rule Apres School

It's coming.

Early morning football practice has started. Band camp is just next week. Back to school ads have been popping up on the TV and newspaper since the 4th of July. Before you know it, you'll be straightening your leggings and slipping into your ballet flats and heading off to school.

You've got your classes scheduled and your extra-curriculars lined up. Maybe you've got an after-school job. You've thought of everything, right?

Maybe.

Let me fill you in on a little secret that I guarantee will make your entire school year better - volunteer. Offer some of your time and talents for free. Just to be nice. It may sound trite to say that giving service can make you happier, but it's true! And it makes those you serve happier, too. Win, win all around.

Don't know where to look for those opportunities to volunteer? Here are some ideas that should be available in about every community:

Hospitals: Many hospitals have volunteer programs so that the staff could concentrate on other things. You know, like making people healthy.

Animal Shelters: Since many animal shelters are non-profit, they rely on volunteers to take care of the animals, keep the place clean, and help with the paperwork.

Habitat for Humanity: Check out their website to see if there is a Habitat in your area and how you can help.

Food Banks: Food banks are always in need of donations. You could organize a drive in your community to gather the staples they could use.

The Red Cross: Did you know that the Red Cross has an entire youth division called the Junior Red Cross? I didn't. Check out what you can learn and how you can help here.

Literacy Programs: When I lived in Japan, I learned very quickly what it was like to be an illiterate. I developed strategies for getting along without being able to read kanji, but what I was able to learn and accomplish was severely limited. If you could help even one person learn to read, think of how you could enrich their life! Check for literacy programs in your community or check out Reading is Fundamental and/or ProLiteracy to get involved.

Don't have time for a regular volunteer gig? Keep your eyes open. Watch for a need you can fill, like babysitting for a overworked parent or raking the leaves for your neighbor who can't move around so well. And don't forget the power of organizing volunteer groups yourself. The students at ASIJ raised money and awareness for causes as diverse as the crisis in Darfur to the tsunami victims in Thailand to local homeless families.

The trick is to find a moment here and there to think outside yourself and get involved. You'll be glad you did.


Gerb

NOW AND ZEN, Now Available!
THE FINNISH LINE, Coming your way Oct. '07
THE WORLD OF THE GOLDEN COMPASS, Benbella '07
DEATH BY BIKINI, Puffin '08
lindagerber.com

Tweet

School of Life

My parents made sure I knew that education was the key to success in America. My father and his family were from Russia, and he grew up really poor--like no food on the table poor--and my mother was from an American family, but she was never really given the option, I don't think, to go to college. Girls went to secretarial school back then or got married.

So doing well in school was THE most important thing in my house. My father is an atheist, so we didn't go to church. We didn't play sports. We studied. I skipped a couple of grades, graduated early, got a scholarship to a private university. Seems like Dad's plan worked.

But the thing is, the BIGGER thing is, my father also sneered at education. He told me from the time I was in third grade that my teachers weren't ANY smarter than I was. They just happened to go to school for teaching. So I should never be intimidated by them, I should ALWAYS question their authority. And I shouldn't believe anything they told me unless I verified it from independent sources and formed my own opinion. Also sensible--I mean, you can't believe history books all the time. You can't believe anything--you have to search for your own truth.

However, what was really important in terms of school was I was educated in the school of life. My father made me read the NY Times every day from the time I was in first grade . . . I HAD to read a paper each day. My mother didn't just read--she devoured books. I wasn't allowed to watch much TV at all--but books overflowed from my nightstand.

My father was a classic pain in the a**. If you had an opinion, you had to defend it. And woe to you if you formed some kind of snap judgment of war or politics without a solid basis to defend your beliefs.

So when I look back on my education, granted it was a little unconventional, but the message I got was the school was important, but education was more important, even, than school. The piece of paper is important--but it's nothing if you just grab it without having LEARNED in the process.

How about you? What did you learn from the school of life?

Tweet

Proper Education

Hey everyone! I’m Alyson Noël, the author of Faking 19, Art Geeks and Prom Queens, Laguna Cove, Fly Me to the Moon, and the upcoming Kiss & Blog (May 07) and Saving Zoë (September 07). I’ve lived in both Mykonos and Manhattan, only to come full circle and end up right back in the OC, where I was born and raised (and where most of my books take place)!

I’ve just started writing my latest book, the one I call, Untitled #7, when I realized I’ve yet to write a book about summer. Which, when you consider how much I love summer, how I practically live for summer, and how most of my books take place in the OC, which is known for its summers, well, it just doesn’t make any sense. But somehow I always focus on the school year, and to be honest, I pretty much hated the school year.

Hate’s a strong word, I know. That’s why I chose it. Because it sums up, in one crisp syllable, just how I felt about my junior and senior years. Suffocated, bored, apathetic, and disinterested— would also work. Though, like Alex in Faking 19, I wasn’t always that way. I started out well enough with a stint in student government, a host of clubs, and a full schedule of AP classes that kept me somewhat interested.

Then, somewhere around junior year-- I. Just. Stopped. Caring.

Some of it had to do with trouble at home, but most of it had to do with my habit of sneaking off campus so I could hang in L.A.—a place where everything seemed so glamorous and exciting, a place that made my small town seem so small time.

But the one class I never cut was AP English. I had the same teacher both years, and I respected and admired him way too much to ditch. Mr. Sawaya played jazz records, encouraged discussion and debate, he respected our opinions, and he made learning fun. He was the kind of teacher former students kept in touch with and came back to visit.

So when it came time to write the acknowledgments in my debut novel, Faking 19, he was the second person I thanked (right after my mom!). Because little did he know, but the day he read one of my short stories to the class, everything changed. With that one small act I went from feeling lost and unsure, to thinking there just might be a place for me after all. And I wanted him to know he made a difference.

A year ago I visited the school, spoke to his classes, and he took me to lunch. And I’ll never forget how it felt to return to that campus and discover it wasn’t the malevolent place I’d once thought. Sure there were probably cliques, heartbreak, and drama, it’s all part of the process. But I realized that even though I lived for the summers, it was the school year that formed and shaped me the most.

So what about you- did you have a teacher who made a difference- a favorite class- one you would never dream of ditching even if you wouldn’t get caught?

Tweet