97 Things to Do Before You Finish High School, by Steven Jenkins and Erika Stalder. Reprinted with permission from Zest Books, a division of Orange Avenue Publishing. The book is also available from Orange Avenue’s web site: www.orangeavenue.com.

Get your teen to read this! What a great selection of interesting thoughts on accomplishments at this stage of life. We include excerpts from only 3 of the 9 sections, which encompass information that covers With/For Family, For Your Body, To Get to Know the World Around You, To Express Yourself, To Benefit Your Community and Environment, Because You’re Only Young Once.

This is the best time of your life—or so people keep telling you. But then, those same people tell you to clean your room, be home before 10, work on the weekends, and hand in 20-page research papers. Uh, OK.

You can't stop doing the things you have to do. But how you spend the rest of your time—well, that's a different story. This book gives you loads of ideas about how to spend that time, and be the person you want to be.

ONE: For Your Personal Development

#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.

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.

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Issue: May 2008