So you want to be a writer- then write. Anything. Play around with it. Journal. Fiction, non-fiction, biography, obits, blogs, plays, tv pilots, whatever. You will probably suck at it. Keep writing. Write more and more. You will get better, you’ll find your flow. This w


16, 21



Listen to the radio stations they listen to. Know their favorite songs and artists.


12



Find what you love Do what you love Be what you love Live what you love Love what you love and never look back ... Except to love.


19



White privilege doesn’t mean that your life hasn’t been hard, it means that your skin color isn’t one of the things making it harder.


14



Plan a neighborhood "Winter Olympics" for snow days. Create indoor and outdoor events.


8



Give book "50 Things Every Young Lady Should Know" by Kay West.


14



Never consent to a search. Ask if it’s required. If not, no search. If yes, ask for your lawyer.


17, 21



Read The Invisible Boy by Trudy Ludwig.


4



End of August by Robert Frost is one of my favorite poems.


20



Best song for a good cry: “And so It Goes” by Billy Joel.


15, 21



Read up on the adolescent brain.


11, 13



The universe is cheering for you!


14, 16, 18, 20



Participate in an exchange program - either through hosting or traveling yourself & immerse yourself in the new culture


17



Failed? Lift yourself up, or live there. You know the work you need to do, be it physical, mental, emotional or spiritual, etc. So do it. Do the work. The only bitterness in failure comes from not having the guts to get back up again.


12, 16, 18, 20, 21



You’re going to be okay if your relationship ends. You were a whole person before them and you’ll be a whole person after. - therapy Jeff


15, 21



Check in on your friends. Even the ones that seem fine.


14-21



1

“What do you think about keeping things PG-rated for a while? We’re both just figuring stuff out. The last thing I’d want to do is hurt you.” Or whatever spin you want to put on the idea that there’s no rush, and plenty of amazing sensations to experience and explore, long before things go further than kissing. Hang out in that PG range as long as possible. And if you can’t talk with your partner about that then you probably shouldn’t be having sex anyway.


13, 14, 15, 16, 17



Pick a project on Instructables.com and work on it together this winter.


7



Institute a “leave by” time instead of a curfew. That way they won’t panic / speed if something out of their control happens to make them late. “Leave Riley’s house by 10pm.”


13



I hope you find a partner with who are your most authentic self, and who you love for who they genuinely are.


15, 21



Sometimes we outgrow relationships. It’s no one’s fault. It’s okay to move on. You’ve grown…Don’t abandon your healthier self for a relationship.


14, 16,



Shirts and pants don't go into the laundry inside-out. From now on, they will be responsible for turning their laundry right-side-out. Will help instill that laundry is not done by the laundry fairy.


4



Show up. Be there when people are counting on you. Be at the celebrations and the funerals. Be at work and school when you're supposed to be.


12-19



“I need help. But I don’t know what I need help with. Could you ask me a few questions and help me figure it out?” Keep this one in your back pocket.


5, 7, 11, 13, 16, 19, 21



Teach tuck to drive


15



Be generous in all things. That is my hope for you.


14, 18, 21



1

My dad was a Marine. He enlisted at 18 with his buddies during he Korean War. He was never a "typical" Marine, always a gentle spirit and rarely spoke about his days in Korea. One carry-over was kind of a little inside joke he had with his buddies in the war: They used the expression "Semper Fi" sarcastically, in the opposite way it's meant. When they said it to each other it meant "I got mine, you're on your own. Fend for yourself." We always used to joke about it too when little things happened like there was no more milk for the cereal, "Semper Fi." Of course the irony is that my dad and his Marine buddies were the very definition of faithful when it came to the big stuff. They just liked to joke about the little stuff. Still use it jokingly that way to this day.


18



Read A Mother’s Reckoning by Sue Klebold (mother of Columbine shooter.)


12



Discuss difference between foods that taste good vs. foods that make you FEEL good.


12-14



Give him a copy of The Secret Lives of Great Composers by Elizabeth Lunday.


14