An open letter to returning high school students.
It's that time of year again. The days are getting shorter, the leaves are beginning to turn and most of you will have to invest time and energy into understanding cosign, tangent and the symbolism behind Beowolf.
School is back from summer.
If you are anything like me, you'll be saying that geometry is a joke, history is a snooze and biology is a bore.
Knowing the order of a pine tree is not something one particularly needs as a piece of information at the ready, but imagine being able to win at Trivial Pursuit years down the road because you pulled out of the recesses of your mind, the word: Pinales.
It would be a pretty great moment.
Another epic moment was on July 20, 1969 at 20:18 UTC, when Neil Armstrong put his space boot on the surface of the moon and took a giant leap.
You know what makes Apollo 11's landing even more amazing than just the idea of landing successfully on the moon?
To understand on an intellectual level what an amazing and historic feat it really is when you can understand the physics and chemistry that went behind getting that spaceship to the Moon.
Sadly, we lost the man on the moon on the weekend.
I'm sure some of you will say at some point over the next eight months that your teacher is stupid.
It might even have some truth, but the other thing that has truth, is that you are stupid as well. So is everyone.
The point of being a human being is to attempt everyday to become less stupid. So do your homework.
Pay attention in English Literature class. That Shakespeare guy - he was on to something. Don't read the Coles notes or rent the movie, instead hunker down and learn the hard stuff. It will eventually be worth it.
For all the kids that are in the cool cliques and all of the kids that are perhaps less well-known, the message is the same. Because all of you are the same, sharing the same insecurities and questions about the future.
Take a minute and help each other out. You might be surprised.
Being in high school is an all-consuming event. Constantly worrying about whether you are wearing the right things, what it means if you don't go to the next party and if you'll be able to finish your homework, it's endless and tiring. But it doesn't last forever, even though it seems like it does.
When you graduate, it's the first time that you all get to decide who you want in your lives, and if you don't, you will no longer have to share the halls with them.
Take your exams seriously. Yes, they are a pain and will cut into your socializing time, but eventually, you'll be glad you did. Because education is power (sorry for the Oprah moment). If you apply yourself, you can choose the college you want to go to, instead of having the college(s) you got into choosing you.
The romantic relationship side of high school will change as well. It won't get any easier (sorry), but instead it gets more complicated.
The most important thing to realize about this whole school and education thing is that it isn't for you. It's for me and everyone else that has gone through it.
It's so that we can continue to live in an educated world and that's power. It's what separates us from the animals that throw their own poop.
I want to continue reading books that change how I see the world, or one day have the disease AIDS as something that is spoken about in the past tense, world leaders to be more mindful of their actions and iPhone 6s.
We all need you to be in school and do well because we deserve to have a ketchup bottle that actually works properly and ear phones that are worth the money paid for them.
As a young person, you don't have to know what you want to be when you grow up. As long as you know that you want to be something - that's enough for the time being.
Finally, be safe and mindful of others. Don't get in the car with someone you don't trust. Call a cab or a real friend, your parents will be happy you did. And listen to your spidey-sense, above all else, because it is always right.
In between the studying, gossiping, lab-taking and cramming, have fun as well. High school is something you'll never ever forget.
