Don’t take criticism from people you wouldn’t take advice from.


16



Watch the western “1883”.


13



On a job interview, mention a high-level educational goal such as MBA or law school. Their estimation of you will go up without them even realizing it. Your offer will be higher. Also follow, up with a brief but we’ll-written (professional) thank you note/email whatever.


17, 19, 21



Teach them that when we hear sirens it means someone is in trouble but help is on the way.


2-5



Checkout Bedtime Math app. It’s a tool to make math fun.


5



vaccinate! Science is good.


0, 1, 2, 3, 5



Your sex life should be safe, happy, healthy and consensual. It may or may include going all the way. There’s no rush, every relationship is different. You should feel safe and so should your partner. A lot will be a mystery but you should feel safe. You should be able to trust that your partner won’t intentionally hurt you, emotionally or physically. If you don’t trust your partner to keep you safe, get out.


17



Go on a tour of the Kennedy Center. Free guided tours through Friends of the Kennedy Center.


10



That trope “everything happens for a reason” is, I think, b.s. But I absolutely agree that you can find meaning in anything good or bad.


17



Beautiful girls don’t exist for your pleasure. They’re not there for you. They, like you, exist to find out what it is to be alive in their body in this lifetime and to learn what makes them feel most like themself. They’re here, like you, to grow into themselves, to enjoying being alive, to marvel in creation with all its beauty and tragedy, injustices, banality and thrills. No one, friend or foe is an object for your experience


14, 16, 19, 21



“For better or worse means no matter what life throws at us, not no matter what you do to me.” - Brenda Linn


19, 21



Go to College results. Org to look at graduation rates. How likely is a rising freshman at that school to stick it out and graduate in 4 years? HUGE variation, it should factor in their decision.


16



Make a Shutterfly book for each year and give it to them on their birthday.


5-18



Sign up for typing class. (Keyboarding)


13



Learn how to quiet your demons / that voice that tells you you’re not good enough. Great resource is Dan Harris’ 2022 TED talk.


14, 19, 21



Name a few male celebrities you would feel safe with alone in a room. Keanu Reeves, Jack Black, Barack Obama, to start us off.


11, 13, 15



Go as a family to local high school musical productions.


7-18



My Nana, born around 1913, used to decry “some people think the world owes them a living.” A hundred years later I agree. Nothing worse than entitlement.


13, 15, 21



Check your ego and question your motives. Are you in it for the right reasons or because of how it would look if you weren’t? Do you feel like you need to be a hero or the smartest one in the room? If the answer is yes I would strongly recommend that you get right with yourself.


13, 16, 19, 21



Emphasize "First things first." Distraction is always a challenge. Redirect focus to first things first.


5



Come and go in peace.


12, 15, 21



Worst thing in the world is spending your life with the wrong person.


21



Look into Kano (make your own computer)


7-11



Sometimes it’s easier to describe what a thing is *not* than to describe what it is.


14, 21



Adopting a “do it right now” mentality has done wonders for my self-discipline. Something on the floor? Grab it right now. Thinking about cooking later? Cook right now. Laundry finished? Put them up right now. Home from a trip? Unpack right then. It’s the small things.


8, 9, 12, 17



Highly encourage typing/ keyboarding class.


14



“Enthusiasm is the answer to everything.” - Rodrigo’s father


15, 21



Have dinner guests sign the under side of the dining room table. Let the kids’ friends sign too - or have their own version of a guestbook - the inside of a cabinet or the basement door, etc.


5, 12-14



“Abhor what is evil. Hold fast to what is good.”


10, 12, 14, 16, 18, 21