Six Things To Do Before You're 18

This all started one morning when a guy named Naeem sat down to secretly enjoy a bowl of his children's Reese's Puffs Cereal while they slept unsuspectingly in the next room. As millions of people do each morning, to pass the time as he enjoyed his breakfast alone, he began to read the back of the cereal box. On this particular box back, there was a list of "18 Things to Do Before you are 18". The items ranged from "meet your idol" and "bungee jump" to "reach 18 years of age!" In a nutshell, he was struck by the lack of character building activities included in the list and set about to develop his own list of "18 Things to Do Before you are 18". By the way Br. Naeem, if you happen to read this post, I am pretty sure Kelloggs will not be printing your list on any cereal boxes anytime in the near future so maybe you could see about developing your own line of character building cereals!

Anyway, his list set off a blogosphere game of tag and I have just been picked to play by my good buddy over at the Southern Muslimah. Thanks!

Rules of the Game:
1. Post these rules before presenting your list.
2. List 6 actions or achievements you think every person should accomplish before turning 18.
3. There are no conditions on what can be included on the list.
4. At the end of your blog, choose 6 people to get tagged and list their names.
5. People who are tagged write their own blog entry with their 6 suggestions.
6. Don’t forget to leave them a comment telling them they’re tagged.
7. Optional: You can include the image of the ridiculous Reese’s Puffs list in your post as a reference (I tried to do this but you couldn't read the list so I suggest everyone go to Naeem's Blog to read the original list)

6 Things to Do Before You're 18 (According to Moi)

1. Find a mentor.
A mentor, not an idol. A life-coach , a teacher, a positive example of how you want to live your life. Keep in mind that a mentor should be quite a bit older than you - wisdom comes with age and experience. A note to parents out there, I think it is a good idea for you to “introduce” your child to adults that you would like to see them emulate at an early age. Teens are more likely to choose a mentor that they already know.

2. Get involved in your community.
Volunteer to organize children’s activities at your local library, community center, mosque or church.
Organize a day to clean the local park with your friends.
Check out the Children’s Museum and see if they accept teen volunteers.
Hold a toy-drive for the local Children’s Hospital.

3. Find a cause you are passionate about and go directly to #4.

4. Organize your own charity or non-profit organization.
It doesn’t have to be quite as official as it sounds. Make up a name for your organization, write down a mission statement (who is your charity intended to benefit), and get to fundraising! It is great to learn that giving to others is the key to true happiness before you are 18.

5. Learn history from those who experienced it before it is too late.
What I would give to know which countries that my grandfathers served in during World War II. What was it really like during the Great Depression, the day JFK was shot, or the day man landed on the moon? Segregation and the Civil Rights Movement? How did my grandparents meet and fall in love? What was the most important historical event, in their opinion, that they witnessed during their lives?

6. Interact with people from different backgrounds as frequently as possible.
I mean really interact.

7. Get a job!
Make your own money, spend your own money, and save your own money. Learn how to budget your money before you move out!

Now since, I am new to the blogging world and I don't have connections with many other bloggers yet, I am going to ask my readers - yes all 5 of you - to send in your list of "6 Things to Do Before you are 18" and I will use them in a future post. Just type your list in a word file, cut and paste it to the comments section of this post, and press send. Happy Philosophizing!