How to Blow Off Some Steam
When you feel this close to a shouting match (or worse), here’s how to divert your anger.
• Breathe. Sounds easy, right? Try to inhale for five seconds, then exhale for five. These are called “cleansing breaths,” because they can vacuum out some anger.
• Keep a stress reliever in your locker, like a foam ball you can squeeze, and have at that baby till your hand hurts.
• During lunch, exorcise with exercise!
Still in a huff when you get home?
• Tunes to the rescue. Play some of the loudest, most obnoxious songs you can, and scream along!
• Write the day down. list every detail, from what got you mad to who said what, when. Later, see if the “older” you agrees with how the you of today dealt with things.
CHAPTER 4
For Boys Only!
How to Survive Being the Shortest Guy in School
Everyone else has been doing some serious growing, but your body hasn’t gotten the message. Suddenly every boy in school towers over you—and so do some of the girls. Here are some tips to keep you from feeling shortchanged.
1 Learn some good short jokes.
Make up for what you lack in altitude with the right attitude. Even if it drives you crazy on the inside, never show that being short is a problem for you.
• “I’m short on purpose. If the teacher can’t see you, he can’t call on you!”
• “At least if I fall down, I don’t have far to go.”
• “I’m not short, I’m just unusually not tall.”
• “You just wait till the limbo contest, my friend… you just wait.”
2 Consider the advantages.
Take comfort in the good news from scientists: Short people live longer and break fewer bones. Plus, they’re less clumsy and have faster reaction times. So play point guard during basketball games or try out for soccer goalie, and show ’em what “that short dude” can do.
FAST FACT • Short people are often better at weight lifting because they don’t have to lift the weights as far!
Though short in stature, these guys stand tall in history:
• Roger Daltrey. Lead singer of The Who. Member of the Rock and Roll hall of fame. Five feet, seven inches tall.
• Napoleon Bonaparte. Ruled france. Conquered half of Europe. Five feet, six and a half inches tall.
• Salvador Dalí. Brilliant Spanish surrealist painter. Five feet, seven inches tall.
How to Survive Not Being Athletic
Gym class is the same every day: There are guys beating the school record in the 1,600-meter run, guys making perfect corner kicks, guys shooting hoops like they’re ready for the pros. And then there’s you: dropping every ball, doubled over to catch your breath. Before you throw in the towel, read on.
1 Practice makes perfect.
What makes most good athletes good isn’t a natural gift, it’s how much they practice. Find a buddy who’s more confident than you on the field and drill him about how he got that way. Does he play soccer in his neighborhood after school? Run around the track with his dad in the mornings? Do twenty push-ups before bed every night?
2 Incorporate sports into your daily life.
Run up the stairs instead of walking, and keep a record of your time so you can attempt to beat it tomorrow. When you have a milk carton to throw in the garbage, do it from across the room with a beat-the-buzzer jump shot. When you’re alone, make up goofy sports to practice, like Race the Dog or Hurdle the Patio Furniture.
3 Mix it up.
Playing sports doesn’t have to mean hitting a ball, so try something different. Hit the local pool on the weekend and swim some laps, dig your old bike out of the garage and zip around the neighborhood, or try out some new tricks at the local skateboard park. Finding one athletic activity that you’re good at—or at least not terrible at—will boost your confidence with sports in general.
4 Take a reality check.
The truth is that most guys aren’t super-amazing athletes, so not being Joe Sportsman only makes you (gasp!) normal.
Think you’re never going to be any good? Think again—these sports superstars didn’t start shining until they were practically old enough to retire.
• “Big Bill” Tilden ended up as one of the best tennis players of the 20th century, but he wasn’t good enough to make his high-school squad.
• Hall of Fame pitcher Dazzy Vance didn’t win his first baseball game until he was 31.
• Sandy Koufax almost quit baseball to go into the electronics business at the age of 25. But Koufax decided to give it one more shot. By the end of the 1961 season, he was on his way to being one of baseball’s best pitchers.
• Super Bowl champion quarterback Kurt Warner didn’t even enter the NFL until he was 28.
How to Survive a Bad Haircut
A great haircut is like getting a whole new you. Unfortunately, a bad haircut does the same thing, except now, the New You looks like you got into a fight with a lawn mower… and the mower won. Here are a few tips to restore your hair to sanity.
1 Bust out the products.
Rock stars of both genders use gel, so raid your mother’s or sister’s supplies: styling gel, mousse, wax, modeling clay… whatever it takes. Then be sure to ask the product’s owner how to apply it, because you don’t want to go overboard with the “wet” look.
2 Start a fad.
Tell all your pals that your hideous, horrible hairstyle is the hot new ’do. Let them know this is exactly how you wanted it to look because, yes, you are just that punk rawk!
3 If you can’t beat it, buzz it!
Sometimes a hairdo’s so bad it requires a ’do-over. So stop cursing yourself when you look in the mirror. Instead, take action! Go back to the salon and ask for a chopper fixer-upper—even if that means it all goes.
4 Let it go, let it grow.
Did you know your hair will grow half a foot this year?! So no matter how bad the current cut, the good news is that it’s already growing out. You’ll be looking better in no time—but until then, one further idea: Caps are cool. Start wearing a hat and it may soon be your thing!