Might take some notes at the high school information session

The unexpected lessons from a panel of ninth graders

Hi readers! How are you? I hope your back to school period is going well. Despite the barrage of terrible news, there have been some scattered optimistic moments here. I’ve just finished writing some recommendation letters for a few medical students who are applying to residency this year. The students sent me their CV’s and personal statements (essays about why they are applying to internal medicine) so that I could write these letters, and reading about their experiences and accomplishments was so life-affirming. They had worked on projects ranging from substance use disorder, to trauma, to helping patients navigate the healthcare system. I know Gen Z gets stereotyped, and I will never recover from the time a med student presented a patient to me and said, “Dr. Farris, it’s giving acute hypoxic respiratory failure,” but reading the personal statements was so encouraging. To be honest, meeting anyone who decided to go into the healthcare field post-pandemic is pretty inspiring.

teen comic for Cup of Jo

Also unexpectedly inspiring? A high school info panel I attended this week. The other day I realized that next year my two kids will begin high school and middle school. How did I allow this to happen? I’m trying not to let those two impending transitions cast a shadow over this academic year, and yet… As part of the preparation for high school, George (thirteen) and I (forty three) attended a high school student panel this week. The panel was held in his school’s cafeteria, where the lunch smell (burritos? macaroni? burritos and macaroni?) still lingered at 5pm. George sat with the other eighth graders and I sat on a cafeteria table bench against the wall, slowly sipping an apple cider flavored sparkling water. At the front of the cafeteria there were seven or eight alumni (now in ninth grade at various high schools around town) sitting on folding chairs facing the audience. A couple were wearing their prep school’s uniform, a couple wore braces, and one wore a bright cobalt trucker hat. The principal emcee’d the program. The kids introduced themselves, talked about their schools and then the principal began a Q&A session. The questions had been submitted by the eighth graders earlier that day. I wasn’t expecting to get much from the panel. I mean, they’ve only been in high school for a month or two. But again, Gen Z surprised me. The growth mindset! The sweetness! Here are the lessons I learned from the panel.

Join some clubs, it’s just fun

The beginning of the Q&A was just general tips and one students advised, “Join some clubs, it’s just fun.” I loved this statement. It wasn’t couched in “it will look good on your college applications” or anything like that. Just that clubs were fun and interesting, and you might make some friends through them. Which brings me to the second lesson.

You could meet a new person every day of the school year

Several of the students pointed out that their high schools were large, and that you could potentially meet someone new every day of the year. It was a nice reminder of where they are in their life—just beginning—and excited to meet a new person every day. But in my work as a hospitalist, I usually do meet a new person every day. In fact, this is one of the neat parts of my work—meeting cowboys, factory workers, leather craftsmen, surgeons, psychologists, 101 year olds, retired school bus drivers, etc. What a gift it is to meet someone new each day.

It’s a lot of work, but you can do it

This theme came up a lot during the info session. First when the principal asked about balancing the demands of athletics with academic activities and homework, but also in general. The panelists seemed to agree that high school was a lot of work, but that everyone was equipped to handle it. What a message. And in case you’re thinking “Okay, Grace, clearly these are all academic all stars,” I don’t think that’s the case. They also talked a lot about navigating setting up their accommodations, managing dyslexia and dysgraphia, and dreading in-class essay writing.

Just lock in on your friendships and you will be fine

This might have been the most heartbreaking moment. The principal asked the panelists about how their friendships had changed since starting high school, and one speaker said she had “just forgotten to keep texting a few friends.” Another speaker advised the eighth graders to “lock in on being friends” which I guess is Gen Z speak for committing to staying in touch. Um, thank you for the life lesson. This made me want to text every single one of my friends immediately.

The panel ended with the final question from the Q&A, which was “What does your school have in its vending machines?” This question generated the most varied responses of all. Who knew that the high schools of Austin have wildly different vending machine options? For example, one high school has Red Bull in their vending machines. Yikes. One high school only has “healthy” options like “White Doritos” (what are White Doritos? Tortilla chips?).

By the end of the panel the students had the air of soldiers returning from battle. They had faced the finicky selections in the vending machines, they had participated in sunrise marching band practices, they had taken electives called “Introduction to Investing.” They had returned to the middle school to dispense their best advice and hug their former algebra teacher. Their advice, even with (or maybe especially because of) the Gen Z phraseology, felt more universal than what I had expected. Is all of life just high school? I hoped not. I thought of the enduring charm of the movie Clueless, I thought about John Cusack holding up a boombox. Maybe I’m just a sucker for school, though. After all, I’m eternally on an academic calendar, meeting new students, writing recommendation letters, expecting them to change the world.

recent comic for Cup of Jo

This week I also took the kids to the dentist, and when we scheduled the 6 month follow up appointments I discovered that my med school graphic memoir releases in 6 months, which means the picture book More than a Million comes out in 3-ish months! Both are available for pre-order, and you can also recommend them to your library, and mark them as “Want to read” on Goodreads.

ah, the weekend mom multiverse

Have a nice weekend. Thanks for reading! I’ll resume my book recs next issue.