INPUT ARTICLE: Article: Make sure that you have the following: A measuring tape, a ruler or a yardstick A mirror A pencil A small box or thick book Pick a location that meets these requirements: Find a flat, open space of floor next to a wall. Find a place where you can stand with your back to the wall. Find a place where you can make a small pencil mark on the wall. Stand on a hard floor made of concrete, tile or hardwood. Avoid floors covered by carpets or rugs. Try to find a space next to a door or in a corner to help guide your measuring tape. Try to find a location that faces a mirror to eliminate the need for a hand mirror. Make sure to do the following: Take off your socks and shoes. Measure your height when you are barefoot because flip flops, slippers, and even socks will affect the measurement. Remove anything from your head. Don't wear a hat, a headband or a ponytail. Keep your hair flat. Stand with your back against the wall and your feet together. Stand up as straight as possible with your heels, back, shoulders, and head all touching the wall. Tuck in your chin and look straight ahead. Make sure that can easily reach anything that you might need while measuring yourself. Hold the box in one hand, and the mirror and pencil in the other. Raise the small box to the top of your head, and press it against the wall. Use the mirror to make sure the box is horizontal to the floor and perpendicular to the wall, forming a right angle. Do not tilt the box as this will cause an inaccurate measurement. Make sure not to move the box or your finger as you do this. Mark the place on the wall where the bottom of the box is resting. Hold the box in its position and slide out from under it, if possible. Try putting your finger at the bottom of the box and hold it in position as you slide out of position. You may be able to make the mark without sliding out of position at all. Keep the measuring tape flat against the wall. If your measuring tape is too short to measure your full height, measure as high as you can and make a pencil mark on the wall. Note the measurement. Keep measuring this until you reach the pencil mark you made using the box. Add the individual measurements together to get your height.

SUMMARY: Gather the items that you will need to measure yourself. Choose the right spot to measure yourself. Get yourself ready to measure your height. Follow these directions to start measuring yourself. Mark the position above the top of your head on the wall with a pencil. Measure from the floor to the pencil mark with a measuring tape.

INPUT ARTICLE: Article: Find a list of clubs and extracurricular activities offered at your school. Joining these school activities looks good on college applications, helps you make friends, and opens you to new experiences. Sometimes only joining the club is not enough for a college. If you enjoy the club or extracurricular activity, consider going out for a leadership role, like a treasurer, secretary, or even president. Find clubs and extracurricular activities that truly interest you. Don't just join a club because you feel you should. High school is a period in your life where you are juggling many time commitments; make sure you are enjoying the activities where you are spending your time. Don't be a club hopper. Colleges prefer you to be involved in a few activities for a longer period of time instead of many clubs for only a short amount of time. Plus, being involved in less clubs for most of your high school career allows you to build relationships with fellow members and deepen your involvement in the club or activity. Getting a job in an area of interest can help you develop your interests and certain skills that can be helpful when applying to college. Volunteering is not only personally rewarding, but also helps you discover interests you may never have known you had before. If the time demands during the school year are too much for you, then try a summer program. Many organizations have short, summer internship programs for high school students. Summertime can also be the perfect period for a part-time job. Volunteering, working, and getting internships can give you valuable experiences outside of the classroom. Be careful not to overdo it. Effective time management can help you balance all of your different tasks. The keys to a successful education are good reading and writing skills. The more you practice outside of the classroom, the better student you will become. Good students usually make reading a habit. They read everything from newspapers, to the internet, to books and comic books. The important element is that they read daily. Read whatever you want - what interests you. This isn't for class; this is your own personal reading time. If you want to improve your reading skills, try reading challenging newspaper articles or novels. Look up words you don't know and try to commit them to memory. Writing is the basic form of communication. You'll be writing not only in school, but in any job that you get. Make writing part of your daily life. Keep a journal, write letters or e-mails, or try writing stories. Think about the basics of grammar and word usage to improve yourself. Revision is one of the most important parts of the writing process. First drafts rarely are perfect and ready to be turned in. Leave your writing and return to it later for a fresh perspective. School can't be all work and no play. There are many enjoyable and beneficial experiences during high school that you should participate in. Go to dances and the prom, go to school sporting events, and cultivate friendships. Study hard, but also enjoy yourself.

SUMMARY: Get involved. Look for a job or volunteer opportunity in your community. Read and write. Enjoy your high school experience.

INPUT ARTICLE: Article: Making contact with your loved one is an important part of making amends. Don't wait around for your loved one to reach out or for it to happen naturally. When your loved one is ill and dying, make it your first priority to get back into his or her life. Try making a phone call, sending a letter, or stopping by to see your loved one. There is no right way to make contact, so choose most comfortable option for you. Keep in mind that it might be difficult to reach out, especially if it has been a while since you last talked. When your loved one is dying, there may be times when he or she is not feeling well or is out of it because of medications. These might not be the best times to try to make amends. Instead, pick a time when your loved one is awake and alert enough to listen and understand you. Try asking your loved one's caregiver about the best time to stop by or call. When you make amends with your loved one, you may want to ensure that you will have some privacy to talk. It might be hard to express your feelings with other friends or family members around. Your loved one may also be less likely to want to talk to you or listen to what you have to say if other people are around. Try requesting privacy with your loved one by saying something like, "I was hoping just the two of us could talk for a while. Would that be okay?" If your loved one agrees, then the other people in the room might just leave. If not, then try saying, "Could you please excuse us for a few minutes?" When you are trying to make amends with your dying loved one, try to do it as soon as possible. If you know that your loved one is going to die but hasn't died yet, you have the time to make amends. This will help you avoid the guilt and regret of your loved one passing before you made amends. Even if your loved one's doctor has given your loved one a certain number of months to live, you should not wait. The sooner you make amends, the more time you will have with your loved one to repair your relationship before they die.

SUMMARY:
Make the connection. Pick the right time to reconnect. Request a private conversation. Don't put it off.