Have a movie night with all your favorite movies, read a stack of books and magazines back to back, or relax with your favorite TV-show marathon. Make a movie/TV/music night. Pick a theme and make your own marathon around that theme, like werewolves, 80s heartthrobs, Broadway musicals, or whatever entertains you. After you've indulged in all your favorites, start researching new bands, movies, and TV shows to try. Check out music blogs and podcasts, see what Spotify or Pandora recommends, or seek out the under-explored corners of Netflix. If you're not a gamer, give it a try. If you're already a gamer, broaden your horizons. Try playing a new video game or seeking a new video game store. Look for older or lesser-known titles in thrift stores or online. Set up a video game tournament if you have the supplies--many platforms allow for cooperative virtual gaming, so if your friends aren't around, you can play with new and different people from around the world. Try new types of non-video games, like role playing games, L.A.R.P.ing (Live Action Role Playing), etc. Revert back to your childhood self and bring out your favorite old board games. But what if you need multiple players? You can play for all of the players! Compete against yourself and take joy in knowing that you'll win no matter what. Get out your old photo albums, scrapbooks, and yearbooks and spend some time reminiscing about old times. You may even be inspired to look up old friends or family members with whom you've lost touch. If you are, go on an information hunt and see if you can track them down. Use the memories that come back to you as inspiration--write them down into short stories, autobiographical snippets, blog posts, comics, etc. Time to yourself opens up all kinds of avenues for exploration, including digital exploration. And there's a lot of digital world to explore. Go for a virtual information walk. Start by opening a web page--any page--and then start exploring where it takes you. Look for terms or ideas mentioned or linked on the page and follow them. Do the same for each new page you come to and see how far away from your starting point you can get. Then revel in all the obscure knowledge you're accumulating. Go tutorial crazy by visiting various tutorial and how-to sites--and then trying them out. If you're into experimenting with hair and makeup, find the craziest hair/makeup how-to you can and be your own experimental subject. If you like making things, look up tutorials on making or building things (birdhouses, creme brulee, pillows, whatever) and give it your best shot. You may uncover some hidden talent.

Summary: Consume loads of your favorite media--especially the guilty pleasures. Get gaming. Reminisce. Explore the wonders of the internet.

Before you ask her out, see what her feelings on boys are. While some girls are ready to date at this age, others may just want friends. You should also ask her about her parent's views on dating. If they forbid it, it could make it harder for you to get a date with her. You can start the conversation by saying something like, "I heard Marty and Sarah were dating now. What do you think about that?" Ask her about her parents by asking something like, "My parents said it would be okay if I went to the movies with a girl. What do your parents think about that sort of stuff?" If you've talked to her, then you'll have a good idea what her interests might be. Think about what she likes and try to form a date around that. For instance, if she likes the outdoors, think of doing something at a park. If she likes movies, think of a movie that she would be excited about and ask your parents to get you tickets. Before you ask the girl out on a date, you need to make sure that you're allowed to go out on dates. Talk to your parents and be open and honest. Tell them about the girl, and why you want to see her more often. Calling it a relationship may scare your parents, so just tell them that you want to "hang out" with the girl. You can say something like, "There's a girl in class that I like and I want to see if she wants to go to the movies. Would it be okay if we went together?" Asking a girl out via social media is most likely the least stressful way to ask her out, but it also is not as effective. She may not see the message for a while, or what you have to say may get confused via text. A better way to ask the girl out is by calling her on the phone or talking to her in person. Simply ask her if she'd like to go with you and do something together. Ask her out by saying something like, "Hey I was wondering if you'd like to go the movies with me. I'm seeing the Avengers 5."

Summary: Ask her how she feels about boys. Think of things you can do together. Get your parents permission. Ask her out via social media, phone, or in person.

These can become a bit tricky. To play notes above D', a technique known as "pinching the thumb hole" must be used. Cover 2/3 to 3/4 of the thumb hole using the tip of your thumb. Tighten your lips slightly and blow a little harder than usual. A semitone is a sound that's halfway between one note and the next, like the sound made by the black keys on a piano. You have already learned one of the most popular semitones - that is, F#. Two more semitones that you should learn are Bb and C#'. The fingering chart for Bb is: 0 1 - 3 4 - - - The fingering chart for C#' is: - 12 - - - - - You can practice these semitone notes by playing a little ditty called Baa Baa Black Sheep: D D A A B C#' D' B A, G G F# F# E E D Once you have mastered the notes, you can work on your vibrato technique. A vibrato allows long notes to resonate, creating a nice dynamic effect. There are several ways to accomplish this: Use a diaphragmatic vibrato. Control the flow of air into the recorder by tightening and contracting your diaphragm. Say, "heh heh heh" but do not cut off the flow of air entirely. Use a tongued tremolo. Say, "yer yer yer yer yer yer" using your tongue to control the airflow. Use a finger vibrato. While not being a very practical choice for a sustained vibrato, this method is commonly referred to as a trill. Alternately finger the note and the next higher note. Do not tongue each note, but rapidly play an A B A B A B A sequence. These are created by sliding the fingers off the recorder in quick succession to create a sliding sound.
Summary: Practice playing high notes. Learn the semitones. Work on vibrato. Use glissandos.