A few years ago I got a note from Sam Rangel, an eighth-grade teacher in Corona, California. He distributed some of my commentaries on "What I’ve Learned" to his students and asked them to write down what they'd learned over the past year or in their lives. Here's the world of growing wisdom from the 13-year-old perspective:

• I've learned that work comes first; fool around later.
• I've learned that being popular isn’t everything.
• I've learned that being pretty on the inside is better than being pretty on the outside.
• I've learned that not everything in life is fair.
• I've learned that all people want is someone to listen to them.
• I've learned that girls seem to fight with their friends a lot, but almost never with their enemies.
• I've learned that it takes a long time to make a friendship and a fraction of a second to destroy it.
• I've learned that your imagination is as important as your knowledge.
• I've learned that to say no to someone is not wrong.
• I've learned that by following others, you aren’t following yourself.
• I've learned that the harder it is to do something, the stronger it makes us.
• I've learned that I am responsible for me.
• I've learned to give everybody a second chance.
• I've learned that teenagers will do dumb things.
• I've learned that if you respect your elders, they will respect you too.
• I've learned that words do hurt people more than sticks and stones.
• I've learned that when I come to a fork in the road, ask for help.
• I've learned that the easy way is not the best way.