Healthier, Wealthier, and Wiser

                At LHS it is the goal of many students to excel in every aspect of their lives.  This large number of driven students creates a highly competitive atmosphere at LHS that is quite unusual for a high school.  It makes students drive themselves harder as they are constantly aware of the competition between them and the other students.  This competition is also driven by students’ inner desire for prosperity, which they feel will follow naturally from hard work.  While this can give rise to exceptional thinkers and highly intelligent people, it also can create a host of other problems, including sleep deprivation, disorganization, and a feeling of being overwhelmed.  All of these problems can be addressed and alleviated by paying attention to the proverbial wisdom of Ben Franklin.  Although his metaphors may seem outdated, his core messages still can be applied to LHS.  Franklin’s proverbs concerning time management, helping oneself, and learning form the mistakes of others all have valuable lessons to teach LHS students and are very helpful along the road from high school to future prosperity.

                To begin, the word prosperity must be defined.  The Merriam-Webster definition of ‘prosperity’ is “the condition of being successful or thriving; especially economic well-being”.  The first part can be applied to most situations, and thus applies here, but the second part does not.  Future economic security isn’t the main goal of LHS students; that is a concern that will be addressed later in life.  For LHS students prosperity means doing lots of extracurricular activities, having their lives be as diverse as possible, getting enough sleep while doing all these activities, and always getting good grades.  The point of all this is to make oneself as attractive to colleges as possible, as that is the only way (in many peoples’ minds) to a happy life later.  Thus, the definition of prosperity at LHS is to get good grades, while simultaneously being involved in as many activities as possible and getting sufficient sleep.

                At LHS one of the key concerns of students is how to balance all of their activities.  Students must figure out how to fit all of their extracurricular activities, school work, and down time into a day that only lasts for 24 hours.  Doing this requires a highly developed sense of time management, and this can be developed by paying attention to the words of Ben Franklin.  One of his proverbs reads “since thou art not sure of a minute, throw not away an hour”.  This proverb applies much more to the current generation than to any previous one due to the prevalence of technology.  In a world where plans can be communicated to large groups of people practically instantly, it is very important to use time wisely, as students are never sure if their plans will change.  By using the time available productively, students are flexible in the event of a change, which will lead to reduced stress.  This will in turn have a host of other effects including improved exam performance and a feeling of well-being similar to increased sleep.  Another applicable proverb says “one today is worth two tomorrows”.  By doing today what students could have done tomorrow, they free up more time in their lives for leisure, or if they wish, other activities.  By doing what they can as soon as possible they create more space in their 24 hour days to spend as they wish, which will aid in stress reduction and in the involvement in more activities.  By doing these simple things prescribed by Franklin, students can enter a state of being at LHS that does not have excessive work and minimal free time.

                At all times at LHS students feel the pressure coming from their parents, themselves, and the other students around them.  While some of them might take the pressure well and use it to drive themselves harder, others might simply cave in and wait for help from an unknown outside benefactor.  These are the people who would benefit most from Franklin’s wisdom via proverbs, one of which says “diligence is the mother of good luck”.  By working hard at LHS students can create their own success, some of which they will then attribute to luck.  By always feeling lucky they will gain an improved attitude and a better work ethic, both of which will contribute to good grades each quarter.  This diligence will also seem to reduce their workload by completing it faster, giving them more free time and therefore more time to sleep (or do other things, as mentioned above).  Another proverb says that “God gives all things to industry”.  In the same way that good fortune will follow from diligence gifts will seem to come more often to those who work.  Because of their improved performance that will invariably follow this diligence students will see things in a brighter light than they would have otherwise; they take the ‘cup-is-half-full’ view more often.  Therefore by following Ben Franklin’s advice a student at LHS will prosper more due to increased performance in school.

                A third important aspect of prosperity at LHS is learning from mistakes.  As no student is perfect, mistakes are bound to happen and when they do, it is imperative that people learn from them.  Franklin’s proverbs can help in this area, especially the one that says “wise men learn by others’ harms, fools scarcely by their own”.  By learning from their mistakes, as even fools do, and from the mistakes of others, students will learn at a much faster rate than those who only learn from their own.  Taking into account the ways that others are mistaken makes it easier to see the ways that a student might be, and thus avoid them before they are even made.  Another proverb that will help students who make mistakes (that is to say, all of them) reads “those that won’t be counseled can’t be helped”.  If students refuse to use the options for help that they are given, then they will not prosper.  On the other hand, if they swallow their pride long enough to listen to what others have to say, they will benefit.  By listening to these words of wisdom from Franklin students will rarely make the same mistake twice, which will greatly aid in their academic performance.

                Competition among students at LHS is fierce, with large numbers of highly motivated students competing for a small number of college slots.  This competition, while sometimes good, can lead to a host of side effects which can be alleviated by paying close attention to the proverbial wisdom of Ben Franklin.  Although some of his proverbs may seem outdated, many of them still apply to life here at LHS.  By listening to what he has to say, students will find themselves able to spend more time doing the things that they love, and improving all aspects of their lives at LHS.  In this state of prosperity LHS students will find themselves (as Franklin might say) healthier, wealthier, and wiser.