perfect give for the graduating high school senior.

I have a few seniors in a study hall that I supervise in school. I really, really like them. Makes me think that teaching twelfth grade English would be pretty kick ass, considering seniors for the most part are all finished with any and all state tests. When I received a copy of How to be a Person: The Stranger's Guide to College, Sex, Intoxicants, Tacos and Life Itself, I couldn't help but think that this would be such a fun gift to give them at the end of the year. Anonymously, of course.

Linda West and Dan Savage, along with many others, put together this humorous, yet very educational guide filled with real-life scenarios that cover being gay, hangovers, relationships, drugs, alcohol, herpes, and anything else that a college- age kid will be up against in these four crucial years. These scenarios can and will happen to anybody. Some of you will get an STD, some of you may find yourselves in a compromising position with your professor, some of you may want to try ecstasy, or even do your own laundry without your mommy. This guide has everything you need to survive college. I especially enjoy the chapter on How to write good, because honestly, you can get rid of chlamydia pretty easily, it's much more difficult to break bad writing habits.

This would have been nice to have in 2004 when my crazy ass hit the college scene. I learned a few of these things the hard way, but you (or your kid) won't have to!