Ask HN: I'm in 10th grade and I hate school. Any suggestions?

They may know more about high-school education than us; they certainly know more about you and what would suit you - they may be able to assist in a solution, in a practical sense.

All that was cool, but here's the thing I wish I did the most in high school: kissed a girl.

I think it's important to get good grades in HS because it will give you so many options when you graduate. Just deal with it. Some times you have to do stuff you don't like.

The rest of the time spend doing the things you love. And as a fellow introvert, I strongly encourage you to SOCIALIZE. I had a friend who forced himself to become less awkward by joining the HS football team even though he hated football. Forced socialization.

It worked. He was way less awkward than me in HS. Now he's in Boston doing this: http://diybio.org

First of all, unless something's changed, you should be able to have a driver's license by grade 11 (usually age 16). You can use this to take Community College courses. If you are feeling really clever, you can work with your school to get credit for these such that you don't have to take the HS versions -- but they also count as college credit, which we call "huge tuition savings" on the other side of the bill.

Second of all, you need to be participating in socializing activities. I'm a big fan of speech & debate (because there's not a job opening in the world that doesn't have "strong communication skills" as a prerequisite :-p -- the movie Rocket Science is a not-unreasonable depiction of the activity), but I've seen/heard that robotics and electronics clubs are becoming popular thanks to more-accessible components and information. If those don't strike your fancy or aren't available, then make your own. Do you realize how cheap a digital camcorder and video editing software is these days? Round up some people that don't suck and make a movie. I've had a whole bunch of friends that have done it, some in HS and others in College (see: "The Gamers" which was surprisingly profitable and "The Gamers: Dorkness Rising").

Third, if you're lucky then you're in a college town and if you're as smart as you claim then you may be able to be a lab aide for professors at that college. You don't have to want to go to school there, but getting in on that kind of experience is very valuable and also looks great on applications to the colleges that you do want to go to. (My youngest sister-in-law did this.)

Fourth, I would speculate that because you're posting here and you're reading Paul and all this other stuff that you're not very well diversified in how you're trying to challenge yourself. Let me remind you that an awful lot of technical jobs didn't exist when those of us filling them were kids, so really drilling into specialized knowledge when you're a kid may have a detrimental impact on your ability to adjust to certain change later in life. I would suggest that you spend more time doing art, music, writing, etc. (Consider: Paul Graham would almost certainly not be so capable of a writer if he hadn't gone wacky and gotten his degree in Philosophy. Also, if you doubt the value of art, go read Mac Hall -- there's a party sequence where Ian demonstrates the value of competence with a sketchpad at a party that always makes me grin. http://www.machall.com/view.php?date=2001-03-21) The crucial thing is that you can bring in another skill that you've cultured to make your particular synthesis of capabilities unique and innovative.

Finally, it will almost certainly get easier. Lacking any kind of public funding for talented and gifted programs, my senior year of HS was ~40% independent study of one form or another. Not that I would suggest being quite the slacker I was -- I used the "Theorem of Theorems" which stated that "if a state-certified math book taught it to us, it must be true enough" to shortcut through entirely too many math problems -- but with a good mobile internet device and enough initiative to set your own goals, you'll be able to make better use of your time in the near future.

Lesson 2: Not all parts of your life will be ideal at all times.

Lesson 3: Any complex system that uses human beings as input will be non-ideal for many (if not most) of those people.

Lesson 4: Humanity's sacred institutions are (contrary to the way they're marketed) full of frustrating inefficiencies and design flaws.

You're frustrated because you'd like to be constantly challenged by just the right amount so that you can learn and reach your potential. Consider the video game: each new level is designed to push your skills just the exact amount. Life (and human institutions) are not so well designed.

There's a reason that the book Ender's Game is so engaging: it's wish fulfillment. We all wish that we could go to a school that provided exactly the opportunities that would make us the people we want to be. But such a school doesn't exist.

(Oh, and on a practical note: if a subject seems dull, then hit the library/web and look for other textbooks on the same subject. A book that presents things the way you'd like to see them can make all the difference.)