Harvard University

My dad maintains that there are four secrets to academic success: get a good night’s sleep, sit in the front row, eat a good breakfast, and never miss a class. I’ve done my best, but I’ve missed my fair share of school for swim meets, and I rarely eat breakfast. My dad’s secrets to success work to a point, but I have added my own secret, one that doesn’t just apply to school: list-making. I have lists for everything. Yellow legal pads pile up on my desk and bedside table, filled with lists: to-do lists: short term and long term, lists of books I have read, lists of books I want to read, movie…