If you could write a letter to your younger self , what would it say? (quote)

[banjomike]

Mine would say:
Don't mess with the blonde you will meet when you're nineteen. Chase the redhead instead.

[SunGrins]

Be healthier because it matters later on.
Love her while you have her.
It all works out in the end.
You were lucky, it could have been much worse.

[dallasgoldrush]

Things are going to get better. A lot better. But the process will be painful.

You will have to shed a lot of tears. And most importantly, you will have to leave.

[AADAD]

Dont' marry your first two choices.

[banjomike]

Man, this is a hard question to answer!

I think the only thing I would write to my younger self would be to pay more attention in math class. I'm functional in math, but all my life I've run up against stuff I wish I could have been able to calculate. Geometry would have been very useful in particular.

But that's about it. I have lots of regrets, of course; no one doesn't have them after a few decades, but I think a person only gains wisdom most of the time from a past regret. I've had plenty of failures, too, but each eventually put a new and different direction to my life, and ultimately helped me out in unexpected ways.

I don't spend much time mulling over things in the past. I've always been more interested in what's going to happen tomorrow than in what's already happened yesterday.

[New Wave Carpetbagger]

Dear New Wave Carpetbagger as a teenager (1980s):

Start doing something to be in shape now; even though you're skinny, you can't run a quarter of a mile without almost passing out. Working on this early will make things easier when your thyroid conks out at 30 and then middle age sets in. Go to the small college, not the big one where the classes have 300 people. Computers may seem boring now, but that will change, so try to learn something about them ahead of time. Don't give up on writing for almost 20 years--keep it as a hobby so you'll have a lot of material to publish to Kindle early on. You might end up like Amanda Hocking or E.L. James. Those names will mean something to you later. Don't spend three years with the guy who plays guitar in his closet and smokes weed all day while he waits for the surviving members of Led Zep to invite him on tour. It really doesn't matter that he has long hair and looks like a cross between a young David Gilmour and Patrick Swayze circa Dirty Dancing.

[EverEden]

Originally Posted by banjomike

Mine would say:
Don't mess with the blonde you will meet when you're nineteen. Chase the redhead instead.

Thanks for making me laugh

[EverEden]

I always thought it was the end of the world when things didn’t go exactly as planned. So I would say don’t sweat the small stuff ! It isn’t worth all the anxiety. Things always get resolved one way or another.

[HonestIntellectual]

I would send the younger 18-year-old me a list of what matters:

1. Pick relationships based on who has shown you that they really like being with you, even for mere unimportant talks. Do not bother with those that are not into spending their time with you whenever they can. In other words, pick the women that like spending time with you EVEN IF THERE IS NOTHING EXCITING GOING ON and even if you aren't such a beauty! Those are the ones that can love you and care about you.
2. Figure out what you enjoy the most (for hobbies) and what you are very good at (for jobs). Then, figure out where the two planes intersect and select a college major and life plans according to that.
3. Seek and befriend nice people who are like you (similar lifestyle, like-minded, similar hobbies). Those make the best friends.
4. Stay in contact with people that are genuinely good friends! It's easy to lose contact after college.
5. Start reading and learning college-level materials since high school! (take the AP classes for your favorite subjects) Start learning job-related materials since the first year of college! (read career-development books and books that teach you desirable skills) Don't stop learning new useful things.
6. Make self-improvement a part of your daily lifestyle. Add some sort of beneficial exercising routine there.
7. Get into volleyball earlier so that you can be an ace by now : p
8. Get into tennis earlier so that you can be an ace by now : p

Ultimately, plan your life around what really matters to you; the key is figuring out what really matters to you as early as possible. Most people (including myself) had no idea about it at 18, even if they thought they knew. For the record, I am in my late 20's now.

[bobspez]

This is one of those questions that I can't answer because everything in life brings you to where you are. There's no way to know how changing anything would turn out better or worse.

I got only three pieces of advice in my life that I took to heart. First was my Mom telling me to finish college so I did. Second was a manager of mine who told me you can get pretty much everything you want in life, it just takes alot longer to get than you want it to. That turned out to be true, I did get pretty much everything I wanted in life (good job, house, car, wife, kids, savings, retirement) and it did take alot longer to get than I wanted it to. The third was a career counselor who told me in my early 40's that I wasn't suited for management and I should find a technical niche where I could excel, and I did.

If I were to give my younger self advice and if my younger self would listen, I'd say look at the glass half full instead of half empty. Enjoy what you have rather than think of what you don't have. Count your blessings. Be grateful. Be kind.