For anybody 30 or up (please tell me I'm not the only one)

[ri0tdorque]

First off I am a hardcore scatterbrain with ADD like a ferret on crack so please excuse any random jumps in thought and beyond long thought processes....

I was thinking this morning (as I often do seeing as how I cannot seem to shut my mind off so thoughts just keep popping in there) and the thought process was random but it went something like this ~

*tries the Old Gold & Sharkskin that Zoffen posted a litt back*
holy mother friekin gods thats stunning!
must get picture of this where's the camera
somehow from there jucy cotour bags came into my head
why are they so popular do they have a secret lazor beam that shoots out of them or are they transformers oh oh do they turn into robots that i could dig but i just don't get it
wow i'm officially "not down with the hip crowd" i feel old
i need to turn in my 'trendsetter' card for well not sure what
why didn't anybody tell me about pretty color makeup stuff when i was 17
man i wish i could go back and say "pppsssstttt dood....you have great skin but you know what would make it better...bright pink and yellow eyeshadow there's this place called MAC you must find one and learn all there is to know

Which got me then thinking what else would I tell myself at 17. You're a senior in high school or at least the majority of who I know and can think of would be. You know oh so much about the world and are about to go from being a kid stuck at your parents house to out on your own blah blah blah. If you could just take a time machine and bump into yourself on the street what words of wisdom would you say?

And so this is not the post that never ends I'll put my own answers in a reply

 

[ri0tdorque]

First off to get the mushy out of the way I'd give myself a hug and say it's going to be ok that she'll get though all of this and there is a whole big world out there beyond this small po-dunk town, give yourself more credit you do deserve it.

Before you go off dying your hair every shade of the rainbow cut it and give it to Locks of Love

Yes your strange, even for the strange kids but see it's just that you're goth and don't know it because you've never heard of goth before so that whole dark colors and hating everyone thing is normal.

Your father was wrong you are smart enough to go to college he's just a *insert bad word here* and thinks all women should stay at home and make babies.

For the love of god get on birth control stay on it never leave home without it.

Your theories on love are strange and will get more strange as you age but that's ok little secret...it's ok to think outside the box.

Not everyone you date will turn gay I promise.

Keep that goal of social work you want to do stay in school for it that whole "taking a semester off" seems soooo good at the time but you will regret it.

I have more but my mind seems to want to obsess on my hair extension stuff if anybody actually replies I'll put more in later.

 

[pumpkincat210]

I'm not 30, only 27, but sometimes i feel older because I have 3 kids. Some things i would say to my self at 17 are don't be afraid to try everything reasonable from dying your hair every shade to cutting it all off to dating plenty of people (without being a slut about it, or be a slut about it, just be careful), don't fear death, tell those around you that you love them, go to college if you can right after high school because it is easier to get back into the groove if you've just come from school, don't listen to 95% of your peers about friend politics because they are clueless too. Don't neglect your one odd friend because she doesn't fit in, more than likely she'll fit in better than anyone after high school. Guys do mature although it takes them a little more time. BIRTH CONTROL even though you are craving a baby (get a dog first on your own then you'll truly understand 5% of the work going into it), know the types of birth control because taking a pill everyday or it won't work doesn't fair for many of us. Don't marry the first guy that asks you out of high school. Be picky. If you feel like wearing a ton of makeup by all means wear it. Don't be afraid to go out without makeup too. Don't listen to people who are assholes. Don't be jealous, not everyone is equal, but we all have traits that others are jealous of. If he cheated on her, he probably will cheat on you too. Be truthful. Don't steal- its bad karma and i've seen it happen to people. Be the odd one if you want. Don't hesitate, the time to act is NOW!

 

[ritchieramone]

I'm 35 now and I think the main thing I would tell my younger self would be "Get over yourself!" Everything which seemed a real drama when I was 17 turned out to be completely inconsequential and hardly worth a second thought, nevermind the ridiculous teenage angst I caused myself.

 

[pumpkincat210]

Quote:

Originally Posted by ritchieramone I'm 35 now and I think the main thing I would tell my younger self would be "Get over yourself!" Everything which seemed a real drama when I was 17 turned out to be completely inconsequential and hardly worth a second thought, nevermind the ridiculous teenage angst I caused myself.

I totally agree with you. When I was 17 I thought i was the superstar of the world and then came a tough reality check...adulthood. I doubt at my 10 year reunion people will even remember me!

 

[ri0tdorque]

Ok thanks for replying to this I wrote it what feels like ages ago but it was not that long ago however I didn't get a reply so I felt all old and horrible and stupid the rest of the week heh.

"Don't neglect your one odd friend because she doesn't fit in, more than likely she'll fit in better than anyone after high school."

Yah ~ strange how once you get out of high school everything changes. I found that I fit in the world a lot better once that whole thing was over.

 

[ri0tdorque]

Interesting. Granted I had teenage angst but at 17 I was dealing with so so much and felt that I could not burden the anybody with my problems. Hell it took me until I was 23 to even talk to someone about what was going on and that someone told me "um no dear that's not right therapy is needed" ~ and though years and years of therapy I'm cured!!!! (joking but I'm oh so much better)

Quote:

Originally Posted by ritchieramone I'm 35 now and I think the main thing I would tell my younger self would be "Get over yourself!" Everything which seemed a real drama when I was 17 turned out to be completely inconsequential and hardly worth a second thought, nevermind the ridiculous teenage angst I caused myself.

 

[ri0tdorque]

My 10 year just came up and I don't think my class even had a reunion.

I meant to write more in my first reply to you but hit send too soon I wanted to say that 27 is close enough in that you can look back and see now what you wish you could have seen then.

How old are your kids? I have a 16 month old who's about to wake up

Quote:

Originally Posted by pumpkincat210 I totally agree with you. When I was 17 I thought i was the superstar of the world and then came a tough reality check...adulthood. I doubt at my 10 year reunion people will even remember me!

 

[pumpkincat210]

Quote:

Originally Posted by ri0tdorque How old are your kids? I have a 16 month old who's about to wake up

I have a 6 year old, a 4 year old and a 2 (almost 3) y.o. yeah I don't get alot of sleep!

 

[ri0tdorque]

I bow to you my dear I have one and honestly I cannot fathom having three of them at once. I can barely keep up with mine.

Quote:

Originally Posted by pumpkincat210 I have a 6 year old, a 4 year old and a 2 (almost 3) y.o. yeah I don't get alot of sleep!

 

[pumpkincat210]

Quote:

Originally Posted by ri0tdorque I bow to you my dear I have one and honestly I cannot fathom having three of them at once. I can barely keep up with mine.

It's hard and i have breakdowns. My older two just finished swimming lessons and my third child now thinks she can swim too and takes off her floaties every chance she can get and jumps off the side of the pool. Right now she is the one that gives me the heart attacks because she thinks she is as big as the others. I do have an extreme sense of accomplishment at the end of the day when i'm truly tired and can go to sleep in 5 minutes. It was so easy with only 1 child compared to 3.

 

[jasminbarley]

*****

 

[kobri]

Things I would tell my 17 year old self:

Get over that boy!- you will be so embarassed that you ever liked him!

Get out in the world and explore, take some chances

I would also warm myself about that one haircut that will take a year and a half to grow out and made me cry.

 

[giz2000]

I am 42 (one of the, if not THE, elder statesperson here)...this is what I would tell my 17 year old self:

1) Go to college and major in art. It's what you love...don't wait until you've gotten 3 degrees and have a huge student loan to go back to school and study what you should have done right out of high school.

2) Stay pale...avoid the sun at all costs.

3) Don't be a chicken. Life is full of risks and adventures...take a chance!

4) Little kids...little problems....big kids...big problems!

5) Don't use credit cards..they are evil incarnate. No cash = no buy (there is no greater feeling than having no debt...trust me on that).

I am sure I will think of more...

 

[chillipea]

I would tell my 17yo self to listen to the guidance councillors, listen to the career advisors, listen to your parents but don't forget to listen to yourself!!

When you go to uni, do what you want to do and not what other people expect you to do. And don't listen to them when they say that you're not good enough to do it!

You might need to work harder but you *can* do it

 

[MeliBoss]

Quote:

Originally Posted by giz2000 5) Don't use credit cards..they are evil incarnate. No cash = no buy (there is no greater feeling than having no debt...trust me on that).

I soooo agree with this one!!! (It's taken me almost 6 years to get out of the debt I accumulated when I was 18

)
I'm only 26 and I have no children. But I am divorced and most times I feel a lot older than I am.

Amongst others I would tell myself to go to College right out of HS. Mom and dad would have helped pay for it and it would have been a lot easier...Than starting at 26. Just after getting myself out of debt....Now I have school debt.

The only other thing I go back and forth about telling 17 year old me, would be Don't Marry him...You think you love him but you have no idea what love really is (And he's not in love with you and has already cheated on you).
I think about that from time to time. I would have saved me alot of Heartache but at the same time. I wouldn't know what I know now or I would never have become the person I am now (and I rather like the 26 year old me

)
But Definitely 17 year old self...Stay far away from Credit Cards and Go to college.

 

[CherryLex]

I totally agree with the credit card part... I'm 29 (will be 30 in January) and have over $20,000 in credit card debt alone. Not to mention my car & house payments. Good lord if I hadn't gotten myself into all that debt...
I'd warn myself about debt and overspending. I'd also tell myself not to go away to college without having a plan for working and supporting myself.

Don't let your mother get to you so much, once you're older you'll realize how much she tries to help - even though she still has faults. Everyone has faults.

Stop eating so much junk food & candy! I've spent the last 10 years battling my weight and I think if I had set better precedence with eating healthy I wouldn't be in this predicament now, hating any bit of fat I have.

Don't worry about what anyone else thinks!! I've always been a weirdo(the way I lovingly refer to myself, lol) or as mentioned above a "goth" (really I'm more psychobilly but you know what I mean) and when I was younger getting picked on was so heartbreaking at times. I think it did help me develop the strength to be an outspoken and very ecclectic individual but I wish I hadn't cared so much for so long. I wish I had been as happy as I am right now for a lot more of my younger life.
sigh... that's all I can think of right now.

 

[*Stargazer*]

Things I would tell my 17 year old self?

1. Go to nursing school instead of getting a degree in history.
2. Open the door when he's standing there on the other side in December of 1997.

That's it.

 

[Nemo]

I hope no one minds, but I am 25 and wanted to make a reply. I read this post and found some things very interesting. A lot of you have made comments of wanting to go back and go directly to college, and I just kind of giggle to myself. I was that girl who went to college straight out of highschool, not because I knew what I wanted to do but because I knew if I didn't I would never go back. But I took it to the extreme. I became to uber focused and mature 18 year old, who never really had to much fun. And then I was married at 21 (and still am happily married, love my man!). But I think if I could go back and tell my 17 year old self anything it would be to relax and enjoy the ride. No one will care that you make yourself cry when you get a B on a paper, and no one will ever ask you what you college gpa was (but I still put in on resumes because I am damn proud). Don't get aggraviated because you had to work full time and go to school full time, it build character. And remember you are still you, get out once in a while. Acutally be your age, and stop pretending you world will end if you act irresponsible just once in your life. And if I knew it would work about, I would try and meet my husband 2 year later than I did, I love him, but sometimes I wish I would have had some time to live on my own (I have only ever lived with my parents and my husband).
Wow, trying to tell a 17 year to be less responsible, I don't think that has ever happened before...
Thank you for listening, and I have enjoyed reading everyone's responses!

 

[nursee81]

i would tell myself.....
1. definitely go to school and not work full-time, you will have all he time in the world to work later on.
2. enjoy your 20's
3. don't listen to what people have to say about you.