What would you tell your 18-year-old self?

[Soph0571]

I left home at 18. Went to live in a Northern European Country for a gap year and then went straight to University. I never lived under my parents roof again.

Getting on a plane to a foreign country where I did not speak the language was daunting. I was eighteen and I knew nothing, although I thought I knew everything! At the same time, I was a bit of a stress head who internalised my worries and was a rather secretive child.

I think I would tell myself that wisdom cannot be obtained without living much more life and that most people in the world have it much worse than I ever will, so stop stressing, lighten up and trust those around you with your feelings.

What about you?

[no_hypocrisy]

1. Buckle up!

[Ponietz]

2. ...and floss!

[sarge43]

3. Don't start smoking. n/t

[snowybirdie]

4. Don't believe

everything your church tells you.

[llmart]

5. Go with your instincts.

Don't look to others for answers about what to do with your life.

[Evergreen Emerald]

6. Invest in Microsoft!

[Soph0571]

7. LOL

There is that!

[DFW]

8. I would tell myself two things

1.) You are contemplating taking Chinese when entering college. DO IT!!! (unfortunately, I didn't)

2.) In four years, you will meet a stunning tall German woman while visiting West Berlin. DON'T YOU EVER LET GO OF HER!!! (fortunately, I didn't)

[IrishEyes]

9. Go to nursing school.

I wish I had studied nursing in college and became a nurse. I went o college and got a bachelors degree in something else instead. I thought about changing my major to nursing but I didn't. I would have been good at it and found it way more rewarding than what I'm doing now.

I also wish that I had gone to Greece and Scotland when I went backpacking through Europe.

[Hotler]

10. Never learn to weld and stay out of the

structural steel business.

[The Figment]

12. Whatever you do

DON'T SELL THAT CHALLENGER!

Go Mango (very bright Orange) 71 Challenger RT 440 6pack 4 speed that I picked up for $1300 in 1975

I could retire Very Comfortably on what that car is worth today!

[ProudLib72]

21. Oh, if only it were white!

And I bet you know exactly why...

[The Figment]

36. Bulldozers really suck,lol. Nt

[ProudLib72]

37. Exactly!

[Burma Jones]

13. Don't Worry, it all works out really well

Use kindness to everyone, starting with yourself.
Quit smoking now, it's easier when you're younger (I quit when I was 36 - I'm 59 now)
Do Yoga
Make sure you audition for "Don't Drink the Water" at Silver Spring Stage in Fall 1992 - your future wife is in that show.
Do NOT buy a Ford Taurus
Get your teeth fixed NOW.
Start saving for retirement at your first office job - you'll have the ability to retire even earlier which does a lot to reduce work stress.
The Red Sox and the Cubs will win World Series titles before you're 60.


That last one will get the biggest laugh from my 18 year old self.

[Fla Dem]

14. Cherish the time you have with your Mom and Dad.

Clearly if you have a good relationship. I lost my Mom at 28. How I wish I had spent more time with her as I got older between the ages of 18 -28.

[hunter]

15. I didn't listen to anyone's good advice when I was eighteen.

I argued with people of great wisdom.

Why the hell would I listen to my older self?

To have a meaningful conversation with my younger self, I'd probably have to steal a white van and bring a taser, net, and lots of zip ties. Maybe hire some muscle. Younger me was fast and strong and wary. He worked in a warehouse loading and unloading trucks.

And even if I did catch the younger me and talk to him, absolutely nothing about his future would change.

It would be just one more crazy thing that happened to him.

[Danmel]

16. Buy real estate in fort green and Williamsburg Brooklyn

I'd be retired and very wealthy.

[Dem2theMax]

17. Love yourself just as you are. nt.

[Kaleva]

18. Nothing. Everything had to happen the way it did for me to be the way I'm now.

[Arazi]

19. Buy Apple stock, travel everywhere, write more

[Aristus]

20. I would tell him:

"Whatever it is you want out of life at this point, start making a plan to make it happen. Don't wait around for it to happen. Don't wait for a 'big break'. Make a plan, and take the first step. Then the next. Then the next. Don't wait until you're in your thirties, drudging your life away, and wondering when it's all going to come together for you."

[Solly Mack]

22. To leave sooner.

I'll leave it at that.

[Haggis for Breakfast]

32. And to that I'll add this:

Speak your truth, even if your voice shakes. Do not suffer in silence.

[mithnanthy]

47. I'll drink to that.

I used to watch old movies where children we accepted into beautiful homes and the people were very nice and I would do chores, gardening and serve at fancy social parties..and I lived happily ever after.

[Phentex]

23. Go north and stay there!

Or move to a village in Greenland.

Cut all ties with family and start over.

[samnsara]

24. stay the hell away from that curtis kid!

[sakabatou]

25. Go to the local college/university

Hell, even do your college online!

[nycbos]

26. Don't work on campaigns.

Long periods of unemployment and instability. I have put in a lot of work across multiple states with no professional benefit. Not saying this would happen to other people but it has been my experience.

[spooky3]

27. Take calcium supplements especially when losing weight.

It takes at least 4 tall glasses of milk a day to meet your calcium needs without supplements. That is a lot of calories.

Don’t be so trusting of or eager to please friends or boyfriends. A lot of people are happy to pretend to be friends in order to get something, such as career advancement.

[Va Lefty]

28. When you meet this cute blonde who is way out of your league in your Jr. year of college...

don't fall for her!

[Ferrets are Cool]

29. "You don't know nearly as much as you think you do,

and also, the anger in your heart will diminish with time".

[stopwastingmymoney]

38. So many good thoughts in this thread

This one is my favorite

[Ferrets are Cool]

40. Thank you

[VarryOn]

30. Dont rank politics so highly. Focus more...

on relationships, especially fam and friends.

[Doodley]

31. Start a campaign to destroy Trump, so he could never become president.

[rownesheck]

33. Don't drop out

of college, you dipshit.

[3catwoman3]

34. Do NOT go to the same college as your high school...

...boyfriend! Going off to college as a couple ends up being really stifling and extremely awkward when you realize he has become a possessive and controlling jerk, and you want to break up but you are taking all the same classes.

[Iggo]

46. Ouch.

[The Velveteen Ocelot]

35. Major in something else.

Don't buy that shitty car.
Stay away from windowpane acid.
Don't drink beer and vodka collinses at the same party.

[Doreen]

39. Do not get a moped.

If you do wear the damn helmet!!! The first one I did, the second one I didn't.

[onethatcares]

41. keep that thing

in your pants.

[panader0]

42. My 18-year-old self wouldn't have listened anyway.

[Iggo]

45. This, thissety-this, oh motherfucking this!

[Iggo]

43. Stick to the weed. (n/t)

[Laffy Kat]

44. Ge that degree. nt