I can’t believe I’m 18! It’s so weird!
I don’t really plan on partying in college or anything, so don’t worry about me drinking, doing drugs, etc.
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Don’t rush to grow up and try to make sure you have a good work/life balance. I know easier said than done. Be kind, tolerant and compassionate. Go on adventures, spend time with family, learn new things, look after yourself. You will make mistakes, you will have triumphs, you will hurt people and you will get hurt yourself. Not much in life is a guarantee so don’t let fear of trying, fear of love etc hold you back from living. Good luck for your future oh and happy belated birthday.
Not everyone who demands your time deserves your time. Know your own worth and be willing to stick to your guns when your worth is challenged. Not every friend is meant to stay your friend and that’s okay.
Take videos and make audio recordings of your parents (or any loved ones really). When they’re gone, you’ll wish you had them.
Try to find and pursue your passion, as it gets harder with time, and it’s easier to take risks when you’re younger, as you have less to lose.
Don’t worry about being in a relationship. Get yourself together first. If it happens, great! If it doesn’t, so be it.
Stop wishing you were 21. Then 25. Then 29.
I’m 60.
Work hard, but don’t let work ruin your life. Balance is hard. Take time to reevaluate once in a while whether the things you are spending time doing are what you want to do with your life. Take it easy once in a while.
If you make a mistake, own it. Raise your hand and say, “Yes, I messed that up.” Learn from it and move on.
Remember that kindness is its own reward.
Here’s my list- The world isn’t fair, not even close, but life’s amazing if you approach it with your best attitude. Don’t get derailed by toxic friends, negative instructors and difficult managers. Look for opportunities, don’t get distracted, stay open to new ideas and keep moving forward. Travel and meet/make friends with people who aren’t anything like you. Learn to speak and write well. Create a solid support system of friends and family and hold on to them with all you’ve got. Lastly, if something just isn’t working and you’ve honestly given it every chance for success then walk away with your head up. Sometimes burning things to the ground and starting over is the only way to build something meaningful.
Take good care of your teeth! Brush, floss, and see a dentist regularly. If you don’t have insurance, add dental care to your budget and pay cash. If you don’t take care of your teeth you can end up with problems that cost 10s of thousands of dollars and months of time to fix, and boy oh boy will you be sorry then!!
Happy Birthday! Be yourself. Try to be patient and compassionate. Listen to what others have to say.
Never let others dictate the terms of your life for you. In the end, you should be the one making the decisions about what you do with yourself. That said, taking advice from others is fine. Just be sure you don’t assume that they’re right, and don’t be afraid to ignore bad advice or break away from following another’s suggestions should you find that it’s doing more harm than good.
– The only thing we ever have in life that is truly finite is time. Be very choosy who you spend it on.
– Reward friendship and loyalty with friendship and loyalty. If any of your friends screw up because of mistakes then forgive, but if they screw up because they’re not loyal – walk away.
– Always make sure your moral compass is pointing in the right direction. People will notice.
Actually I have a few bits of advice since none of these have been offered:
1)Never forget how to laugh or have fun. I truly believe that people in general would be happier if they did this!
2)Let your “inner child” out to play once in a while! I’m 54 yrs old and I play RockBand and build with Legos….sometimes I do this with my grandkids!
3)If you get stressed, pick up a coloring book and color!!
Yes I realize this mostly sounds like “Stay a kid!” but that’s not what I mean. Just because we “grow up” doesn’t mean life should be boring or constant stress. Enjoy it because it won’t last forever!
Don’t be afraid to make mistakes. Learn from them. You don’t have to be perfect to be happy.
Be prepared for your plans not to come true, or to change beyond imagination. I don’t mean this to sound harsh, but I wish I had known back then that my life would definitely not turn out how I thought it would. Be resilient, be hopeful, be able to let go and move on with the knowledge that there’s always something new and good out there for you. Happy birthday
“No” means “next”.
When people leave, let them stay gone.
Don’t try to hold onto or control people either.
Excepting emergencies, pay the credit card bill in total. Do not pay the minimum.
Happy belated birthday 🙂
– don’t compare yourself with others. not your looks, hobbies, work or anything! be yourself. everybody is different and that is good
– don’t rush growing up! enjoy being a teenager. you will be an adult long enough.
– do what you love! don’t study a major you hate. don’t work a job you hate (sometimes you have to, i know, but try to find a job you really like!) no one gonna thank you for doing something that you hate
– it is ok to not know what you like now. you’re 18! experiment and find yourself!
– if friends shame you for what you like/do/wear, they are not your friends! same goes with lovers. if they bully you for who you are, leave. they are not worth your time
Do NOT play leapfrog with Unicorns!
Never stop your car on the railroad track, and never ever try to beat the train.
As much as you can, make your decisions based on FACTS. Not on beliefs, not on “what some guy on social media” said – testable, validated FACTS. But know you may be need to make decisions without all the facts, and facts change with new discoveries.
Invest a little provisional trust in people and institutions, but make them earn the rest.
Your integrity and trustworthiness are your only real currency. Failure to demonstrate them leads to ruin.
Stay true to you. You can go to the social affairs without any of the alcohol, drugs, whatever. As much as you are learning academics, college is also a time to cultivate friendships, and work on social skills as well. And learn about yourself. It’s a wonderful time in life for you. Enjoy it. Try something new once a month.
It’s awful to regret something you did. It’s so much worse to regret the things you DIDN’T do. Do the things while you’re young.
Go to therapy. There is so much you can learn about yourself and how to manage and express your emotions, and doing it at your age can set you up to have a healthy emotional balance for the rest of your life. That and go to the gym regularly, even if it’s just to walk around the place. Your building a good habit that will keep you healthier for longer, because forrealz things go down hill quick in your 30s.
*Always* have a clean pair of socks and jocks ready to go. You can get anywhere in the world within 24 hours. As long as you’ve got a clean pair of undies to change into when you arrive, you’re good to go.
(The between-the-lines stuff on that is: don’t carry baggage. You can’t change the past, but you can learn from it and get a fresh start, on the other side of the world, in less than a day – so, don’t sweat the stuff you can’t change.)
In matters of money, distance, and time, always overestimate by 15%. This eliminates things like getting somewhere late, running out of gas on the journey, and not having enough money in your pocket.
1) Stay away from Everclear. Just don’t do it. I know you said you’re not partying, which is fine, but even when you hit legal drinking age stay the f away from Everclear.
2) Its okay to say no. This is to anything.
3) Find out who you are. This is technically a lifetime endeavor and constantly changes because you’ll grow as you get older in more than age. Finding you now will lay the foundation you build you on. Be honest with yourself, embrace the dark and light parts of yourself. You have to live with you forever and some distractions from that might last decades; however you catch up to you eventually.
4) Don’t stare at your feet, don’t stare at the sky, don’t walk backwards facing behind you, don’t close your eyes, and don’t shove your fingers in your ears. You’re going to make mistakes, you’re going to be heartbroken, you’re going to lose, you’re going to be so happy you won’t be able to breath, you’re going to laugh, cry, and scream. You’ll need to let the past stay behind you, you’ll need to see where you’re headed, and pretending everything is fine won’t help anything. Keep you’re eyes open to everything around you, listen and learn from everything you have yet to go through. It all makes you a stronger and better person. Adversity builds character and that’s not an easy process.
5) Don’t ever stop learning. I’m not just talking about your college courses, I’m talking about anything. The minute you close you’re mind is the minute you start limiting yourself. Don’t be afraid to admit you were wrong.
Do not smoke cigarettes.
Do not say stupid stuff on social media.
Choose your God carefully. [ if wanted/needed ]
Try not to get into debt. Don’t borrow money because you want to buy something. Not even (least of all) from the family. Save for your purchase. Perhaps by the time you have the money, there is no longer any need to buythat thing, but the money is still there. And if you had borrowed money, you would have no need for it anymore AND debts.
Taxes. Learn them.
Safety tips: (will differ depending on your sex, and features)
Female: do NOT wear a ponytail when going out at night
Male OR female: don’t go out alone at night
Male or female: put an extra pair of shoes outside to make it look like you live with someone (if you decide to live alone)
Don’t walk with uncertainty and discomfort when you feel your being stalked. Walk with pace and a pissed off look on your face. And if you can, stomp a little. You won’t get mugged if you look like you’re gonna mug someone.
If someone punches you and looks away for even a second, be prepared for a sucker punch. Take that second they let their guard down to kick em in the family jewels so hard the bells start chiming.
If you feel uncertain in a dark alley/walkway, trust your Spidey sense and get the hell outta there.
Don’t get a house right away unless you have the money for that and for the first two months of rent. You’ll thank me later.
I don’t have any advice because I’m not 18, but happy birthday!
