I am turning 18 tomorrow. Any life advice for me
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This was reported twice for not being a shower thought. The reporters are correct, it’s not strictly a shower thought.
But thinking about getting older is something we all do in the shower, for multiple reasons :)
Looks like people are mostly enjoying it so I’ll let it stay for now.
thank you moderator
pick up the “analogue bag” trend. none of us older than you approve of the internet today: we had a different place to grow up in online. you will be the happiest and most hopeful person around- others will remember your calm and seek you for comfort.
stop using AI. period. your brain is developing, let it suffer the growing pains of wondering what to draw; of which source of knowledge learn from; how to compose your thoughts. you will be the most intelligent person around- ever increasingly so as years go by.
age old traps checklist: status, whoevers the most popular that moment, flips on the head as you grow up… everyone will Hate how the most popular person behaves now in a few years. be humble if you’re the popular one. at the sane time enjoy yourself: if you wanna indulge, indulge. saying stupid things from your heart is indulging. listening more than you speak is humble. that’s the secret to popularity that lasts beyond school years.
hug all around you. say hi to everyone around you, even those you don’t feel are cool- that you’d get bullied for associating with. that’s all we adults are doing: catching up on hugs and greetings, because it helps our mood and makes us feel meaningful wherever we have to be.
learn an instrument, or an art, or a craft, or a sport.
say no to drugs. period. your brain and body are fully developed when you are 26. then you don’t get as addicted and have an easer time finding a balance between partying and cozying up intimately in a couch. statistically you’ll end up regretful if not abusing drugs or being abused while doing drugs below 26 years old. i can attest. drugs don’t fix problems. they hide and let problems infect other parts of your life.
say no to sex that makes you feel pressured. as a guy i got status from chasing sex at your age, but if fucked me up to only be liked for being attractive. friends who cuddle are more important than acquaintances who fuck. one validates you as a human being and makes you feel seen. the other hollows you out while forcing you to become a person for the sake of others to feel seen.
be outdoors. pet animals. eat vegetables. drink water, not soda. drop food additives like “flavour enhancers” (e621) and aromas (vanilla aroma is made of literal cowdung and fossil fuels.) companies are not your friends: you’re as cattle to the companies, so yeet their brands. wear natural fibres and what you like.
welp i have more but idk if you’d read all
i have read it all. it was nice. thank you
Use sunscreen.
i do. and it is best thing i could do. People call me girly for doing it but skincare is for everyone
The people who call you girly are idiots. Having said that, there’s absolutely nothing wrong with being girly. I much prefer that to toxic masculinity.
Brush your teeth and see the dentist at least yearly.
Just post the song for him.
Stop reading beauty magazines, they will only make you feel ugly.
Put a lot of thought into your college major. Pick the hardest one you can actually do. Take it easy on the substances, especially stimulants and depressants (yes, this 100% includes alcohol). Exercise regularly, sports are ideal because they’re also social so you’re getting two birds stoned at once. If you don’t like flossing, buy a water flosser. Don’t have kids until you’re in a stable relationship and you both have good jobs. Get used to living on 90% of your salary, the difference in terms of stress between slightly under-spending and slightly over-spending is enormous.
Live in the present, take time to analyse things. It’s ok if you are slower at some things. Every time spent reflecting will enrich your next reflection and bring more peace and comprehension. Be patient. Try new things. Meet people. Hold your own opinions to scrutiny, back them up with evidence. Do the work. Trust the right people. Don’t give in to fear or anger. Allow yourself to feel sad. Analyse your frustration and feelings. Talk to yourself if no one is listening. Keep some of your hobbies especially if it’s skill dependant going.
Also ffs don’t start smoking.
get a dishwasher, always read contracts, be confident during interviews, hydrate your skin, do regular exercise
Lots of good advice here and I am not THAT old but here are a few things I wish I had realized sooner in life (in no particular order or theme):
- No one really knows what they are doing, more experienced people usually have just made the mistakes already.
- There is a difference between being correct and getting someone to agree you are correct, the former is the most important and the latter is not always possible or desired and when to argue and when to let someone be wrong is a skill that takes practice.
- The less time spent worrying about what other people think of you the happier you will be and the easier life will feel. In almost all situations you spend more time thinking about whatever it is than the other person does.
- Always strive to be a good and like-able person but always remember that it’s impossible to be liked by everyone, sometimes people just won’t like you and that is okay.
- One friend you can count on is more valuable than 100 acquaintances, guard and nurture your valued friendships like your life depends on it because it might some day.
The biggest thing though, there isn’t one correct way to live your life and anyone telling you differently is probably selling you something. Always try to learn something from every situation and you will be fine, mistakes are a part of life. Anyway, hope at least some of that is helpful!
Lift wieghts and or do some other physical activity. Its good to have two hobbies; a mental one and a physical one. The muscle you build now will be with you for the rest of your life, and its mucb easier to do it now than when you are middle aged like me.
Dont focus too hard on girls, just live your life and enjoy the experiences and relationships you build with all people; everything else will follow.
Travel, with a focus on the physically taxing things that are harder to do when you are older.
Invest what money you can, compound interest is real and it is the path to wealth (eventually).
I would encourage more than 2 hobbies. It can be very difficult to feel satisfied if for some reason you can’t engage in one of your hobbies (I speak from experience).
If you aren’t already, start going to the gym now and don’t ever stop, or you will regret it by your late 30s. I stopped going at age 30; it’s only been seven years since but I can already feel my body falling apart. Everything hurts all the time and it doesn’t stop hurting.
Its reversable. I started going back to the gym at 39 and am stronger now than i was when I was younger. I have knee pain, but thats a weight issue honestly.
Don’t worry too much about the rat race. Take time to enjoy life and experience things with people you care about. The best moments in life can be really small things.
At the same time, don’t waste too much time doing nothing either; use your time well, but use it to develop and improve yourself, learn something useful. Get a job you enjoy or consider important, at least. Doing work that you enjoy or consider important is far more valuable than the money you make. But don’t ignore the money either. Just don’t sacrifice your soul for it. Don’t work yourself to death for a boss who doesn’t appreciate you. Don’t burn your relationships for money.
Take care of your teeth. Many loves will come and go in your 20s and maybe even 30s, but if its a life partner you want try focusing on yourself and they’ll appear out of thin air. Friends are important but not as important as inner peace. If a job offer 401k start investing as much as possible as soon as possible. Everyone is going through their own crazy messed up life so be kind. Puff, puff pass and enjoy your 20s as much as possible while not losing sight of your goals. Goals are EVERYTHING, set the achieve them and set them again. Heartbreak and death are integral parts of being human. It’s important to sit with and process the pain as long as YOU see fit. Death will come for someone you love someday, don’t let drugs or alcohol be your medicine
i didn’t even approached my first date as I don’t know how to approach girls or guys cuz I am bisexual. I also live in religious society where dating only leads to marriage and I don’t wanna be committed at this point
Weed and alcohol are my medicine and you don’t want to end up like me.
well they are tabboo too so it is hard to get there in my country
USE A CONDOM!
Get a vasectomy.
Sit down pee when you’re visiting a friend’s house. Double points if you do the same at your own house.
i do it yeah cuz I don’t have urinals in my surroundings
I’ve never understood the desire to stand while peeing. Sure; when you’ve got too - like outside - or if a toilet is filthy and you don’t want to touch it; but I’ve always been happy to take the opportunity to sit my lazy ass down for a minute. Plus I never have to worry about aim or cleaning up if I miss.
Buy quality things that will last a long time.
Paraphrasing Terry Pratchett, the man who buys a good pair of boots will have dry feet for ten years, and the man who buys a pair of cheap shoes every year will spend more and still have wet feet.
The paradox of thrift.
Or, buy once, cry once.
Do the things. Do them. Don’t leave them until later. There are always things. If you don’t do the now things, thinking you can do them later, there will be other things later.
Not doing the things only puts you behind, possibly forever.
Do the things.
yeah i really struggle with this thing. gonna do them. thank you
Glad you came back to read this.
I struggle with this too, and I’m old. It is a difficult habit to break out of. I urge you to put a lot of effort into this, make “doing the things” your habit.
But most especially, forgive yourself if you don’t do the thing. The best time to have done the thing is “already”, and the second best time is “right now”, and if you do the thing at the second best time right now, when you’re done it will become the best.
Or, if you’re having a hard time doing the thing, just do a small part of the thing. A sub-thing, as it were. “It’s a little bit better than it was before.”
