What would you tell 16 year old you?

I'm pretty sure I'm pushing the lower level of the age of members of this site but, anyway. I'm a 16 (AND A HALF ) year old idiot who's scared of the future because his parents may or may not be getting a divorce.

So, hows growing up? What advice would you give someone in my position who has no idea what sort of backup he'll have in the future?

For my personal context I go to one of the best schools in the state (NSW, 'Straya), and I'm going to be going to uni next year, the course of which I have yet to decide . My study habits are pretty good so most courses are open to me.

Any advice is welcome really. I understand if no one wants to offer a comprehensive response considering its such an open question :l

Theoretically. Tell myself the powerball numbers. Good uses for that money.


In terms of your thread, tell myself not to stress so much, and be more flexible. However if i still don't listen to that advice, what makes me think I would when i was 16.

I guess a good one is "expect disappointment."

Yeah, it is a wide topic.
I guess I'll concentrate on the "no idea what sort of backup you'll have in the future."
(Although, your parents are still both your parents, even if they get divorced. Some people actually "gain", in a material sense, from having two homes and two families to call on).

A good thing to do is to try and become as self-reliant as you can. Not talking outback survivalist who can live off the land indefinitely, but let's call it "urban survival skills". How to do some cooking, laundry, first aid, basic home and car maintenance. Learning your way around common bureaucracy, your country's medical system, social security, driver licencing, income taxes. Try to think about everything you currently rely on your parents to do for you, and learn how to do it yourself. That's useful to anyone, especially if university for you means living away from home.
And, well, money... Never too early to start saving up. Never too early to get experience, a resume, recommendations.
But not at the expense of your schoolwork. Keep studying as much as you need to, to keep your grades up. And don't skimp on sleep, either.

This might all sound daunting if you've been as spoiled as my son ("Mom, I need you to wash me a spoon for my cereal..."), so I'm going to conclude by saying: relax. You'll be fine.
(And if it all sounds trivial because you've had all these skills for years, cool. You certainly have nothing to worry about in the backup regard.)

Edit: As for my 16-year-old self... hmm... I'd tell myself to take better care of my health (with specifics). Probably wouldn't listen, just as I didn't listen to my mother when she'd nag me, but it's worth a try.
Also would tell myself not to register for the course my father wanted me to, in university. I ended up wasting a year (which my parents paid for, but still) and then switching to the course I wanted after failing a class.

I guess I'd tell myself to man up and ask out some cute girls. I didn't date at all in high school and while I don't really feel I missed out on something, I should have started the fun sooner. Also, don't pineapple up your grades when you only need 5 classes to graduate from college.

Oh and on a depressing note, warn my mom about breast cancer (she's doing fine but still)...

If I could go back and tell myself anything.. it would be to not take life so serious, try new things and take more chances.

I didn't get to have much of a teenage life due to personal issues that arose, which included screwing up my schooling but there are some things I wish I did experience.

straya mate

Thanks so much guys

And yea I should definitely chill out more. Its nice that my parents aren't pressuring me academically so most of it is coming from my own expectations.

Avoid two ex girlfriends, a crack addict and to avoid maplestory all together.

Don't ever go back to your ex-girlfriend, she will pineapple you up and you'll be sulking for several months.
There is a light at the end of the tunnel though should you not heed my advice.

If I could, I'd forewarn the following in the future and explain what they are or why

-Tell my old self to quit DFO after the level cap increase
-Avoid paying NX for HP washing in Maplestory
-Don't raid in WoW that much and leave guild for my current one
-Get a part-time job to fill that resume sooner
-Avoid playing more than two non-live Dungeons and Dragons campaigns ongoing at once. Ever
-Get more sleep/procrastinate less
-Tell myself about the magic of windowed mode gaming + video watching
-Draw more/art more

Just get off the computer.
It's a waste of time that's slowing you down in life.

I could actually still use that advice right now...

Don't let the jerks in high school get to you because in two years, they will not matter anymore.

Don't take college lightly because the classes you fail will be coming out of your pocket.

Treasure the friendship you have; no one should tell you who you should be hanging out with. Especially not your future (ex-)boyfriend.

Embrace who you are. What you look like, what you enjoy and who you love, compared to others, should not feel like a punishable offense. Don't ever feel like it is (see above).

Don't trust the person who's trying to make amends. They're the ones who screwed you over to get to that point in the first place and you will find out that nothing about them has changed.

I'm content with my life as it is now.
I would not say anything to my 16-year old self.

That butterfly effect or somethin'.

I'm content with my life as it is now.
I would not say anything to my 16-year old self.

That butterfly effect or somethin'.

i'd just tell myself to dodge that instructor course :U

that and to invest in dominator pendants and get an ink'n'wash ring -cough cough-

Avoid two ex girlfriends, a crack addict and to avoid maplestory all together.

Are you me?

Get out of the house and live

You're gay and accept it. Don't waste a year of our life not going to school trying to deny it.

And also don't be such a plantain to your parents.. and have high standards too while you're at it... and be more self confident ffs

i think that, no matter what I tell my past self, knowing who I am and how I was, I'd ignore everything my future self would have said.

If I could go back and tell myself anything.. it would be to not take life so serious, try new things and take more chances.

I didn't get to have much of a teenage life due to personal issues that arose, which included screwing up my schooling but there are some things I wish I did experience.

straya mate

On the exact same boat.

I'd tell myself to stay in school but i betcha the old me would say pineapple off. (wasn't social-able at all) on a somewhat similar thought i'd also tell myself to stop being shy and become my own person and man the pineapple up. So many missed opportunities because i was too much of a platypus to break out of my comfort zone.

To take school seriously. And build a passion out of something that you can make a career out of.

Get out of the house and live

This, so much this.

My life already was ruined by that point.

I guess "stay the pineapple away from MapleStory"