Have lots of sex, as often as possible. Safe sex, of course, and be emotionally honest; don’t hurt anyone. But really, screw your brains out, as much as you can. Once you get older, emotional baggage, committment, dysfunction, distractions, stress and a host of other things will limit your ability to enjoy the world’s greatest pleasure. Do it, do it, do it!
Floss.
A lot.
Do unto others as you would have them do unto you.
Neither a borrower nor a lender be.
Save a minimum of 10% of every dollar that comes your way. 15% is even better.
To thine ownself be true.
Be happy.
Live long and prosper.
You’re going to screw things up. Badly. Multiply.
And you’re going to go through unholy tangles straightening them out.
But don’t dwell on it. Screw up. Untangle. Move on. Learning to let the past lie is a skill that most of the world never learns.
Remember, you live in the future, not the past. Learn to smile and say, “Whew! Glad that’s behind me!”
Oh, and make sure you send her flowers. Which her? All of them. You’ll be amazed at the response.
“One of these days in your travels a man is going to show you a brand new deck of cards on which the seal is not yet broken. This man is then going to bet you that he can make the jack of spades jump out of the deck, and squirt cider in your ear. But son, you do not accept this bet,. For as sure as you stand there, you’re going to wind up with an ear full of cider.”
[sub]From ‘Guys and Dolls’[/sub]
Sex, drugs and rock n roll.
Apply liberally.
Never let ANYTHING get to you or throw you off balance. Its the most important skill you can ever develop (a kind of mental rolling with the punches).
If you get it right - then you can deal with anything the world throws at you.
Don’t try to take on the world. Take on the pieces you can get some leverage on.
-Know what you really want. Whether or not you act on it is your call but at leat know it. Similarily try to know yourself as well as possible. Whether or not you’re honest with other people is your call, once again, but make sure to be honest with yourself.
-Take your time. In both senses. I mean don’t hurry up (take the time to “smell the roses”, as another poster wrote), but also don’t waste it. Try to never be in a situation where you’re wondering where the last day/week/month/year/decade/life went exactly. Have a lot of fun or work hard, spend time with people you really like or meditate on the beauty of the sunset, but don’t let time fly away. It’s your most precious asset and you can’t buy or replace it. Be sure there’s something you’ll remember from each of your days.
-Try to be (or become) self-confident. It’s the most useful social skill, and the most rewarding way of thinking, too…It doesn’t mean being over-confident, it means you shouldn’t be affraid of other people’s opinions about you. Self-confidence in an extremely useful talent in many, many instances (be it dealing with your boss or trying to seduce a girl).
Never accept the answer “no”, from somebody who isn’t empowered enough to say “yes”.
“Yes” can be turned into “No”, and vica versa if a sufficient amount of wordpower is applied to the subject. This last one is inspired/paraphrased from Leonard Wibberly.
Never listen to your High School Guidence Councillor. Their job description calls for chickensht, & they are all fully qualified. My HSGC told mme not to go for the 2 year degree in computers, but to get a 4 year in “anything, because you can always teach”. This was in '81. I could have ridden the first wave of the chip revolution.
Never accept the answer “no”, from somebody who isn’t empowered enough to say “yes”.
“Yes” can be turned into “No”, and vica versa if a sufficient amount of wordpower is applied to the subject. This last one is inspired/paraphrased from Leonard Wibberly.
Never listen to your High School Guidence Councillor. Their job description calls for chickensht, & they are all fully qualified. My HSGC told mme not to go for the 2 year degree in computers, but to get a 4 year in “anything, because you can always teach”. This was in '81. I could have ridden the first wave of the chip revolution.
Stand up for what you believe in. (Not necessarily religious – something as simple as “That guy deserves an even break” can be what it means in a given situation.)
Take a few minutes to cool off before you do it, though – words spoken in anger can harm what the same thoughts expressed in calmer words would have healed.
Remember that the other guy, the one you think is an idiot, has a point. He may not be right – probably won’t be – but it’s worth trying to see the situation through his eyes – if nothing else, you’ll be better armed than he is afterwards, because he probably won’t be doing the same.
Like yourself. You’re somebody worth caring about to a lot of people – especially when it doesn’t seem like it. But don’t think more of yourself than you deserve.
Print this out and then read it over slowly. Make notes in the margins and put in a drawer to read from time to time.
My contribution based not only from my own experience but from having children go through it.
Don’t make any decisions based on your friends in high school, like where you go to college. They are great people that you will fondly remember, but they will play little if any part in the rest of your life.
Fix the world. Believe in yourself and do what needs doing, as long as you don’t hurt or coerce anyone.
You may be ten times wiser when you are older, but you won’t have the energy or the willingness to risk what you’re willing to risk now.
This above all: to thine own self be true
(Oh, and DON’T hide behind the queen’s bedroom curtains. You’ll get stabbed. It’s a BAD IDEA.)
Stand up for yourself.
Be honest in all things, always.
Take PERSONAL responsibility for what you do - right or wrong.
Forget about the credit cards. Really. If you absolutely HAVE to have one, never let them set the spending limit above what you make in one month.
Learn to ride a motorcycle (if you don’t already know)
Travel Europe at least once in your life - preferably while you’re young, single and without children.
Drive or ride across the United States at least once in your life.
Take good care of your teeth.
Most one-liners are just that: one-liners.
Life is full of lines.
Please God…you’re only 17!
Cripes, I wish I’d known that… 