# If you could give one piece of advice... **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [December 13, 2002, 1:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-you-could-give-one-piece-of-advice/142493 "2002-12-13T13:39:56Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Wallenstein](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/b5a626/32.png) [@Wallenstein](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Wallenstein)\ **Post date:** [December 13, 2002, 1:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-you-could-give-one-piece-of-advice/142493/1 "2002-12-13T13:39:56Z")
My youngest brother turns 18 in a few weeks’ time and he asked me the other day what single piece of advice I would give him based on my own experiences. Thing is, I’m only 24 myself, so I’m not exactly in a much of a position to comment (I got as far as “speed bumps are ineffective if you are driving faster than 90mph”)… … but I thought that the SDMB would be the ideal place to ask! So, then… if **YOU** could give one piece of advice to a lad (or lass!) about to enter the wonderful world of adulthood, what would it be…? [sub]NB. All submissions gratefully accepted, serious or otherwise… :D[/sub] ---
**Author:** ![merge](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/9f8e36/32.png) [@merge](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/merge)\ **Post date:** [December 13, 2002, 1:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-you-could-give-one-piece-of-advice/142493/2 "2002-12-13T13:48:10Z")
Well here is mine… They are not yet adults… I am 24 myself and I help run a youth group on occaision… who all take thier lives way too seriously… They would talk about thier relationships… school… parents… etc… So I always offer the advice to not take life so seriously… This is the time to have fun… You don’t yet have to be an adult. in a few years you will be stuck like me working 40 hours a week, with maybe 2 weeks off a year… If you are not having fun then something isn’t right. You only get to be 18-22 once so make the most of it. ---
**Author:** ![Amp](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/6a8cbe/32.png) [@Amp](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Amp)\ **Post date:** [December 13, 2002, 1:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-you-could-give-one-piece-of-advice/142493/3 "2002-12-13T13:49:04Z")
Don’t eat yellow snow. ---
**Author:** ![Legomancer](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/779978/32.png) [@Legomancer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Legomancer)\ **Post date:** [December 13, 2002, 1:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-you-could-give-one-piece-of-advice/142493/4 "2002-12-13T13:49:59Z")
Wear sunscreen. No, seriously, the one piece of advice I would give is this: the sooner you realize that you are not the center of the universe, the easier it will be for you when the universe demonstrates this fact. ---
**Author:** ![IGJoe](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/igjoe/32/5420_2.png) [@IGJoe](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/IGJoe)\ **Post date:** [December 13, 2002, 1:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-you-could-give-one-piece-of-advice/142493/5 "2002-12-13T13:52:52Z")
Don’t sweat the small stuff\*. [sub]\*23 year old speaking here. YMMV. Void where prohibited. If rash develops, discontinue use and consult a physician.[/sub] ---
**Author:** ![Philster](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/13edae/32.png) [@Philster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Philster)\ **Post date:** [December 13, 2002, 1:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-you-could-give-one-piece-of-advice/142493/6 "2002-12-13T13:56:36Z")
advice: Don’t get married. Gather up 100 married men, let them converse and 99 of them will agree - even those with dream wives - that they would never get married if they could go back in time. Gather those same men up, insert on un-married man and all will lobby to the un-married man how good marriage is. Why? Well, they ain’t gonna let someone get away from avoiding the hell they got trapped in. Married men recruit single men. advice: Don’t get married. ---
**Author:** ![Earthworm\_Jim](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/f07891/32.png) [@Earthworm\_Jim](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Earthworm_Jim)\ **Post date:** [December 13, 2002, 2:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-you-could-give-one-piece-of-advice/142493/7 "2002-12-13T14:25:00Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Philster \* > \*\*advice: Don’t get married. > \*\* Feh. Tell him to get married. I mean, the best years of his life are gone anyway, what’s he got to lose. 😉 My real advice: Do it now. Whatever ‘it’ is - if he’s one of those people who wants to be a rock-n-roll god or actor or some other wild impossible fantasy. It’s OK to be a starving artist at 18. Not so much at 30 - people expect you to have a steady job and mom doesn’t want you sleeping on the couch any more. So do it now. If by some quirk of fate he gets what he’s after - great. If not, when he’s 40, he’ll have some good stories for the kids and fewer regrets. ---
**Author:** ![Violet](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/v/ebca7d/32.png) [@Violet](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Violet)\ **Post date:** [December 13, 2002, 2:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-you-could-give-one-piece-of-advice/142493/8 "2002-12-13T14:28:47Z")
Travel… ---
**Author:** ![Wallenstein](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/b5a626/32.png) [@Wallenstein](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Wallenstein)\ **Post date:** [December 13, 2002, 2:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-you-could-give-one-piece-of-advice/142493/9 "2002-12-13T14:41:46Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Violet \* > \*\*Travel… \*\* That’s the piece of advice I’m most glad I followed when I was 18. > [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Beelzebubba \* > **My real advice: Do it now. Whatever ‘it’ is.** And that’s the piece of advice I wish I’d followed a bit more… ---
**Author:** ![Aro](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/b3f665/32.png) [@Aro](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Aro)\ **Post date:** [December 13, 2002, 2:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-you-could-give-one-piece-of-advice/142493/10 "2002-12-13T14:43:33Z")
While you are young, never waste a hard-on. Sorry. 😉 ---
**Author:** ![Raymond\_Luxury\_Yacht](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/raymond_luxury_yacht/32/4099_2.png) [@Raymond\_Luxury\_Yacht](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Raymond_Luxury_Yacht)\ **Post date:** [December 13, 2002, 2:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-you-could-give-one-piece-of-advice/142493/11 "2002-12-13T14:46:05Z")
Be the ball, Danny nah nah nah nah nah ---
**Author:** ![Kalhoun](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/3bc359/32.png) [@Kalhoun](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kalhoun)\ **Post date:** [December 13, 2002, 2:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-you-could-give-one-piece-of-advice/142493/12 "2002-12-13T14:54:26Z")
Don’t waste your potential. Don’t give up your future because you’re in LUV. If it’s true LUV, it’ll still be there when you’re done with school, or whatever. ---
**Author:** ![Winston\_Smith](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/e95f7d/32.png) [@Winston\_Smith](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Winston_Smith)\ **Post date:** [December 13, 2002, 3:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-you-could-give-one-piece-of-advice/142493/13 "2002-12-13T15:54:47Z")
Really. I always blew it off, then I got gingivitis about a year ago. It really sucked. It’s like having athlete’s foot on your %&\*$#@ gums. So, take that extra minute or two and floss, by Jebus. Take my work for it. You don’t want to suffer the heartbreak of gingivitis. ---
**Author:** ![Dogzilla](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e480ec/32.png) [@Dogzilla](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dogzilla)\ **Post date:** [December 13, 2002, 3:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-you-could-give-one-piece-of-advice/142493/14 "2002-12-13T15:56:13Z")
•\_Get an education. Go to college, vocational school, whatever. Just get an education. •\_You are not entitled to have everything handed to you. You must work hard for whatever it is you want, including an education. Pay your dues first, then you can have expectations that the world owes you something. •\_Do what makes you happy. •\_Never pet sweaty things. ---
**Author:** ![AncientHumanoid](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ancienthumanoid/32/278_2.png) [@AncientHumanoid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AncientHumanoid)\ **Post date:** [December 13, 2002, 4:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-you-could-give-one-piece-of-advice/142493/15 "2002-12-13T16:32:08Z")
Never fry bacon in the nude. Not only is it unsightly and unsanitary, it can be quite dangerous. * * * Real advice: learn as much as you can about everything that interests you. And some stuff that doesn’t. ---
**Author:** ![jk1245](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/49beb7/32.png) [@jk1245](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jk1245)\ **Post date:** [December 13, 2002, 4:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-you-could-give-one-piece-of-advice/142493/16 "2002-12-13T16:37:20Z")
Life’s not fair. Get used to it. The sooner you learn to live with that fact, the better off you’ll be. ---
**Author:** ![PunditLisa](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/4af34b/32.png) [@PunditLisa](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/PunditLisa)\ **Post date:** [December 13, 2002, 4:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-you-could-give-one-piece-of-advice/142493/17 "2002-12-13T16:38:42Z")
Don’t buy shit you can’t afford. ---
**Author:** ![AncientHumanoid](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ancienthumanoid/32/278_2.png) [@AncientHumanoid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AncientHumanoid)\ **Post date:** [December 13, 2002, 4:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-you-could-give-one-piece-of-advice/142493/18 "2002-12-13T16:52:25Z")
Talking dogs rarely tell the truth. ---
**Author:** ![NotWithoutRage](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/22d042/32.png) [@NotWithoutRage](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/NotWithoutRage)\ **Post date:** [December 13, 2002, 4:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-you-could-give-one-piece-of-advice/142493/19 "2002-12-13T16:57:10Z")
Work late. ---
**Author:** ![LolaCocaCola](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/7cd45c/32.png) [@LolaCocaCola](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LolaCocaCola)\ **Post date:** [December 13, 2002, 5:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-you-could-give-one-piece-of-advice/142493/20 "2002-12-13T17:01:48Z")
No sense makes sense. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-you-could-give-one-piece-of-advice/142493.md?page=2)