Go To to Tech/trade school, & then college.
I like this one. A lot. On the flip side of that though, I would tell my 24 year old self to not be so afraid of rejection and getting hurt that you miss out on what could be. Or in other words:
Invest at least 10% of your salary. At least 10%.
Don’t ignore those 5 extra lbs. Don’t tell yourself you will lose them next year. Once you are really overweight, it is so much harder to lose.
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Whatever you do, don’t let people see how absolutely fucking DEPRESSED you are.
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Don’t take up smoking again. You quit, you can stay that way.
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Don’t keep anything sharp in your house or apartment. I’m serious.
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You’re 24 and alone for a reason, Iscariot Floyd. Stop acting the way you do. Quit staying inside so much. Try to be more social. (Like I should talk)
You know those edgy, tough, quirky, neurotic, competitive women you say are really your type because they’re great at keeping you honest?
Well, that shit gets old fast. Run, don’t walk, to someone who likes you and treats you well. They’re all over the place, like right behind that edgy, tough etc bitch for example.
Well I was 24 only last year. so not much life-changing benefit from hindsight.
I guess I’d tell my 24 year old self: Spend the little extra to get the 60GB hard disk rather than the 40. Take your watch off before you lose your temper at work. Avoid the vodka at your colleague’s daughters birthday do. That little bit of plastic inside your PDA? Don’t mess with it, it makes the PDA work somehow. For Og sake buy a rain cover for your bike. Don’t buy the umbro socks, they’re too small. Put the CD of clannad Mp3s somewhere safe so you don’t lose it. At work you’ll feel sick. You’ll think you can hold it in until you get to the toilet. You’ll be wrong. Just do it into a bin. Better yet stay off work. Don’t attempt to drop-kick the small green football near the dog, because you’ll just kick the dog and feel bad and stupid afterwards.
“Don’t marry that guy you’re engaged to. You know how you keep thinking that the way he’s just started acting is just tempoprary, and that it will pass and he’ll start acting the way he used to? It’s not temporary, that IS the way he is, the first year and a half was just an act. Break the engagement, kick him out of your house, and spend your time concentrating on school. Don’t be so enamored of tall men-- they think because they’re tall and this is such a big goddamn deal for men that they can treat everyone like crap. At least all the tall men YOU will meet, anyway. Be on the lookout for an average height guy with blond hair and blue eyes-- you’ll know him when you see him. Right now he’s trapped in a sucky marriage that is even worse that yours will be. One day you will both be single again, and you’ll meet. And you’ll get married have the cutest baby boy ever. Until then, seriously, you’re better off not dating anyone. Lotta losers out there. Also, you might get a job at an investment firm where you need to buy a bunch of professional clothes. Don’t do it. It’s the most boring job ever, and they will get rid of you in a month anyway because they don’t like the fact that you take the bus. You’ve been wanting to move out of Colorado Springs-- do that as soon as you can. Oh, and by the way, you don’t hate Colorado, you just hate Colorado Springs. You’ll find that out when you move to Denver.”
“You’d be surprised how much you can screw up in a year!”
“If you don’t like it, you can always quit, but you can’t get another interview with them ever again if you say no.”
Paraphrasing George Jowett, “Progression is the law of growth. Growth is the law of nature. Get off the damn computer.”
“She wasn’t kidding when she said she’d leave you if you didn’t pick up your underwear.”
The last one is the one I regret most. 26, here I come…ugh.
I’d tell myself to find a very good therapist and get rid of the bitterness and anger while I still had good health insurance and a shot at a happy life. Credit cards that seem like a godsend are actually life-killing soul-suckers. Spending money on people doesn’t make them like you, so stop it. Move out of Michigan as soon as your mental state is strong and happy. Don’t put one more dime into a used car, buy a new one that will start every day. Walk to work, fer chrissakes, it’s a paved mile away, and it’s not the dryer shrinking all of your pants. It’s your ass and thighs that have the problem.
And lastly, he was a crappy husband and you did the right thing. It hurt because it was right but difficult and you’re far better off. That guy you’ve know forever w/ his arms open wide to comfort you in your time of need? Run like your feet are on fire and never look back at him.
There’s also this thread:
http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?p=5590945
Just yesterday I looked through a journal I started in 2000, and in it I wrote this essay:
Ten things I’ve learned since I was 20. (I was 32 in 2000 when I wrote it.)
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Most important of all is to BE AWARE. Always know what is going on around you, behind you, and way ahead of you.
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Always come prepared- to anywhere and for anything.
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Men lie. They just do.
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You get what you pay for.
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Revenge is unnecessary. An asshole will always bring themselves down, just by virtue of being an asshole. You don’t have to do anything but sit back and watch.
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The importance of family and friends is monumental. A solid support system is the most important thing to my success.
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Acceptance is key. The old AA prayer sums it up perfectly. It does take a lot of courage to change the things you can. I often see change as even worse than my present situation, as hellish as it might be. And acceptance of the things you can’t change forces one to let go of the need to control things that are beyond your control. Letting go of the need to control opens the door to acceptance, peace, and gratitude for how things really ARE.
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Never fuck with someone you don’t know. You cannot predict a stranger’s reactions or their mental state. There are an incredible amount of disturbed individuals out there. Flip off the idiot who cut you off and you could end up in the morgue. Quite similiar to the philosophy of the first rule of war- know your enemy. (I still struggle with this one at 36 but I’m getting better.)
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Always trust your instincts. There’s a reason why the little hairs on the back of your neck stand up when a certain person enters the room or something inside tells you a situation just doesn’t feel right. My instincts have never lied to me.
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Happiness is something to literally be pursued. It never just happens, and it doesn’t automatically come with money, men, fancy houses, or new babies. Happiness must be actively cultivated moment by moment. Negativity and destructive thoughts must be vigilantly guarded against. This is a concious process, a program to be followed, like an eating plan or exercise regime. Positive thinking and pursuit of happiness can become automatic with enough practice.
Get used to it, some things never change.
There will never be a better time to take risks. Quit that soul-sucking job. Go back to school. Move across the country (again). Travel.
I would have to regress 33 years in order to reach my 24-year-old self. I’d tell her these things:
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Dump those cigarettes NOW. The longer you smoke 'em, the harder it will be to quit.
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Sex with someone for whom you care nothing isn’t worth the time and trouble.
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Go to the doctor more often. You may be able to save yourself a lot of surgery.
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Find a cute, nerdy guy named Bill Gates and flirt with him. A cute, nerdy guy named Steve Jobs is OK, too.
I know exactly what I’d tell my 24 y/o self - don’t sell the lot.
I’d bought a lot in Ramona CA, thinking one day I’d like to live there. Then I left CA, went to college, and decided I didn’t want to live in CA after all. So, because I got tired of paying the $147 per month, I got rid of the property. Had I just held it a few more years, I’d have made a fortune.
It was my first really bad real estate judgement. Stupid me.
I would tell my 24-year-old self:
STOP settling for the wrong guy just because you’re afraid to be alone.
24 is NOT OLD - enjoy your youth, your cellulite-free thighs, your great butt and your perky boobs.
DO NOT QUIT THAT GOVERNMENT JOB - just because you found a good job without any effort doesn’t mean it’s easy or that the chance will come along again.
Keep your technical skills up to date - they’ll become obsolete before you know it.
STOP taking things so personally - lighten up a bit and grow up a bit - realize that it’s not all about you …
Work on your friendships - they’re so important and need some maintenance and nurturing.
ENJOY YOUR LIFE and stop worrying so damn much!!!
Get ready for more of the same. A lot more. It’s their world; you only live in it.
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However smart your parents were (and mine were not the Curies) you’re on you own now – be prepared to ignore what they taught you, and take responsibility for your life.
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Go to grad school as soon as you’ve decided on your long-term career.
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Relationships will be there, so don’t sweat being alone – your worth is not determined by having a steady bf/gf. Conversely, if the right person really seems to fall into your lap, do whatever the hell you can to make it happen.
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Play guitar without a pick, and play lap-style more. The old music really is better.
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When you’re depressed, go to the gym – it’s the only drug with no side affects (save an occasional sprained back).
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Decide how risk-averse you are, and plan your goals accordingly – e.g., if you’re not going to beat the market, pay off your mortgage early.
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Buy Microsoft!!!
All this is IMHO, except the Microsoft one – I’d be rich!!
– That boyfriend of yours? He’s a nice guy, and he’ll give you some good experiences and good memories, but it ain’t gonna work out in the long run. And it’s probably just as well that it won’t. It’s nobody’s fault, you’re just at the wrong time of life and in the wrong place for each other. Go on, seize the moment and have fun, but don’t take things too hard when it comes to an end. And for goodness’ sake be good to him while it lasts. Think before you speak.
– Go to the dentist, already. Otherwise you’re going to end up having a root canal in about three years, and that’s not fun.
– It’s time to start thinking about academic conferences and other careerish stuff. Yes, now.
Apart from that, I can’t think of too much. It’s been a good five years.
Let’s see, that’s about twenty years ago for me. Here’s my advice to me.
Don’t worry too much, it’ll all work out. Just not like you expect right now. Those failures at startup companies do pay off in experience, skills, and oportunities later. Take those chances. Talk to more women, it won’t kill you. Women don’t secretly dig the weird nerdy guy, no matter what your ego tells you. so play that down, not up. Listen more, talk less. You are less of a libertarian than you think you are and that’ll change even more later. You won’t meet people while watching your TV and drinking beer. When you get twenty years further down the road you’re going to look back on the last two decades fondly, no matter what it seems like at the low points. And speaking of low points, when you do find yourself staring into the abyss, remember to laugh. It makes a big difference.
Open an IRA now.
Yes it’s a very fun job, but it is going nowhere.
Mom just died, Dad will be OK alone. He will meet a really nice lady soon.
Keep going to school full time and finish now instead of dragging it out like you have been for the last 2 years since you got out of the Navy.
Better yet, go to Boston for school. Yes follow her there. I don’t know what will become of it, but it’s worth the try.