I’m surprised by the number of people saying not to go to college until you’re ready…because that’s exactly what I came here to say. Do go to college at some point if you have the means and/or the ability and interest, but don’t go right out of high school it you’re not ready or interested. I was unhappy through most of college, should not have been there when I was there, and thus did not make as much of it as I might have later.
Also agree about not getting into debt young, if you can help it.
Motorcycles, fast ones that handle badly especially.
Boating without a life jacket. (or with me in general)
Smoking.
Cocaine (I skirted the event horizon, watched friends fall in.)
Petty crime/theft.
Cutting steel without eye protection (see this scar)
High speed police chase.
Cutting the headlights off while driving 114mph on bald tires.
Trying to stand up on the highway while traveling 60 mph.
Explosives.
Huffing gas out of random cars.
Spraying lighter fluid on on open fire.
As above, but with kerosene in a garden sprayer. (50’ flames)
Eating mushrooms and driving.
Playing chicken with another car (a friend).
Laughing when my wife said the car was on fire.
Vandalism.
Almost running over my friend.
Holding my breath while lifting heavy objects.
Riding with drunken friends at the wheel.
Poor choices I never regretted:
Dropping out of high school.
Leaving home at 16.
Getting married at 19.
Kids at 21 & 23.
Dropping acid.
Driving a Fiesta in full speed reverse with the wheel cut all the way to one side in a wet field of grass.
Repeatedly performing backwards 180’s (like Starsky & Hutch).
Getting all that crap out of my system age 16-20, then being responsible.
Of all the awful choices I made, the dumbest was working too hard making money when my kids were really small and not seeing enough of them, leaving my wife with the impression that I would rather be working than be at home with my family. That one came back and almost crushed me (see this scar?).
I know I can’t change anyone but myself. Expecting people to learn from my mistakes will never happen because our mistakes are all personal to each of us.
Don’t be afraid to make a lot of mistakes. If you make a mistake don’t lose the lesson. If you screw up promptly admit it and then let it go.
We all make mistakes so don’t beat yourself up. More damage is done to your soul by carrying and covering up mistakes then by admitting them and forgiving yourself. Don’t blame someone else for your mistakes. If you did it then own it.
Don’t get married if, deep down, you’re pretty sure it’s not the right thing for you to do at the time.
Don’t obsess over mistakes to the point that the regret takes over your life. Instead, reflect on what you would do differently, learn at least one thing from the mistake, move forward, and don’t look back.
-Attend law school. At least, don’t attend law school until you a) know exactly what legal grunt work is really like, and you intrinsically love it and don’t mind the rigidly draconian culture, and b) are at least a couple of years out of undergrad.
-Major in psychology. Unless you really want to go into counseling.
I also disagree with the “don’t go to college” people. I had no idea what I wanted to do in college and found it to be a very depressing four years. Other people describe it as the best time of their lives, but for me it was like being in a four year prison. Still, it opens doors and many decent entry level jobs that a monkey could do in the business world still require a 4 year degree.
If you do go to college, I’d say take a science but avoid unnecessarily hard crap. At my school, University of California, San Diego (UCSD), you could pick among several schools within the college. One was ‘Revelle’ which had much harder requirements than the others, which people took on as some kind of badge of honor. Guess what? Those people often took an extra year to graduate and no one outside of UCSD even knows the difference. Also, a General Biology, Chemistry, or Physics degree from the school is fine. Sure, you could major in Animal Physiology, P-Chem, or Quantum Physics taking horrendously hard classes with grad students that will drag down your GPA and make you more miserable, but why? No one outside your school knows what this crap is or cares. Certainly no one in an HR department at an insurance brokerage will know what the hell P-Chem is.
Others not to dos:
Don’t buy expensive items on impulse - you can get it online and cheaper than that store is selling it.
Don’t take a job just because it is for more money. I was amazed how taking a job for $20,000 more at one point nearly destroyed my life with 80 hour work weeks. No job is ever worth not having a personal life and having some down time. Also, you may be trading a good boss and co-workers for jerks. All that money doesn’t mean anything if you are only there a short time, or if the company is paying more because they are desperate for someone to stop the bleeding because they are 5 minutes away from going out of business.
Don’t ever fall for a ‘free’ inspection. If you go to a place that sells product or service ‘X’, and ask them if you need it, their answer will always be ‘yes’. Think you need a brake job? Go to a regular mechanic and ask, not “Bob’s Brakes - that’s all we do! - 100% free inspection!”
–Do Not drop acid and watch “The Exorcist”
Especially if you have a first timer with you. (It will start off great but will end badly.)
–Do not go sleigh riding in a graveyard after eating mushrooms.
It is very hard to remove yourself from a 6 foot hole while laughing and crying simultaneously.
(why was there an open grave in the dead of winter? Excellent question.)
–Lastly, Do not put the thumb tac on your math teachers seat because you think it will be funny.
Trust me in saying, it is anything BUTT funny. My ass still hurts from the beating I received.
Do not marry the custodial parent of a child or teen with developmental delays and/or emotional issues, unless you fully understand the extant of these issues, and how they will impact your marriage and your day-to-day life.
Especially do not do this if you are the type of person who never wanted kids of your own.
This. Also keep in mind that if you DO smoke dope a lot, chances are significantly increased you’ll end up with a tobacco addiction, which sucks big time. Seriously, if you want to smoke dope, fine, but don’t do it every day - it will affect you negatively one way or the other.
Ain’t that the truth.
Also: don’t stay in college if you hate it. It’s a waste of time and money. Go back if you find an area of interest you’re willing to spend it on. In the mean time, find out what that is.
I’m sure this was tongue-in-cheek, but I couldn’t disagree with highest-IQ-in-the-world lady more. If you don’t like working, but lack the good fortune to be a trust fund baby or lottery winner, the best thing to do is to find as easy a job as possible. Going into a high-stress, high-responsibility, demanding field is just asking for trouble. All the money in the world will do you no good if you lack the time or peace of mind to enjoy it. All I really need to be content in this life is a 1-bedroom apartment, my digital piano, my computer, and some friends to go out for a beer with on Friday night, all of which I already have. Every time I drive past the construction site across the street from the hospital, I look up at the cab of the big tower crane and think “man, I wish it were me up there.”
advice from a good close female friend: “if a guy is a bad kisser, this is a warning sign that your sex life is going to suck. No amount of ‘training’ is going to fix it, because the mouth-breather doesn’t think there’s anything wrong with his face-sucking technique. If a man can’t kiss, he will be awful in bed.”
