# You can relay a single 140 character message to your 16-year-old self. What do you say? **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [April 23, 2017, 1:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/you-can-relay-a-single-140-character-message-to-your-16-year-old-self-what-do-you-say/785065 "2017-04-23T13:45:42Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 5
**Author:** ![Marlonius](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/838e76/32.png) [@Marlonius](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Marlonius)\ **Post date:** [April 24, 2017, 10:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/you-can-relay-a-single-140-character-message-to-your-16-year-old-self-what-do-you-say/785065/81 "2017-04-24T22:35:11Z")
> [@Heracles](#): > > Well, honestly, after a few (minor) skin cancers, maybe I should add “Wear sunscreen!”. (Not the whole “Wear sunscreen” speech, though.) I thought the whole thing was good, but I had to pick something 16 year old me might do. ---
**Author:** ![snowthx](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/snowthx/32/10660_2.png) [@snowthx](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/snowthx)\ **Post date:** [April 24, 2017, 10:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/you-can-relay-a-single-140-character-message-to-your-16-year-old-self-what-do-you-say/785065/82 "2017-04-24T22:45:28Z")
You wont have to drive mom’s dark brown 1978 Oldsmobile Cutlass Supreme Brougham forever. Oh, and get into computers - there is a wave of opportunity about to happen. I was 16 in the early 80s. ---
**Author:** ![TruCelt](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/trucelt/32/523_2.png) [@TruCelt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TruCelt)\ **Post date:** [April 24, 2017, 11:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/you-can-relay-a-single-140-character-message-to-your-16-year-old-self-what-do-you-say/785065/83 "2017-04-24T23:18:57Z")
> [@](#): > > You’re not crazy. Take amoxicillin 1000mg 3xday clarithromycin 500mg 2xday and pepto 30ml 4xday for 1 month (aquarium store). When well, date \_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_. I had ulcers you see. And in those days medical science was still in denial about the causative nature of H. Pylori. If you had ulcers they told you you were too tense, and needed to stop worrying so much. They gave you lots of pain pills patted you on the head, and sent you to counseling. It’s a really evil, corrosive thing that Doctors still often do when they don’t know what is causing a physical problem. Rather than say “I don’t know” they say (in a nicer way) “You’re crazy.” ---
**Author:** ![jtur88](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/e9c0ed/32.png) [@jtur88](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jtur88)\ **Post date:** [April 25, 2017, 12:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/you-can-relay-a-single-140-character-message-to-your-16-year-old-self-what-do-you-say/785065/84 "2017-04-25T00:08:32Z")
> [@tim314](#): > > Hey kid, we can send messages from the future now, how cool is that! Can’t help you though, temporal prime directive, you know how that is. Good luck ^^^^ My future self sent me a message from 2017, and all it was was this lousy T-shirt. ---
**Author:** ![Sigmagirl](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/c89c15/32.png) [@Sigmagirl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sigmagirl)\ **Post date:** [April 25, 2017, 1:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/you-can-relay-a-single-140-character-message-to-your-16-year-old-self-what-do-you-say/785065/85 "2017-04-25T01:25:30Z")
Run away from home. ---
**Author:** ![Quartz](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/quartz/32/267_2.png) [@Quartz](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Quartz)\ **Post date:** [April 25, 2017, 10:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/you-can-relay-a-single-140-character-message-to-your-16-year-old-self-what-do-you-say/785065/86 "2017-04-25T10:30:03Z")
Become an actuary. Relax. Get laid. Don’t put up with dad’s contempt. Invest in Apple, Microsoft, Google. ---
**Author:** ![Pabitel](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/bbce88/32.png) [@Pabitel](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Pabitel)\ **Post date:** [April 25, 2017, 12:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/you-can-relay-a-single-140-character-message-to-your-16-year-old-self-what-do-you-say/785065/87 "2017-04-25T12:22:09Z")
I don’t think any general advise would be worthwhile. You can pre-learn lessons. ---
**Author:** ![Knowed\_Out](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/knowed_out/32/7380_2.png) [@Knowed\_Out](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Knowed_Out)\ **Post date:** [April 25, 2017, 7:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/you-can-relay-a-single-140-character-message-to-your-16-year-old-self-what-do-you-say/785065/88 "2017-04-25T19:18:11Z")
Go into IT instead of engineering. 2008 will suck for everybody, not just you. ---
**Author:** ![anomalous1](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/e56c9b/32.png) [@anomalous1](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/anomalous1)\ **Post date:** [April 26, 2017, 12:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/you-can-relay-a-single-140-character-message-to-your-16-year-old-self-what-do-you-say/785065/89 "2017-04-26T00:23:42Z")
“Get a Science Degree, Stop doing drugs, read Forbes, get a car as fast as you can” That would completely give me a big head start, I would be 29 with an excellent career and not still doing school, and have a lot more money. ---
**Author:** ![Hari\_Seldon](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hari_seldon/32/5173_2.png) [@Hari\_Seldon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hari_Seldon)\ **Post date:** [April 26, 2017, 6:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/you-can-relay-a-single-140-character-message-to-your-16-year-old-self-what-do-you-say/785065/90 "2017-04-26T18:27:57Z")
Quit smoking. Today! And eat less sugar. Or face a heart attack at 28. Discover abstract math. You will love it. ---
**Author:** ![edwardcoast](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/cab0a1/32.png) [@edwardcoast](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/edwardcoast)\ **Post date:** [April 26, 2017, 7:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/you-can-relay-a-single-140-character-message-to-your-16-year-old-self-what-do-you-say/785065/91 "2017-04-26T19:00:52Z")
> [@CoastalMaineiac](#): > > Rules for this hypothetical: > You cannot send specific information about future events, so no winning lottery numbers, future news stories, or anything similar. You cannot choose which day your 16-year-old self will get the message, either; it’ll be on a random day on or after your 16th birthday but before your 17th birthday. Your 16-year-old self will be told by the being orchestrating this that the message is coming from your present-day (future in his/her eyes) self. > > What do you send? > > For me, probably something along the lines of, “Love worth pursuing, careers not. All jobs a massive waste of life; no time for living with full-time jobs. YOLO. Start investing 75% NOW.” Buy Apple and Google Stock. ---
**Author:** ![Mangetout](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mangetout/32/19_2.png) [@Mangetout](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mangetout)\ **Post date:** [April 26, 2017, 7:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/you-can-relay-a-single-140-character-message-to-your-16-year-old-self-what-do-you-say/785065/92 "2017-04-26T19:09:54Z")
When the giant spiders arrive, stay away from dark places. ---
**Author:** ![Rhiannon8404](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/rhiannon8404/32/17929_2.png) [@Rhiannon8404](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rhiannon8404)\ **Post date:** [April 26, 2017, 7:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/you-can-relay-a-single-140-character-message-to-your-16-year-old-self-what-do-you-say/785065/93 "2017-04-26T19:25:11Z")
You’re not fat & if you go on thinking you are, eventually you will be. Don’t become friends with Nicole W. Run from her. ---
**Author:** ![carnivorousplant](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/carnivorousplant/32/3563_2.png) [@carnivorousplant](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/carnivorousplant)\ **Post date:** [April 26, 2017, 7:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/you-can-relay-a-single-140-character-message-to-your-16-year-old-self-what-do-you-say/785065/94 "2017-04-26T19:29:28Z")
Don’t let Dad ride the 175. Marry Hutch. Buy Microsoft and Apple. ---
**Author:** ![Tapiotar](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/3be4f8/32.png) [@Tapiotar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tapiotar)\ **Post date:** [April 27, 2017, 11:54am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/you-can-relay-a-single-140-character-message-to-your-16-year-old-self-what-do-you-say/785065/95 "2017-04-27T11:54:02Z")
Guys, guys, I just realized I _did_ get most of that message, maybe not from the future or from me, but it came in a dream when I was in college. It told me not to marry x, and to take up Aikido, I wrote it down, but married x anyway, and only took up Aikido ten years later. So, I will revise the tweet to my 16-year -old self to “Pay attention to significant dreams, don’t marry X, take up Aikido in college. You are better than you think. Write.” And hope that the dream reinforces the earlier message. Though maybe I was so stubborn that I’d need a third message from the future. ---
**Author:** ![BobLibDem](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/boblibdem/32/3149_2.png) [@BobLibDem](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BobLibDem)\ **Post date:** [April 27, 2017, 3:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/you-can-relay-a-single-140-character-message-to-your-16-year-old-self-what-do-you-say/785065/96 "2017-04-27T15:37:34Z")
Stay in school for MS. Write that novel. Forget all HS girls. At MSU, Sharon = Friend Zone, Betsy is attainable. Buy your 5 years early. ---
**Author:** ![brainstall](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/35a633/32.png) [@brainstall](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/brainstall)\ **Post date:** [April 27, 2017, 5:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/you-can-relay-a-single-140-character-message-to-your-16-year-old-self-what-do-you-say/785065/97 "2017-04-27T17:07:27Z")
You really are pretty. Your friends are assholes, nicer ones exist. Bad boys are a waste of time. Go to U of T and try to get good marks. ---
**Author:** ![bucketybuck](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/898d66/32.png) [@bucketybuck](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bucketybuck)\ **Post date:** [April 27, 2017, 8:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/you-can-relay-a-single-140-character-message-to-your-16-year-old-self-what-do-you-say/785065/98 "2017-04-27T20:02:54Z")
Most of the messages in this thread might as well be written on fortune cookies for all the relevance they will have to a bunch of 16 year olds. ---
**Author:** ![erysichthon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/d07c76/32.png) [@erysichthon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/erysichthon)\ **Post date:** [April 27, 2017, 10:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/you-can-relay-a-single-140-character-message-to-your-16-year-old-self-what-do-you-say/785065/99 "2017-04-27T22:38:30Z")
My 16-year-old self ignored all advice, regardless of the source. He certainly wouldn’t have made an exception for some bitter old geezer from the future. ---
**Author:** ![pudytat72](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/ce7236/32.png) [@pudytat72](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pudytat72)\ **Post date:** [April 28, 2017, 1:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/you-can-relay-a-single-140-character-message-to-your-16-year-old-self-what-do-you-say/785065/100 "2017-04-28T01:47:42Z")
Don’t dump Michael. Don’t be a doctor, you won’t like it. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/you-can-relay-a-single-140-character-message-to-your-16-year-old-self-what-do-you-say/785065.md?page=4) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/you-can-relay-a-single-140-character-message-to-your-16-year-old-self-what-do-you-say/785065.md?page=6)