If someone says they’re your friend, but they don’t want to be seen with you in public and won’t tell you why, they aren’t.
or
You will never regret the gap year you took, 30 years before the concept had a name.
There is a difference between knowing what one should do and actually doing it. My 16 year old self knew what needed to happen. He just didn’t have the ability to put those thoughts into effect. Life is made of long term projects. At 16 yrs old, I don’t think I had the right perspective. I was just too young.
“Life is like a sewer. What you get out of it depends on what you put into it.”
or
“If I could do it all again, that’s something that I’d like to do.”
The term “Gap year” has been around since the 70’s.
ISTM, stock tips go against the spirit of the OP so I am at a bit of a loss. As someone said above, I’m not sure what my stupid 16 yr old self would listen to.
I agree w DrForrester that 16 yos sorta know what to do even if they can’t bring themselves to do it.
To me the $64K question is the difference between receiving advice from e.g. my Dad vs. advice from future me.
Both might say things like “Invest early” or “Don’t sweat which college; sweat which major.”
The difference is that *if * I truly believe that’s my future self talking, and if we ignore the time travel recursion problem, then whatever the message says, I can take it to heart *now *that that’s the thing future self most regrets and wants to do-over then.
Which is very different from the thousands of nuggets of hard-earned wisdom parents & teachers & professors and bosses will lay on a growing kids over the first 20 years.
The advice from future me is custom made for current me; custom made for exactly the holes I’m actually going to step into. If I can absorb that warning as my mantra, even if I only follow it half as well as future me might wish, I’ll still beat the results he got the first time around.
Unsurprisingly, I can really see this idea in myself and my history. I did follow a bunch of well-meaning advice from my elders. Advice which would have paid off massively in the world they lived through. But not the 30-50 year later one I am living through. In the OP’s scenario future me is providing advice that’s not only customized to my personality and failings, but to the era I’m about to experience. Instead of the one my parents had experienced.
If I’ve got half a brain I’m going to really take that message to heart. yes, half a brain is about par for the 16 yo course. But it’s better than the zero brain for advice I didn’t get the first time around.
“Get a computer science degree instead of biology and move to Seattle when you graduate.”
That “move to Seattle” part is so I can join a grunge band and become a mega-famous rock star, of course.
That’s my thinking. I knew I needed to work harder in college. Go to class regularly, study harder, pay more attention. I just didn’t feel like doing it.
“You know that wicker basket you found at the Easter fair? Always hold on to it. Never, ever lose it. You’ll know why when the time comes.”
Just to screw with my own head.
“Eat food, not too much, mostly plants.”
“BEWARE SYD BARRETT!!!”
- Advice given to me by a man wearing a bright green furry coat in a deli one fine afternoon. I’ve never forgotten it.
Don’t go to Stanford. Keep in shape.
“Pay no attention to any career advice give to you by your father. Follow your dreams.”
All CASH MSFT 2 '98, 2 XOM 2 '08, 2 NFLX 2 RETIRE
Hold out for Orlando or San Diego. Forget aircraft, go computers.
Major in math, not English.
Don’t join Army, go to state school and get engineering degree.
Dad wants you to do right. Neighbors know love. Love Dad. Hang out next door. Stay in touch with them. Stand up for friends. Talk.
(Over the character limit: When friend looks at you like that (and you will know), don’t get freaked out and leave him to kill himself.)
“NNNN is the one.Get to know parents while alive.Gay+geek+muscles will be cool soon.Study harder.MD diploma?Distrust very charming str8 guys.”
… but of course I’d write it in French, which is more verbose, so it wouldn’t fit in 140.
Get job, more fun w/ $. Eyebrows can be plucked! Headaches=sinus; use cold meds. Blonde in white blouse=AFA. Don’t doubt what you’re sure of. Also new hairdresser.
(AFA was a friend always, my generation’s BFF).
Don’t worry, everything will turn out fine. You will live to be healthy and fit to at least 78, and at that age, you will have no regrets.
No tweet. If there’s any year in my whole life that I would absolutely, positively not want to fuck with, that’s the one. To this day, I’m glad it played out exactly as it did, and there’s no way I’d risk changing a thing.