When my grandfather turned seventy-five, I took him out to dinner and asked him, "What piece of advice do you have to share after seventy-five years?" And he didn't hesitate. "Never trust a naked bus driver. I saw that on a book once, Ang, and I just thought,'Now there is a good piece of advice.'"
Here is one piece of wisdom I wish my thirty-five year old self could tell my sixteen year old self: If someone says they are an asshole, believe them.
I am in the mood to listen to some of the best advice, cliches, one-liners and general wisdom that you can dish out. So, tell me, what general piece of wisdom would the you of today share with the you at age 16?
a piece of advice my grandmother always gave me...."Be the best you can be. Treat others the way you want to be treated" and "Smile, its easier than crying".
ReplyDeleteHer best line that I still use to this day with my boys "Don't cry over split Milk...because you can wipe it up so easily".
and the best of the best...
"wear clean undies when you are going out"!!!
Gotta love my late Grandma, she brought me up to be the person I am today.
Cheers
Lisa
I think the now me would tell the 16 year old me: "calm down already."
ReplyDelete4 things- only two of which, I guess, I can still put into practice:
ReplyDelete1. Don't rush to get through school- live a little first.
2. Casual sex is actually not that bad an idea.
3. Don't take yourself so seriously.
4. Dance whenever you can.
I would tell my 16 year old self not to worry about having a small chest, that being perky instead of saggy later on in life is worth it!
ReplyDeleteDon't wait for tomorrow to be better than today.
ReplyDeleteWhat a great idea. It's been such a blah day for me this is fun to focus on instead of sadness.... Hmm. I'm with Paige on the small chest. I worked with a fellow who constantly told his son, "You can marry more money in five minutes than you can earn in a lifetime." I'd have to add that money doesn't mean happiness (though it can alleviate stress - so keep a separate bank account if you are the saver in a relationship). I also loved a photographer at the daily where I worked who said he lived by, "Treat people on your way up as you would when you're on your way down." I think that is very true because you never know where people will end up or who will resurface in your life. And that makes me think of my friend's mother who told us that the geekiest guys usually end up being the catches after high school and the football heros just get fat. Hah! And my Grandma will always find something to be thankful for - as in - "Ugh. I'm so congested." To which she will reply: "At least you have a nose." I'll stop now. My brain has enjoyed the ramble though. Lots of good advice packaged in little cliches....
ReplyDeleteHonest to goodness advice I wish I could give myself:
ReplyDelete"You look amazing. Enjoy it. Right NOW."
"Stop being so mean. Especially to yourself. You're not being mean, or funny. You're just being mean."
Words of wisdom from Polish grandmas and old ladies everywhere:
"Don't sit on that cold stone! You'll get the wolf!"
The closest translation of "the wolf" that I could ever get: a cold in your vagina.
So there. There you have it. Think twice before perching on that stoop!
So, I meant to say, "smart or funny."
ReplyDeletei definitely would have given myself exactly that piece of advice about assholes - it would have spared me my entire first marriage.
ReplyDeletealso i would tell her:
"before college, take a year off to work or travel, and get career testing/assessment"
also "happiness is more important than achievement"
also "eat your greens"
also that thing about casual sex.
xo
When someone says 'if you like' e.g. "we're going to a party, you can come if you like." It means don't go...they are telling you out of obligation.
ReplyDeleteSmoking is not cool. (Though you'll walk clean away when you're thirty so if you must, smoke up!)
Take a chance to go travelling, and make sure you take some time to help people when you do it, don't just follow the herd from one party to the next.
If you are going travelling, read books about or set in your destination. My dad always made me do that and it makes the experience much richer.
When someone says 'if you like' e.g. "we're going to a party, you can come if you like." It means don't go...they are telling you out of obligation.
ReplyDeleteSmoking is not cool. (Though you'll walk clean away when you're thirty so if you must, smoke up!)
Take a chance to go travelling, and make sure you take some time to help people when you do it, don't just follow the herd from one party to the next.
If you are going travelling, read books about or set in your destination. My dad always made me do that and it makes the experience much richer.
Yeah, another one Iwould have told myself is: FLOSS, for criminey's sake, FLOSS!
ReplyDeleteI would tell my 16 year old self to "live your own life. stop following him around like a lost puppy."
ReplyDelete~Tara
I'd tell her, It'll get better. Not easier, but better.
ReplyDeleteAnd also, You are more beautiful than you know. Don't let anyone make you feel otherwise.
Good advice others have given me:
ReplyDelete"You have 2 ears and one mouth. Use them proportionately."
Advice I would give myself age 16:
"These are the very definition of first world problems. You are unbelievably privileged, stop feeling so sorry for yourself!"
As my dear grandmother always said to me (and I should have paid more attention!)
ReplyDelete'Old age has nothing to recommend it. Enjoy your youth.'
'Be careful of the thing you want. You'll get it'
'Don't get and fetch the baboons from behind the hill. They will come anyway.'
Irishdad - totally with you on the smoking thing. Why?
Karen - I love that at least you have a nose comment!
m - I'm worried, I didn't know you could get a cold there.
i will have to think on this one first.
ReplyDeletebut for now, i am reminded of this quote.
"youth is wasted on the young"
Came back to see what other advice people have. What a riot! I love the Polish granny's advice. Hilariously, my same Grandma has the same fear of sitting around in wet swimsuits and sitting on cement steps...."You'll get a cold in your kidneys and not feel well *down there*" was how she put it to me.... The wolf! I love it.
ReplyDeleteChecking back in to express my total delight at "the wolf". Not the idea of it- just what it's called.
ReplyDelete1. Promiscuity is not the badge of a strong, independent woman.
ReplyDelete2. Have children as soon as you meet Mr. Right. It may be when you're 30, but don't wait when you find him. Infertility sucks.
3. Vote Republican.
"Other people's opinions do not define you"
ReplyDeleteIt took me years to discover that.
I would advise myself to be taken to dinner more often. Let the guy pay. I didn't let a man pay for me until my thirties.
ReplyDeleteMy advice to my 16 year old self would be: "it's just not that deep." I was such an angsty teenager - and to think I thought I had real problems then!! In other words, don't sweat the small stuff.
ReplyDelete