Advice from People who Care

Many, many years ago, a man recorded his advice to the current graduating class, and this advice was broadcast all over the radio. Mr. Hummel, my personal finance teacher, made me type it over and over again, to help with my typing skills and teach me some words of wisdom. Last Friday, while heading to Del Val, to visit Melissa, I heard this advice again, for the first time in years. I was amazed. When I first heard it, I rolled my eyes at it, finding it annoying. As i was driving though, I listened to what the guy had to say, and was amazed at how much i liked it all now. It all makes so much sense. I loved hearing it so much, I'm copying it here for you in blue.


Wear sunscreen.
If I could offer you only one tip for the future, sunscreen would be it. The long-term benefits of sunscreen have been proved by scientists, whereas the rest of my advice has no basis more reliable than my own meandering experience. I will dispense this advice now.

This is very true. Listen to this advice. Skin cancer and wrinkles aren't fun.

Enjoy the power and beauty of your youth. Oh, never mind. You will not understand the power and beauty of your youth until they've faded. But trust me, in 20 years, you'll look back at photos of yourself and recall in a way you can't grasp now how much possibility lay before you and how fabulous you really looked. You are not as fat as you imagine.

Even though I'm still considered quite young, I can actually appreciate this now. I look back on pictures from my middle and high school years, and I can't believe how cute I was. And I wasn't ever as fat as I thought I was. As for the possibilities part, I can see that now too. There are many things I wish I could do a bit differently.

Don't worry about the future. Or worry, but know that worrying is as effective as trying to solve an algebra equation by chewing bubble gum. The real troubles in your life are apt to be things that never crossed your worried mind, the kind that blindside you at 4pm on some idle Tuesday.

It's only recently that I discovered how pointless worrying, and becoming stressed out really is. It's not at all beneficial. You just have to trust in God to sort those things out for you.

Do one thing every day that scares you.

This is a tough one, but it's something I've been working on as well. Facing my fears and coming out of my safe little shell.

Sing.

I do. And I pity those around me.

Don't be reckless with other people's hearts. Don't put up with people who are reckless with yours.

Umm... don't get me started on this one.

Floss.

I try to remember.

Don't waste your time on jealousy. Sometimes you're ahead, sometimes you're behind. The race is long and, in the end, it's only with yourself.

This is a hard thing to do. I'm very prone to jealousy.

Remember compliments you receive. Forget the insults. If you succeed in doing this, tell me how.

Insults can be hard to forget, but I'm getting better. As for compliments, I never forget those. I can be a vapid narcissist at times.

Keep your old love letters. Throw away your old bank statements.

What love letters?

Stretch.

All the time.

Don't feel guilty if you don't know what you want to do with your life. The most interesting people I know didn't know at 22 what they wanted to do with their lives. Some of the most interesting 40-year-olds I know still don't.

Very comforting to know.

Get plenty of calcium. Be kind to your knees. You'll miss them when they're gone.

I try.

Maybe you'll marry, maybe you won't. Maybe you'll have children, maybe you won't. Maybe you'll divorce at 40, maybe you'll dance the funky chicken on your 75th wedding anniversary. Whatever you do, don't congratulate yourself too much, or berate yourself either. Your choices are half chance. So are everybody else's.

Very, very, VERY true!

Enjoy your body. Use it every way you can. Don't be afraid of it or of what other people think of it. It's the greatest instrument you'll ever own.

Also very true.

Dance, even if you have nowhere to do it but your living room.

Once again, I try.

Read the directions, even if you don't follow them.

Ok, this is one i need to work on.

Do not read beauty magazines. They will only make you feel ugly.

I never touch them.

Get to know your parents. You never know when they'll be gone for good. Be nice to your siblings. They're your best link to your past and the people most likely to stick with you in the future.

I do good at talking to, and getting to know my parents. My little sis and I have a great relationship, but me and my older sis have issues we really need to work out.

Understand that friends come and go, but with a precious few you should hold on. Work hard to bridge the gaps in geography and lifestyle, because the older you get, the more you need the people who knew you when you were young.

I can think of three individuals this is really true for. Melissa in particular. We talk about when we were really young all the time. And I've found that the more things change for us, the more we need to get together and talk about our elementary school years.

Live in New York City once, but leave before it makes you hard. Live in Northern California once, but leave before it makes you soft. Travel.

Travel? Yes! Live in Northern CA? Yes! Live in NYC? No! No! No! That would be a disaster!

Accept certain inalienable truths: Prices will rise. Politicians will philander. You, too, will get old. And when you do, you'll fantasize that when you were young, prices were reasonable, politicians were noble and children respected their elders.

*cringes at the thought*
Wait! I'm not sure about this one. I grew up with the Monica Lewinsky scandal, and was commuting to school when Katrina hit and gas prices skyrocketed. I'll never make those claims.

Respect your elders.

I've always tried.

Don't expect anyone else to support you. Maybe you have a trust fund. Maybe you'll have a wealthy spouse. But you never know when either one might run out.

I plan on always being able to support myself. I don't like being dependant on others.

Don't mess too much with your hair or by the time you're 40 it will look 85.

Yeah. That bit frightens me. I love to mess with my hair.

Be careful whose advice you buy, but be patient with those who supply it. Advice is a form of nostalgia. Dispensing it is a way of fishing the past from the disposal, wiping it off, painting over the ugly parts and recycling it for more than it's worth.

lol... also very true.

But trust me on the sunscreen.