1. If your college roommate tells you that she doesn't smoke, what she really means is, "My friends and I will make the dorm room smell like an ashtray."
2. It's okay to say no if friends ask if they can "share" your dessert. It's not okay to stab their hands with your fork and/or bite them if they reach for your food.
3. You don't have to do everything your parents tell you to do, and it's good (and important) to make your own decisions, no matter what they say.
4. Take notes every time you go to class, and don't lend your notes to people who are always absent.
5. Dating is not like a Hollywood romantic comedy, and Prince Charming does not exist.
6. Dating is more like an improv show where a lot of people don't know what they're doing. It's likely that you and your "costar" won't have chemistry, which will make it less entertaining and more "If I pretend to throw up, that might get me out of this earlier."
7. If "friends" tell you all about the fun they have with other friends but don't have time for you, stop listening to them and stop calling them.
8. If you decide to major in English, also major or minor in something
"lucrative," so that you won't ever have to say something like, "Would
you like to sign up for our store credit card?" or "I'm sorry, but you
have to put your shoes (and your shirt) back on if you want to shop
here."
9. When you start teaching, don't let your students walk all over you, and don't let them get away with their "excuses."
10. Eat less fast food, and cook your own food more often.
11. It's okay to prefer museums and bookstores over parties and bars, even if it means you'll go to those places on your own.
12. If your friends ignore you every time they're in romantic relationships, don't be there for them when the relationships end.
13. It's good to work hard, but it's not good to let your life revolve around work.
What about you? What do you wish you had known when you were eighteen?
Crafts and Nature Photos and Michael Palin
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[image: C]rafts!
and
[image: N]ature!
*Two secret gift exchange projects, in Our Flag Means Death colours!*
*A house and a park made by the six-y...
3 days ago
Good list, especially #11 and #12 - be yourself, and don't let others take you for granted. There are lots of people out there who will like/love you for being exactly who you are :-)
ReplyDeleteHi Annalisa,
DeleteThank you! It took me a long time to realize that friendship should not be one-sided and that it was important to be myself. I spent too many years letting people take me for granted and suppressing who I really was and how I really felt, just so they would like me. I shouldn't have done that.
These are great, and true. You should add that excuses are really just that - excuses. Don't make them and don't listen to them. They're not the same as legitimate reasons.
ReplyDeleteHi Charly,
DeleteThank you! And you're right about the difference between excuses and legitimate reasons. I think that the students who keep making excuses rather than get their work done will be in for a rude awakening when they start working full-time. Their bosses definitely will not tolerate that.
It was so long ago I barely remember! But the one thing I wish I'd done back then was listen to my mom. She was wise and knew what she was talking about but being rebellious, I ignored her and did my own thing.
ReplyDeleteHi Karen,
DeleteI've been pretty rebellious against my mother too; that's something that didn't end after I became an adult. If I hadn't rebelled, I wouldn't be an English teacher.
Great list! Especially #4 and #10. Ah well, at least we learn these things with age.
ReplyDeleteHi Caitlin,
DeleteI must confess that I still eat too much fast food sometimes, though I've finally started learning how to cook.
Well, I found a prince charming, which is why I snatched him up so quickly, and my dating experience was definitely different than yours.
ReplyDeleteSo things I wished I'd have known at 18? How to cut hair and that it's okay to let some friendships or talents go in pursuit of other things.
Hi Crystal,
DeleteI'm glad you found your Prince Charming; he's proof that good men still exist. I guess what I meant was that I used to believe that Prince Charming was perfect and would arrive on a white horse to "rescue me". I stopped believing that after too many bad dates. Unfortunately, most of the men I've dated were "frogs" rather than princes.