"If I only knew then....."

[Thumper]

Thumper has a question a little more on the introspective side...

If you could possibly go back and have an afternoon visit with yourself at the tender age of 17 or 18,what advice or warnings would you impart? As for me.......

I would say "Tim" and the young me would say "What?" because that's what I did when someone called my name. My advice to you is this. Graduate high school, get a vasectomy save a little money and take a bus to LA.
I really wish I had done that 21 years ago...don't know what mighta happened but it would have been an adventure. If this gives you the idea I am dissatisfied with my life now, well that may partially be true...but nothing can be done now. It is not that bad but it ain't my cuppa tea either...

And now for your thoughts on the subject....

I did graduate high school BTW. There really never was any thought of not doing that. I always say that to any young person I talk to....

[Edited by Thumper on 07-24-2000 at 07:25 AM]

 

[Roland Gilliad]

CHA CHING!$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$

i know what i would do, i would do one of 2 things
1. give him the lotto numbers for the next big lottery back then so i could be rich now
2.tell him to invest in microsoft while its cheap
sorry if these soun greedy but i figure if i only get to do it once i figure i had better make it involve money

 

[Expertise]

Ahhh to be 17, have a few bucks, a quality fake ID and know what you know now....

I guess I would have told myself (wether or not I would have listened is an entirely different matter) don't settle.
I mean that in the broadest sense. Don't accept second best, or whats easy or expedient. Only settle for what truly makes you happy.

I certainly wouldn't have warned myself about all the dumbass mistakes I was going to make. They were, in retrospect, the greatest learning experiences of all.

 

[Xander]

I'd give my younger self a beating of a lifetime. I really would. For fucking up my own life as well as everybody elses, by doing a lot of drugs and other bad things.

T

 

[Flagg]

I'd say "Flagg" and he'd say "Huh? Who's Flagg?". With that out of the way I'd instruct my 17 year old self (who existed only 6 years ago come to think of it) to take up computer sciences immediately. Other than that I'd change nothing at all. I had a great time as a teenager and am having a pretty good time now.

I'll get back to you in 17 years time and tell you if I still think that.

 

[CreamyLady]

First I'd have to get my attention; Patty at 17 was more often than not in a fog somewhere.

Then I'd tell me, in no uncertain terms, to screw domestic harmony. It was a lie anyway. To go for my art, and to hell with the conventional wisdom. It, too, was a lie and a trap.

Also, to develop a spine and get the hell out of that house, myself, and not rely on any Prince Charming to help.

Finally, I'd tell me to go ahead and enjoy myself in any way I could, remembering to harm no one.

Hopefully, it would stick. Some good advice penetrated that fog.

 

[Thumper]

Alas

Perhaps I could have stopped in Pasadena for awhile on my journey to California....

"Domestic Harmony"....a myth of astounding proportions methinks.

Trouble is at 17 I had no dreams or any idea as to what I wanted...never thought about it...ever...I may explain further on the Peggy Fleming thread, I must ponder this for awhile

*thinking*

 

[CreamyLady]

Different Times

"Domestic Harmony"....a myth of astounding proportions methinks.

In my parents' house it really was a myth. My father was a rage-filled control freak and my mother was an alcoholic. I was their target of choice.

On the surface, everything looked perfect. Underneath, it was ugly ugly ugly. We didn't have an elephant in the living room. We had T. Rex.

 

[Thumper]

and to think they refer to them as the Good ole days of "Morality"

No shit CL....T Rex the band? As in Bang a Gong???

Just kidding! I am sorry to hear that it was like that....

I just love it when the "Family Values" wackos harp on the deplorable state of the family of today. They always say that it should be like the old days when families stayed together...Yeah right! ....Ah shit don't get me started...

 

[CreamyLady]

Don't worry about it, Thumper. Tell you what: how about your 17 year old self and my 17 year old self head off to a concert someday?

Let the establishment blow itself up.

 

[Gingersnap]

I was busy trying to survive. One thing I know for sure is that I would have walked back into my parents home and told them what I thought of them. Then I would have brought microsoft and be living overseas now.

 

[Endlessly]

What would I tell my 17-year-old self? (Keep in mind, this was all of.. what.. six months ago?)

Quit talking to Christopher. Just-- quit. Cold turkey. Don't wait until after you have a psychotic episode and lose one of your closest friends.

Don't stop going to Catholicism class even if you want to.. TRY to get a better GPA than 1.8, you putz!

Don't try to dye your hair red. For THE LOVE OF GOD, don't try it!

 

[Triatic]

Hmm...

I'd say, "Yo, Aaron." And he'd say, "Hmm? You know what, you look familiar somehow."

Always did have a bad head for faces.

Anyway...I'd tell him...well, there's a lot of things I could tell him that would save him a lot of trouble, such as "That redheaded girl over there? Stay the hell away from her," or "When Sean goes, just remember that it's not your fault. He's messed up and there's not a damn thing you can do about it". But I dunno. Changing what was would have a huge impact on the person I am now, pain and regrets included. So I think I'd just buy him a beer (and he'd say "I don't drink beer, I drink wine", and I'd say "Shut up, artsy boy...you will") and tell him not to go traipsing halfway across the country following one girl or another... it's imperative that he works out for himself where he wants to be.

 

[Guest]

If I tried to get ahold of myself at 17, I'd be leaving a lot of answering machine messages! I was busy "getting lost" in woods near the town I live in, writing stories, writing depressing poems, and coming out of the closet to friends.

Once I was finally able to get ahold of myself, I'd start off with a nice slap to the face...a wake up call! I'd warn myself about the guy I was seeing, the one I was engaged to and lost my virginity to... I could have saved myself a lot of heartache and pain.

~sigh~ Thanks for opening up old wounds and pouring salt in them Thumper! LoL j/k hon. Peace out!

~Tiggs~
http://smilecwm.tripod.com/sd3/lise.gif

 

[April]

I would tell my 17 year old self to get a car, learn how to drive said car, graduate school with more than 1 credit to spare, get a job, move the FUCK out of that house as soon as possible, and don't get married at 19!

 

[Ezzie]

I would tell myself that I don't know as much as I think I do. I never believed that when my parents said it and hopefully I'd be able to convince myself since no one else can. I'd also tell myself other little corny things that might seem unimportant to some people. I'd say "Ezzie?" and my younger self would say "Wazzzzzzup!?" and I'd say "Look, you don't have to have sex with someone to try and get them to like you, you don't have to marry someone because you're pregnant and you need to get some more self esteem" and knowing how I was at 17, my younger self would say "Fuck you, what the hell do you know?" And I'd say "Ask me that when you're 25, pregnant by a guy you slept with the first time you met him and not very sure of yourself or what you're doing with your life"

Ezzie http://smilecwm.tripod.com/fk/confused.gif

 

[Skibum]

I would have to tell my 17 year old self to keep after the dream I had of becoming an engineer, and not bailing out after one semester like I did. I thought an easier major would be a better way to go, and wound up with a virtually worthless degree in Business Admin.

 

[Guest]

And then me, now, at 23 would have to go to that 17 y/o Ezzie and kidnap her and take her to KC! LoL Try a lil role reversal!

 

[Rapheal]

17 was only a couple of months ago for me. don't ya'll love all the young'uns in here? I think i would tell myself to quit hangin around women (i guess they are really girls huh? no mature enough to be called women at that age) who play mind games. and to actually ask out the one girl i have ever had a mind numbing crush on. oh, and i would tell myself not to try to take a car i had had only for a week off a bridge and into the Chattahochee. piece of advice: honda's don't float too well.

 

[Dixon Carter Lee]

I would tell myself to date (as opposed to just screwing around) knowing that eventually I'd get dumped by someone and develop that thick skin a lot earlier. I didn't date much because it all seemed so pointless -- "Well, I'm not going to MARRY her, am I?" What an idiot. So by my late twenties I wasn't prepared for the one time in my life a girl said, "I'd like to see other people." Yep. I'd definitely date. And get the pain out of the way.

-----------------------------------------------------

"Without a hurt, the heart is hollow."

 

[*Eve*]

Well it's only been six years since I was 17 but if I could go back, I would tell myself not to get involved with a ceratin guy who brought me nothing but misery, and still plagues me to this day.

 

[Mortto56]

If I seen myself at 17,I think I would have to say,"Mister!""Life is like one continuous fork in the road!"..."Try and get as much knowledge as you can,so you can make a wise choice,to what path to take.".....AND THEN I WOULD HAVE STARTED TO LAUGH UNCONTROLABLY,AND SAID"SHUT THE FUCK UP!"...."IS THERE STILL A COLD BEER IN THE COOLER?"

 

[Patryn]

I would tell myself to damn the torpedos and the threats of social services, that my mom really DID hate me so she wouldn't call anyway, and it wasn't just teen angst.

Then I would make myself do better in school, ala Ghost of Christmas future, so that I wouldn't be dropping out of college next semester due to lack of financial aid and not the scholarship I could have had to persue a career scrubbing floors. Nice little life I've carved out for myself here, huh?

Oh, and I would say, even tho she wouldn't know what I was talking about..."WHATEVER YOU DO, DO NOT GO TO UTAH...EVER!!"

 

[Cheyenne]

At 17?

At 17 I had just graduated from high school. That's actually too late for what I would go back to say, I'd have to be there at 14 or so. I'd say have more fun, life gets hard and serious fast enough. You're only young once, don't waste it always being serious and responsible. Live a little, it won't kill you. Actually, that advice would apply to me from age 14 all the way through the current moment. Maybe there's still time for me to listen.

The other thing I'd tell myself would be to think about making a conscious decision as to whether I wanted to be single or married, have kids or not. Don't just get so busy that you let the years go by and being single is what happens by default.

 

[Carl East]

If only

I'd tell myself that there was a beautiful woman out there, just waiting for the right man, go get her.

Carl.