17 October 2007
Travel Back In Time- Advice to Your Younger Self
Posted by Debo Hobo under: General; Side Notes ~ Ramblings .
If you could travel back in time and give your younger self some life-changing advice, what age would you pick and what would you say? Would you change careers, college majors, or perhaps even significant others? Do you tell yourself to work harder or to stop and smell the roses?
I found this post idea at Wise Bread and decided to write my own younger self advice letter. Please have a read who knows you could win something.
Dear Deborah,
Now that you are sixteen it is time for you to buckle up, the ride will get bumpy. You are embarking on your first job please start paying yourself first don’t wait until you are twenty something. Also, go ahead and speak your mind don’t stiffle your thoughts and opinions to protect the feelings of others. They will appreciate the truth and still value your friendship.
Your punctuality is an asset but slow down you don’t have to drive so fast, that’s how accidents happen, Oh! You’ll see many times. You are an independent individual so just get on a plane, train, bus or bike and go see it for yourself. After all you are a seeing is believing person. Mister right will elude you and frankly your standards are going to be too high. Heck he may have passed you several times to no avail. Lighten up, don’t be so tough. Hey go ahead and try to chronicle your life events because yours will read like a good book. You will wander like a hobo because putting down roots just isn’t for you so make the most of the three years you spend in any one place.
Deborah, most importanly remember each day, each action and each dream is a building block and when you have time to look back you will see how each step has lead you up to the greatness of today.
Please take care of me,
Debbee
Write your best younger self advice letter in the comments and be entered in a random drawing for a $25 Amazon Gift Certificate. Deadline to enter drawing is 10/31/07. Don’t forget to enter your email address in the field provided. Link to this post and you get an additional entry.
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Dear Young Swiss_Mouse,
DO NOT work in I.T.
BUT remember there will be something call the internet, invest heavily in it.
Gosh thanks for the comment Swissy, at this rate you may be the winner by default.
To the young me,
There have been many times in life I wish you wouldn’t have run away when you were only 17, I wish you wouldn’t have quit high school, gotten married at the age of 18, fallen in love again a week after your divorce at the age of 28. But if all that wouldn’t have happened, I wouldn’t have been a mother of 3 at the age of 23, a mother of 4 at the age of 32, and that is something I never can regret, so I guess you did what needed to be done to create the woman I am today, a woman I like most of the days. But maybe you should have waited to run away from home after finishing high school. That would have made it a little bit easier for me today.
To BT at 18 years of age:
Dear BT, now you are 18, it is time for me to tell you the truth about this world. The truth is, you’ve been living in one BIG lie. From now on, never listen to what the world says. Listen to your own heart and conscience and do what you think is right, whatever others may say. Don’t live your life with the regret of always doing what others are doing or what others want you to do. Be a trendsetter!
Hi there
I blogged about your contest on Contest Beat here - http://www.contestbeat.com/what-advice-would-you-give/
All we do is write about contests in the blogosphere so hopefully we can send you a few more entries too!
Regards, Matt.
To the relatively younger me,
How I am doing today is probably a direct reflection of what you made me do then. And thinking back, I certainly find that I could have done far better. Now that I can write to you today, I would just ask you to avoid those mistakes which I should never have done on my way here. What I did may have been necessary but if there is a way you can do the same without making me regret it, then so be it.
Cheers,
The older me!
Please confirm my entry into this contest!
Cheers again,
Vijay
And the above is the post about the contest with the link as requested..
http://contester.wordpress.com/2007/10/21/write-a-letter-and-win-a-25-amazon-gc/
Thanks,
Vijay
Dear Younger Me,
Just wanted to let you know that if you continue to abuse that fabulous young body, you will eventually regret it!
Older Me
Dear seven-year-old me,
You should take time off from school early, before you burn out and lose interest. It’ll be easy enough to catch up in high school (and no work at all if you keep up by correspondence), and you won’t completely lose the study skills that I’m having to relearn now in university. Don’t let them move you backward; you won’t gain any more social skills staying with your age group than you would anywhere else.
Please learn to stop on skates now. Falling hurts more as you get older, and running into the boards isn’t an option when you’re on an outdoor rink - you’ll move north to a place where there are outdoor rinks when you go to university. Speaking of which, do not live with the lady named Sarah. She may seem nice at first, but that doesn’t last for long. Please trust me on this.
Also, when you’re old enough, please learn to drive right away even if you don’t think you have anywhere to go. They will change the rules shortly after that to make it a lot more difficult to get a license, and life will be easier for me if you follow the old rules while you can.
It will hurt when your friends move away, but it will not be the end of the world.
Take care,
your older self
To my younger self,
Remember to have fun, but don’t over do it. Your health needs you in the years to come. Jumping off grape vines, hanging out in the wrong places only will make your grow older… and not gracefully either.
When that friend of your brother’s makes a pass at you again, knee him where it hurts, then go tell your Daddy. He’ll take care of the rest.
When you get 25, do remember this… stay out of the tattoo parlor. You’ll regret it later.
Take care,
Your much wiser older self
forgot to add… I blogged this contest in my Sunday Edition of Contests Galore
Dear 17 yr old Self,
Hey, I’m proud of you for doing so well so far. There is someone called Emotional Intimacy…you know that guy you’re dating? Pull back your heart girl!! It will make your first years of marriage much easier.
Oh yeah, and when you do meet the guy that God ordains for you…elope sooner!!!
Love you!
Your 6 1/2 yrs married self
bebemiqui (at) hotmail (dot) com
Dear High School Me,
Don’t waste all of that love on those immature unworthy boys. Don’t invest time in dating relationships; boys your age are not capable of handling your heart and feelings with care.
No one will ever suggest this to you, but I think high school would be a fantastic time to study abroad for a year. Some how when you become an adult and begin working overseas, nearly everyone you meet will have studied abroad, and you will wonder why you never were given that choice.
Enjoy your time at University. Don’t stress about the difficulty you will have finding like-minded friends. Just keep doing what you love…studying, reading, LEARNING!
Follow this advice and you won’t struggle with depression!
All the best,
Me
Dear 15yr old self,
I know that you are in love with him but you are young and you have your whole life ahead of you! Please take some time to think about what you really want and don’t be blinded by his charm.
You need to find YOU . You will regret it later when you feel as though you don’t know who you are and are just “wife” and “mother”.
If you go slow, your health and mental state will thank you in later years.
Love you!
From your older self
xx
I mentioned your contest here:
http://gottabeinit.blogspot.com/2007/10/write-your-younger-self-letter.html
I’ve done mine but as it turned out to be a bit longer than I expected I’ve put it up on my blog the link is
http://madamspud169.blogspot.com/2007/10/letter-to-my-younger-self.html
Amanda-I’m sorry but your comment does not meet the requirements to be entered into the contest. Please review the contest rules and try again if you like. Thanks Debo Hobo
Dear Maunie,
My advice is to learn to forgive. First forgive your Mom.
Mothers are not necessarily the same to all children. For some reason she is not the Mom your sister remembers and thats fine.Get over it. Take advantage of college. Not many people make it in modeling and you can do that part time. Forgive your self your first marriage. You would not have your wonderful son and granddaughters. Forgive your younger son.He fried his brain, and its not your fault. Before you end up like me, learn to forgive.
WOW! What a GREAT post.
Well my advice goes thus:
Dear High School leaver,
Now you have proved to everyone you are the best academically, in your locality. I will like you to know this, Intelligence and wisdom are two different things. The fact that you are intelligent does not mean you are wise.
Pursue after wisdom, have a dream and set goals to achieve them. Your certificate will definitely not take you where your dream will take you to. Forget the lies about go to school and get a good job, it is worthless in the world you are about entering.
Those habits you got involved in will NEVER be of help to you in years to come. If you have heard of crisis of character, you would have understood what I mean. I am not saying you should be perfect anyway.
Stop being a shy boy and get involved more with the world. Your future depends on people so you have to learn how to relate with them NOW and not later. What if you know now that you will be a role model to a lot of people outside your environment? Learn those people skills NOW!
here is my post
http://mommymandy.blogspot.com/2007/10/dear-amanda.html
Dear Younger Melissa~
Spend as much time with your family as possible. Family is so important. What you don’t know is your time with your brother is short so spend it with your family now. If I could offer any advice it would be to just visit more, call more, or even say I love you more.
Dear Younger Self,
Please remember to stop and cherish every moment with your children~Life passes way to fast and before you know they are grown and gone.
Always stop what you are doing to look into their eyes and feel their emotions at that very moment. You will not regret it.
A Bit Older and Wiser Self
Dear Younger Self,
Things WILL work out. Don’t worry so much. Just enjoy the time you have now.
Dear much younger me,
Draw near to God.
Dear Younger Self,
You will have a large family. Things will never settle down. You will learn to love life the way it is. Be sweet to your hubby, he is forever. Take long showers, and get a little exercise.
You can do it!
Dear Younger Nunny,
Stop being so caught up in yourself! Yes, you’re in college, but it’s time to act out what you say your priorities are. You don’t want to some day look back with regret on the people you didn’t befriend, didn’t help, didn’t treat kindly because you you’re just thinking about what’s good for you. You say you’re number one priority is God — live in a way that is worthy of serving Him.
And, for goodness sakes, stop being so caught up in romance! You’re going to marry the most awesome guy — your best friend — so stop spending every minute acting pathetic and mournful about your love life! It’s in God’s hands, right? Live your life doing the things God is leading you to do and enjoy the journey!
Remember Him!
Older Nunny
Dear- Please finish that occupational therapy degree. Dont worry about the loans you are taking out or envy the travel friends of yours are doing with their corporate jobs. You will get to do some overseas traveling when you go to meet your new son in South Korea. You will appreciate the flexibility and having no layoffs from corporate jobs.
Good decision on going to North Carolina- Cherish each moment that you get to spend with your best friend as she will pass away four months later on Christmas Eve.
Dont worry so much. Time will take care of your worries.
Dear younger me,
You are so focused on the little details - try to look at the bigger picture. What is really important? Try to get your nose out of the books and spend more time with your friends. You will regret it later if you don’t.
-Older Me
Dear Alexia:
STAY IN SCHOOL! You only have two years to go and homeschooling yourself is WAAAY harder than you think it will be! Forget working in daycare…GET A DEGREE! Thank you.
- ME -
(I linked you in my “if your bored” post!)
Dear self-
No man is worth crying over and the one who is won’t make you cry. (I stole that from somewhere, but I really needed that advice when I was young)
To my younger self,
I know you feel like you have all the answers–you don’t. Don’t be afraid to admit that you don’t know and ask more questions.
You also feel like you have all the time in the world–you don’t. Time flies by quickly. You hear this said often, but for some reason you have a hard time believing it. Look at each day as a gift-and make the most of it.
Don’t waste your time accumulating things-before you know it, you will have too much and will be trying to get rid of it. Keep it simple, and shop for quality not quantity.
Generosity is never a bad thing, so don’t be greedy.
Take pictures and be sure to journal-you will be surprised at all the details that you forget.
That’s it for now, although there is much more that I would like to share with you. Just take time every once in a while to examine life and ask yourself how you can live it better. If you don’t do this, life flies by without you really choosing how to live it.
me
Dear High School Me,
There’s no such thing as a permanent record. Live a little.
love,
me
Dear Tiffany,
Trust me, start college as soon as you graduate! Be serious about it, and don’t mess around. It is so much easier when you don’t have to worry about going to school, making dinner and watching the kids. Oh yeah, and working full-time! Trust me, finish school first! Oh yeah, the guy that you are with at the end of senior year, he will be your husband…encourage him to finish school too!
Dear Me,
I know why you are getting your masters and that it’s just a bad experience all around - but it will be over. In the next year, you’ll meet your husband, get married, join a band, and your arm will heal. So stop crying and enjoy yourself. Life will get better, SO much better, but it’s still not worth spending so much time being miserable right now. Enjoy the journey now, or you’ll never learn to enjoy it.
Reva
Dear Younger Pete,
Don’t touch the stove burner. It is hot.
Sharp objects cut things, including you.
When riding your bike, use at least one hand.
Hammers and vise grips are not the only tools you need.
You can stop the Comic Sans font from ever being created. Find the designer and eliminate him. Go back in time if you have to.
Trust your intuition. Starting now.
There will be this thing called the Internet which will record everything you ever write on it forever. Choose your words carefully.
Signed,
Older Pete
Dear younger me..
Don’t wear the leg warmers.
Your friends are right.. he is cute, but a jerk.
When you are older, your brothers will remind you of every mistake you made.. try to keep them from finding out.
If you have doubts, he doesn’t love you.
On the other hand Mom DOES love you.. trust her.
Prom is over rated.
Don’t run track.. your knees will thank you later.
Do not (worth repeating) do NOT take the cat your aunt offers.
Listen to Dad.. your car will not make it to Boston in the middle of a nor’easter!
You will know when he is the one (ps.. he is your best friend and he is waiting for you to get your act together!)
Childbirth WILL hurt.. but odly enough you will not remember it as soon as you see their faces.
Trust your instincts!
With love,
You.. just older and wiser
Dear me,
Mom does know best. It doesn’t really matter what people think in high school, life gets easier after it ends. Having a baby is the best thing in the world, start earlier so you can have many kids. Don’t try to be perfect, just try to be happy.
With love,
Me.
To me - 15 years ago -
Don’t worry so much about what other people think! You will be okay. Be confident in who you are through Christ. He will be faithful as He has promised. Don’t feel so pressured to have a relationship - enjoy being young, with limited responsibilities. Enjoy the many once-in-a-lifetime opportunities you have NOW instead of always looking forward to . . . whatever. Live in your life RIGHT NOW - tomorrow will come soon enough. YOU WILL BE OKAY!
Dear Me…
Stop hating the fact that your dad is in the Army. Enjoy it. The friends you have when you are an adult will not have lived overseas. Some of them haven’t even been out of the country. Enjoy what you can do. Learn German while you are in Germany. When you start your second middle school, press to be able to join band. Even though you are a 7th grader and BandI is for 6th Graders. Reading music will help you in the future.
Don’t get so caught up on having a relationship before you graduate college. Just go with the flow. It’s ok to be one of the guys — your future husband will love you for it!
Don’t invite Mike to visit you in Anderson. When the time is right, you’ll understand what that means.
Love yourself.
Love,
30 year old you.
Dear younger self,
You are doing such a great job working & getting good grades. Stick with it! It is important to start a savings account now, do not wait. Life does not go how we expect it to. Quit shopping so much, you don’t need SO much. Credit card debt can & will get your into trouble. Stick with school, if possible GET OUT OF MICHIGAN!!! Good luck in life, remember to always have a positive attitude.
I would have to say that any advice I would give myself would change who I am today… I like who I am today even though I went through what I had to go through in order to get here! But I would say to myself to leave the party life ALONE!!! Stay sober… become a Christian!! That is the only way anything good will come out of life!!!
To my former self:
Remember who you were, what made you happy and what your dreams were. Don’t let the chaos of parenting dictate your life’s goals. Keep reaching . . . nothing is out of reach if you put your mind to it.
Dear younger me,
Dont feel like you have to what people expect you to. Stay at home, finish school, go to college (for whatever you like), take your time and presue our dreams. No need to rush to get married.. and NEVER let a guy tell you whats best for you. Also stop being so scared of having kids.. belive me once you do you will want MORE (I know thats shocking… its worth it). And stop worring so much about making money and worry more about what makes you happy as Ive found money sucks once you have it
Love,
Me
Dear younger me,
Appreciate your friends, and all the people around you. Don’t take them for granted. Life is short–don’t get so busy you forget to spend time with and show kindness toward the people whom you love and who love you.
Good luck!
Me
Dear Rachel,
This may seem odd to you, but knowing you like I do, you will probably listen.
No matter what happens do NOT take your fathers advice and move from Tawas. Stay there and register for school Up North. Things may turn out so much better for you and the family.
Sincerely,
Older and unfortunately wiser Rachel
Dear Young Me:
Don’t do anything different - just trust that it will all work out.
Old me!
Dear aBookworm,
Learn to forgive. People are people and will do things to hurt and disappoint you. By forgiving them, your heart will be so much lighter and you will be much more happier.
Just be yourself, take things in your stride.
Oh, and don’t give up your faith in God, even when it seems like he’s deserted you. Things always work out for the better.
Dear Blonde Teenager,
While it’s wonderful that you like to see the best in people, don’t let that cloud your judgement when it comes to reading people. There will be those out there that will prey upon your naievete and will use it against you. Don’t let that happen!
Love,
You/Me
Just dropping you a line to let you know that I have added your contest to several related categories in our directory.
http://www.mrprizes.com/individual/listingID_0485.htm
Please feel free to keep me up to date on future listings. Have a great day!
For those that are receiving comment updates and wish to no longer to, simply look at the bottom of the email, click on the link that says “To manage your subscriptions or to block all notifications from this site, click the link below:” Just as you would any other subscription.
Dear me,
Try to get pregnant earlier. Do something besides real estate so when the going gets tough, you can do something else. Invest in the internet. Don’t gamble. Follow your heart!
Great contest.
I don’t have too far to look back unless I say to 18 year old Cooper “don’t get on that four wheeler your gonna break your ribs and will lose a whole winter of snowboarding”.
I think I’d go back a mere five months and say “Cooper think about it, don’t take that job directly out of school and don’t plan your grad studies so soon. You’ve worked like a dog for four years and you should take this year off and go mess around, or on that surf trip with your friends and get some perspective on your future.
You hate lab work, go ecology instead of microbiology. Also? Take some CS classes and play more games.
Dear 18 year old lisalmg,
You are going to be a mom in 9 months. Don’t be scared! Keeping her will be the best decision you have ever made in your life so stop worring about what your friends and family are saying. YOU WILL BE OK! She will be born really early and the first few month of her life will be filled with hospitals and doctors but everything will end up fine. Don’t be afraid to tell the nurses you want to hold her! They will act busy but be firm and they will let you. She makes the cutest little smiles that will melt your heart! Please don’t give up on your dream of going to college! You think it is impossible right now but if you don’t go you will regret it! Look for financial aid and get help from anyone you can. I know you will be able to do it if you don’t give up!
With love from you much older self
Hi, I made my letter but left it up on my own site. You should have gotten a trackback but here is the link to the post:
http://antibarbie.net/2007/10/27/a-letter-to-myself/
Dear younger self,
Pace yourself when it comes to driving, boys, and liquor! Don’t let Mom see you mocking her behind her back. And ALWAYS have a better reason for doing something other than “just because!!!”
Older wiser Self
Younger Me;
The Doctor will never come for you. There will never be a space/tiem anomoly that transports you to Jean-Luc’s quarters. No wormhole will shoot you through space toward that Delvian priestess.
On top of that, there is no God and no such thing as true love. Do away with these fantasies now, and you can’t go wrong
Love,
You’re Older and Wiser Self
Dear younger me,
I desparately hope you read this before you turn 26. Dad will start experiencing some shortness of breath and fatigue. Just before you get married he will take himself to the ER for chest pain, and then the next day you will take him to the cardiologist for a stress test. Despite it coming