What would you say if you could speak to your 16-year-old self?

FTGFOP · 05-11-2010 3:51pm

Turn it down, ffs! Kids. :rolleyes:

Des Carter · 05-11-2010 4:05pm

I wouldnt say a thing. Im perfectly happy with the way I turned out.

Maple · 05-11-2010 4:06pm

Fabulous idea for a thread. What would I tell my 16yr old self? Hmmmm...

- You're not fat. Stop making yourself sick.

- Your breasts are going to grow. Stop fretting about them, and DO NOT ever stuff your bra with green tissue at the disco. It will fall out. I know this.

- Yes, you will always love him but he is not for you. Break up and walk away from him the first time, not the eleventh million.

- Don't put yourself in the middle of your parent's divorce. You're the child, not the parent. It will hurt you.

- Velvet scrunchies are not cool. I repeat, not cool.

- you might hate her now but your sister will turn out to be your best friend in the world.

- sex is not affection. learn the difference.

- don't take it all on your own shoulders, speak to someone about your head and where it's at.

- you might feel lonely but one day you will have the most wonderful people in your life. look forward to that day.

- learn to like yourself, you're pretty cool, there's only one of you so you're unique and can never be replicated.

Malari · 05-11-2010 4:19pm

Des Carter wrote: »

I wouldnt say a thing. Im perfectly happy with the way I turned out.

I don't think that's what this is about though. I am perfectly happy with the way I turned out too. It's just a pity I didn't find a way of expediting the process!

Lynnsie · 05-11-2010 5:29pm

Spend more time with Dad, you only have him for a couple of more years. Go for walks and drives with him, and the other things you see your sister do with him and wonder why she bothers when there are much more fun things to do.

The boyfriend you’re with now – save yourself a LOT of trouble and get rid of him. Once you see sense and get away from him, you’ll thrive. You are much, much too young to be dealing with his issues, you don’t realise you’re still only a baby! (16 year old me would be rolling her eyes at this stage while thinking how grown up she is and that I obviously don’t understand how much she loves him :rolleyes:)

Runners do not go with everything. Tartan flares are never a good idea, nor is purple hair

Snoopy1 · 05-11-2010 6:15pm

You shouldnt have lost your virginity at 15.
You shouldnt stay with that boyfriend, he's nothing but trouble.
You should always listen to your mum.
Dont try to grow up too early

jokettle · 05-11-2010 6:24pm

The 2 girls who are bullying you will end up

1) dropping out in final year of school to "get famous". She will end up working in Supervalu with no qualifications.

2) Fat (and later pregnant at 19 through some ONS, but for now fat is enough)

They still spend their time huddled in corners bitching about people, except now they do it in the pub instead of the schoolyard.

So don't let them bug you; you'll move away for college and never look back

Posy · 05-11-2010 6:32pm

-Stop sitting down the back of the class saying "I'll never need this crap in real life." You WILL.
-Take a gap year before you go to college, you're TOO young to know what you want to do.
-For God's sake get a hair straightener and USE IT. NOW.
-Stop worrying about your bad skin. Go to a doctor and get it sorted.
-No, your boobs are not going to get any bigger, I'm sorry.

seenitall · 05-11-2010 6:33pm

Never mind all the hate, this will pass and time is on your side. I love you, I love you, I love you.

Wibbs · 05-11-2010 6:47pm

Anything that is really playing on your mind today, you'll struggle to remember it at all in ten years time.

People have short memories, but that's OK, they have their own crap to deal with.

Upset, embarrassment and anger is your ego talking. It's rarely reality.

No matter how bad you feel at this moment, the graveyards are full of people who would give all they had to be able to just feel like you at this moment.

On that score, nothing in life is written in stone, except your grave marker.

If you're afraid of something, then do it(does not include french kissing sharks).

If one person says you smell, ignore it. If ten people do, buy soap. Covers most advice.

confusticated · 05-11-2010 7:29pm

Your group of friends will pretty much change entirely in the next year, so stop worrying about it now, it turns out fine.

That girl who seems so cool on the first day of college is in fact also completely lost. Talk to her and be friends so ye both don't spend the whole first term being on your own in class! She's great.

Sit next to that boy on the bus in a few months. You won't regret it.

Don't give up sport, you'll want to go back to it and it HURTS when you've been lazy for two years!

You're doing okay, and it only gets better:)

solovely · 05-11-2010 8:06pm

Buy a tweezers and learn how to use them. Oh and hair mousse/ serum.

Everybody in your year in school is NOT having sex.

Don't let him put his fingers down there just cos everyone else is letting guys do it to them at the back of the disco. It;s not classy and it won't make you cool.

Learn how to drink a proper drink....slowly....vodka and blackcurrant looks like blood when you vomit it back up.

Stop trying so hard to look so cool....it's OK to be a nerd, you'll be proud of your nerdiness later in life when the cool people are pushing prams and signing on.

Your mother is not clueless or stupid, and she does really care about you. She's actually really clued in and knows what's going on, you just wreck her head with all your hormones and temper tantrums....you'll laugh a lot about it in years to come....try see the funny side now.

Neyite · 05-11-2010 8:07pm

Black Eyeliner is not a good look.

That quirky jumper is not quirky. its horrible.

be kinder to yourself.

Scarinae · 05-11-2010 9:11pm

jokettle wrote: »

The 2 girls who are bullying you will end up

1) dropping out in final year of school to "get famous". She will end up working in Supervalu with no qualifications.

2) Fat (and later pregnant at 19 through some ONS, but for now fat is enough)

They still spend their time huddled in corners bitching about people, except now they do it in the pub instead of the schoolyard.

So don't let them bug you; you'll move away for college and never look back

Oh, the karma! (Or possibly the schadenfreude

)

Someone wrote that they'd say not to bother getting a minidisc player - that made me laugh, because I had one too! It's probably still somewhere in my bedroom at home

A few people have said they wouldn't change anything because our experiences make us what we are... I see your point, and it was kinda what I was getting at with my Back to the Future 2 remark! I still think it's a fun idea, if we can bypass the problems it would cause for the space-time continuum or whatever

Dave147 · 05-11-2010 9:39pm

zoegh wrote: »

Love this thread!!!
....

4) You will have an idea when you're about 25 to go to Paris with your Mum. Do it. Don't let her keep putting it off. You don't have long left with her.

I'm so sorry, my mom has had a rough few years and I'm glad I've begun to appreciate her now..

:(

1. Stop letting your dad shave your hair with a razor, girls will like you if you get a proper haircut!

2. Do something else in college, Computer Science ain't all about hacking!

3. Avoid the 3 car crashes you've been in and maybe your neck and back won't be ****ed

4. When you turn 23 you will meet a ridiculously hot girl who you will fall in love with you and you will fall in love with, believe it, you're a stud!

Morrigin · 05-11-2010 10:41pm

You're doing great kiddo but:

1) You are not fat and believe it or not in a couple of years time you'll like yourself more with a few curves so eat a sandwich for god's sake
2) Ignore the bitches in school - college is where it gets so much better for you
3) The guy who you think broke your heart didn't really break your heart - he's a waste of space anyway

AND

4) That guy that you're mad about but you're too shy to say it likes you too but he's too shy to say it - but you're going to marry him.

5) Your confidence WILL grow and you'll look back and wonder who that quiet 16 year old actually was.

Kimia · 05-11-2010 11:06pm

maple wrote: »

Fabulous idea for a thread. What would I tell my 16yr old self? Hmmmm...

- You're not fat. Stop making yourself sick.

- Your breasts are going to grow. Stop fretting about them, and DO NOT ever stuff your bra with green tissue at the disco. It will fall out. I know this.

- Yes, you will always love him but he is not for you. Break up and walk away from him the first time, not the eleventh million.

- Don't put yourself in the middle of your parent's divorce. You're the child, not the parent. It will hurt you.

- Velvet scrunchies are not cool. I repeat, not cool.

- you might hate her now but your sister will turn out to be your best friend in the world.

- sex is not affection. learn the difference.

- don't take it all on your own shoulders, speak to someone about your head and where it's at.

- you might feel lonely but one day you will have the most wonderful people in your life. look forward to that day.

- learn to like yourself, you're pretty cool, there's only one of you so you're unique and can never be replicated.

Same. Isn't it great?

Nice advice, if only I had you around when I was 16!

solovely · 06-11-2010 12:41am

Is the book out already or does anybody know when it's coming out? Really hoping it's in my Christmas stocking this year....although not sure how honest all the celebs will actually be!!

Listening to Ian Dempsey's this morning was hilarious!!

Think it's great that it's turned viral too, bet it's more than the youth foundation (or whichever charity it is???) wished for when they launched this!!

Gillo · 06-11-2010 12:55am

You're gonna f@&k up from time to time- that's cool because everyone does but anytime you do make sure you learn from it.

Take risks, even if it's just approaching that girl you think is hot.

fermoycailin · 06-11-2010 1:01am

Fab thread

You'll fall in love with a few guys who will hurt you - one of them another 16 years later for the second time - don't spend another 2 years getting over him - he's got issues which are not your problem. None of them were good enough, but its part of life. Each is one frog closer to your prince (still waiting but now have the faith that he'll arrive).
Soak up life and its experiences - you won't go to college twice - have fun. Try to enjoy it from the first week. Don't see it as being away from home, but more like your first steps to independence, which you learn to love - embrace it sooner rather than later. All those at home will still be there when you get back. Many in the exact same place you left them. You'll make friends for life at college, and even second families!
Take up a sport at college - widen your circle of friends
Loosen up a bit - you can be great craic when not concerned what people think all the time
Stay thin, but don't stress it
Get rid of any shiny tracksuit you have in your wardrobe
Appreciate each member of your family - you don't always know what's going on - they might not know themselves, as you will later find out.
Write down all the hilarious stories that will happen to you and your friends over the next 10 years. You won't believe how easily they are forgotten. They might even make a good book! What fun.
Be brave
Be more willing to tell people how you feel - mainly the positive stuff.
Compliment people, and accept compliments.
Most of all - regret what you have done rather than what you haven't! And don't wake up at the age of 80, wishing you had done anything that its too late for then.

Dudess · 06-11-2010 1:47am

maple wrote: »

Velvet scrunchies are not cool. I repeat, not cool.

/removes velvet scrunchie...

PK2008 · 07-11-2010 1:21am

You know there are many 16 year olds you could tell this stuff to now

Hermione* · 07-11-2010 1:59am

I think for a lot of the mistakes or wrong turns I've taken, I wouldn't necessarily warn 16-year-old me because those mistakes have made me the person I am today and mostly, I like this person.

However, I would say:

- you are not always going to be an 8-stone stick insect. Bloody well appreciate it while it lasts!

- you will probably never fall out of love with history. You will always be as nerdy as you are now. This is not a bad thing. Embrace the nerd in you!

- people come and people go, but you can always depend upon yourself. What others think/say/do is not important.

- life will want you to be very, very strong but you will get through it and you will survive.

- family is very fucking important. Love them and treasure them and more importantly, tell them this constantly. They will not be around forever.

- when you're asked in the middle of the night to go the hospital, and you're not sure if you should, go. It'll turn out to be one of the hardest and yet best things you will ever do.

dvet · 07-11-2010 3:47am

Damn you, boards.ie, for being so interesting and making me stay up til all hours pondering things like this!!

It seems that at 16, your life is such a blank canvas, & the decisions you make then can completely change the direction of your whole life. I think I must be really lucky as compared to some of the examples mentioned I have no great regrets or things that I would change. Even some of the stuff that seemed to turn out badly at the time ended up leading, directly or indirectly, to better things.

So, 16 year old me: Keep on doing what you're doing, keep your head screwed onto your shoulders, and keep on working hard, cos it's worth it.

Also: Have loads of fun in college, go mad, and don't mind it if you miss a few days here and there; you end up passing in the end anyway!!

akamossy · 07-11-2010 3:59am

Don't go straight to college after school, you don't know what you want to do and you're going to waste two years doing the wrong thing!! You're going to meet a guy when you're 19, AVOID AT ALL COSTS!!! :P And not to take everything so seriously and relax and enjoy teendom because you will soon be 23 and having to make grown up decisions

Chinafoot · 07-11-2010 11:41am

I definitely agree that I am who I am because of the stuff thats happened, however I would definitely say this:

- It did happen. It's not going to go away. You need to speak to someone and get it sorted or it will have a hold over your for the rest of your life. Go to that counsellor and take the control back in a healthy way.

Ickle Magoo · 07-11-2010 12:36pm

I'd tell my 16 yr old self not to leave home, to stay on at school because going back to education later in life is so much harder. I'd tell her that although at the moment two years seems like a life-time, it isn't...and she will rue for the rest of her life not just getting the head down and getting all the certs the first time around.

I'd tell her that although kooky, her parents love her very much and it won't matter that they don't get her - because in the coming years she'll meet many gorgeous people that do...

I'd tell her to stop fighting with her sister because she'll end up being the best friend she'll ever have - that they will share a hugely moving experience that will change both their lives and they will need the love and support of one another.

I'd tell her that smoking is not cool - and drugs even less so.

And that she shouldn't be so upset, she will meet him again years later and it won't be love then either.

07-11-2010 12:43pm

Sit up straight, don't slouch, stand properly - trust me.

Be more confident and talk to girls more - as it turns out, some of the girls you had crushes on had crushes on you too, but you were too shy to find that out

Hairspray · 07-11-2010 1:15pm

1. Don't slack off in 5th year! You will come to regret it later. Ditto with giving up karate for 6th year.
2. Don't be soo hard on yourself, you are not as fat/stupid/useless as you imagine! Life is too short to be thinking such bad things!
3. Believe it or not this is the year that everything changes. You will start dating, get an amazing group of friends, start drinking and love your life!
4. You will wind up taking a totally different route and going to a different college from you ever planned and will love every momement of it.

I find that being 16 is the year that everything changes for people. You start off fresh from being 15 still a kid but then as the year progresses you begin to change and by the time you are 17 you are young adult.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JQKx1UpgjFY

Scarinae · 07-11-2010 2:32pm

PK2008 wrote: »

You know there are many 16 year olds you could tell this stuff to now

Ah yeah, but would they listen?

What would you say if you could speak to your 16-year-old self?

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