Advice for a teenager

Cian92

So after being through your teenage years, what advice would you give a too a teenager?

AcePuppetMaster

Watch what you eat, get plenty of exercise, find out about yourself, explore your own potential, realise what you can offer to others, be true to your heart, soul and beliefs.

Make yourself proud.

Don't hold a grudge. Learn by teaching. Love, live and never regret!

Arcade Panda

don't be afraid to be who you are,carve your own path, don't take life too seriously, don't be afraid to be "uncool", grab life by the balls and follow your dreams, never put yourself down(this allows other people to walk all over you), however don't be cocky(so unattractive).

work hard...play harder:D

never be afraid

Carpe Diem

phasers

Don't listen to the advice of others

AcePuppetMaster

Keep phasers on stun! (sorry couldn't resist!)

ohthebaby

Don't take everything so seriously. Looking back now I can see that I missed out on a lot of fun. So yeah, party more! But not too much of course.

And as someone above said, don't put yourself down. You're as good as everyone else!

If you want to do something, do it! Don't hold back.

Oh to be 13 again...!!!

gaeilgegrinds

Do what makes you happy without hurting anyone else as long as it won't come back to haunt you in 6 months, work hard, keep fit and get results that will last academically, physically and among friends. Keep close to family and friends and true to yourself.

pq0n1ct4ve8zf5

Hmm, as patronising as it sounds do try and realise that you're going to radically re-assess what's important to you a bajillion times before you reach the end of your teens (and many times afterwards). What seems important/life-changing/the end of the world now probably won't in 18 months. At the same time these little dramas do form who you are, so don't beat yourself up too much over the silly stuff you do!

Your parents aren't as terrible as you think (maybe), and your friends aren't as cool.

Don't start smoking.

Don't take sex too seriously. Be safe, don't be pressured into anything you don't want to do, and don't be cruel to people, beyond that, don't be too worried about it. Nobody knows what they're doing, it's not a huge deal, and it is fun.

Don't make any posts on boards about the nature of existence/the state of the world/your own very original ideas about god, morality etc. It's a hard lesson to learn, but anything you think about these issues when you're in your teens (while they're important to you) has probably been thought by countless millions of teenagers before. I learned this lesson on another site.

Be nice. Just be nice. That's the main thing I learned from my teens. You don't have a carte blanche to mess with people's heads just because it fits in with what you want to do or because you're good at it (I think this may apply more to girls than guys).

AcePuppetMaster

Electro I would have given you a thumbs up except for this one:

Don't take sex too seriously.

What do you mean by it? (not starting a row just wanted clarification is all)

If you mean don't get too wound up about it, then I agree, but sex shouldn't be carefree if you know what I mean? I'd emphasise the making love part personnally.

Fad

Learn from my mistakes;

Never forgive, never forget.
Never apologise, never explain. ie stay true to yourself

Dont let anyone get too close unless you are certain you can trust them.

The Samaritan model of pouring you heart out to a stranger who wont nessecarily respond, but is listening, works (In many circumstances).

Despite all this, dont be too cautious The odd gamble pays off (No intentions to elaborate on that)

pq0n1ct4ve8zf5

AcePuppetMaster wrote: »

Electro I would have given you a thumbs up except for this one:

What do you mean by it? (not starting a row just wanted clarification is all)

If you mean don't get too wound up about it, then I agree, but sex shouldn't be carefree if you know what I mean? I'd emphasise the making love part personnally.

Not carefree, you shouldn't feel like you have to jump into bed with everyone that comes along just because "everyone" else is doing it. You should be aware of the risks (physical and emotional) of having sex and especially of having multiple sexual partners/having sex outside of a relationship. But at the same time I do think a lot of people are hung up on this myth of having sex with the "right person" or have a fear or shame about sex-and particularly about losing their virginity-that isn't actually rooted in reality and is more to do with what their parents/teachers/the media tell them.

Basically, sex is no small deal, but it's not the be all and end all, it's not even close to being as important as you think it is before you have it. Don't base your identity around having or not having it, basically.

jumpguy

Fad wrote: »

Learn from my mistakes;

Never forgive, never forget.

Must disagree, if you hold a grudge with everyone that does something bad to you, you're gonna hold a grudge against everyone, and nobody wants to walk around for the rest of their life with a chip on their shoulder. That said, it's important not to get walked over too, and be a fool to please other people.
Why do you say never forgive, never forget?

I'm only 16, but I'd like to say that you should never play dumb. No matter why you think it might work, just don't. Whether it's to fit in with dumber friends, or to flatter someone by making them feel intelligent, don't. If you know something, you do.

Yeah that's a weird one...

Don't feel threatened by the success of others. This is a big one, causes alot of jealousy and stress until you cop on and just accept it. People will do better than you at things, whether it be sport, school, women, and you'll outperform them at things, whether you know it or not. This is the way life is, and you'll just have to try your best.

Don't run yourself down to make someone else feel better.

Fad

jumpguy wrote: »

Must disagree, if you hold a grudge with everyone that does something bad to you, you're gonna hold a grudge against everyone, and nobody wants to walk around for the rest of their life with a chip on their shoulder. That said, it's important not to get walked over too, and be a fool to please other people.
Why do you say never forgive, never forget?

I'm only 16, but I'd like to say that you should never play dumb. No matter why you think it might work, just don't. Whether it's to fit in with dumber friends, or to flatter someone by making them feel intelligent, don't. If you know something, you do.

Yeah that's a weird one...

Don't run yourself down to make someone else feel better.

There are things that people have done to me that I could never ever simply forget about never mind attempt to forgive them.

I dont walk around with a chip on my shoulder, I simply removed them from my life altogether, but people dont change.

I'm not an overly positive person (Very very cynical at times).........

Feeding into the trust thing, I dont want to elaborate on this, it was a horrible situation, and it left me with that out look.

Craguls

jumpguy wrote: »

Must disagree, if you hold a grudge with everyone that does something bad to you, you're gonna hold a grudge against everyone, and nobody wants to walk around for the rest of their life with a chip on their shoulder. That said, it's important not to get walked over too, and be a fool to please other people.
Why do you say never forgive, never forget?

I'm inclined to agree completely with Fad on this one but it's not like you walk around with a chip on your shoulder you're just a tad more cynical than most.

From my own experiences (not elaborating beyond this please don't ask), there are those who would happily torture someone else quieter just to make themselves look good in front of everyone. They don't even care just how badly it hurts the people in question. Sure you can say oh you're the bigger person they're just trying to be cool but it's not much consolation really if they're making life hell for someone.

So in general I'd advise people not to be afraid to sever ties. My teen years probably would've been a lot less dramatic had it not been for a particular individual. Sure I can say I'm happy now but still I feel like an idiot sometimes for just taking the crap I used to put up with

sherdydan

dont give a flying f**k what anyone else thinks or says! those that are worried about what everyone else is doing, obviously have very sad lives themselves!

another one is not to be too proud to associate with certain people just because of what the cool crowd think of them!

and most importantly do not be afraid to make mistakes, its the only way you will learn how to prperly make decisions and the likes!

personally i hated my teenage years (well im still techically in them) from the way i acted, by not folllowing what i thought was right and caring to much about others i had a very hard few years, im fine now though, so dont let that scare ya either! your teenage years are over fairly quickly, and ya can then get on with your real life

phlegms

Don't get caught.

Fad

The person who said this might diminish its impact a little but;

GW wrote:

Be Yourself, Don't Take Anyone's **** And Never Let Them Take You Alive

AcePuppetMaster

Alaia Tart Flashlight wrote: »

Not carefree, you shouldn't feel like you have to jump into bed with everyone that comes along just because "everyone" else is doing it. You should be aware of the risks (physical and emotional) of having sex and especially of having multiple sexual partners/having sex outside of a relationship. But at the same time I do think a lot of people are hung up on this myth of having sex with the "right person" or have a fear or shame about sex-and particularly about losing their virginity-that isn't actually rooted in reality and is more to do with what their parents/teachers/the media tell them.

Basically, sex is no small deal, but it's not the be all and end all, it's not even close to being as important as you think it is before you have it. Don't base your identity around having or not having it, basically.

Two thumbs up so! :D

jumpguy

Craguls wrote: »

From my own experiences (not elaborating beyond this please don't ask), there are those who would happily torture someone else quieter just to make themselves look good in front of everyone. They don't even care just how badly it hurts the people in question. Sure you can say oh you're the bigger person they're just trying to be cool but it's not much consolation really if they're making life hell for someone.

I think everyone knows someone like that in their life. TBH, by forgive and forget, it means if there's genuine change and genuine guilt for their old ways. You don't just randomly forgive and forget after a certain time, if there's no change. That's just making the same mistake twice.

Jay P

Craguls wrote: »

So in general I'd advise people not to be afraid to sever ties. My teen years probably would've been a lot less dramatic had it not been for a particular individual. Sure I can say I'm happy now but still I feel like an idiot sometimes for just taking the crap I used to put up with

I did this going into TY. All of my friends went straight into 5th year, bar one friend who was a year below me, and it's one of the things I regret the most. Along with not staying in touch with my friend that moved to Mulligar and my other friend who went to boarding school. Losing 3 best friends is very difficult, though I didn't realise it at the time.

sherdydan wrote: »

dont give a flying f**k what anyone else thinks or says! those that are worried about what everyone else is doing, obviously have very sad lives themselves!

I wish I had lived by these sentiments when I was a bit younger. I do now, and it's great. It's your opinion that matters, not your "friends". Do things because you want to do them, not for the sake of it or because it's cool. It sounds a bit gay, but just follow your heart. Do exactly what you want to do, even if that means leaving behind all your friends, eg, by going to a different college to them. Things will work out. You'll make new friends.

Drinking and sex are a big deal. Anyone who says otherwise is being naive. But how you react to them is a different story. 14 year olds drinking is beyond madness in fairness. That is too young. 14 year olds having sex is equally beyond madness. Sex should be between two people who actually have feelings for each other, strong feelings.
Never ever let yourself be pressured into drink, sex or drugs.

Also, every teenager needs to play an instrument!


Edit: And wear sunscreen!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=I5NAPZp2w-o

It wasn't me!

Play Music. Read. Write. Be a little bit intellectual.

Be fit, active and play a lot of sports. Work hard and be competitive. It may not be instantly gratifying, but it's the best thing you will ever do for yourself.

Be academically competitive too. It will mean a lot later on.

Learn enormous self-discipline. Learn never to give away everything you're thinking and to deal with things that arise yourself. People don't hang around always, and you need to be self-reliant.

You'll probably find that as things get more and more complicated, you like not having people around sometimes, or you might be keeping a lot of people around to distract yourself from things. Solitude is not a bad thing. Learn to appreciate peace and quiet and how to use it to get things done.

Don't be a dick and never discard people. The idea that people don't change is a complete pile of ****. Just think whether you still think everything the exact same as you did three years ago, whether you treat people the same, whether your political beliefs have changed. People do change, and a lot of people go through weird things in their teens. In a lot of cases, some people you wouldn't have had anything to do with turn out to be very good, strong, decent people. As above, be self-reliant, but don't burn bridges either. Sure you can live alone, but why make things harder than they need to be?

Bottom line is eat right, develop yourself physically and intellectually, be competitive and strong. Learn to appreciate being left alone and not to depend on anyone for anything. Help is always good and to be appreciated, but to need anyone is a mistake and will land you in trouble at some point. Always accept that there's a reasonable chance you're wrong about a given thing and that people can and do change. Don't discard or write off people. They might be the one person you can rely on when you could use a hand down the line.

norwegianwood

Life will be a lot more fun if you don't give a crap about what other people think.
Don't go around thinking you're depressed when you quite clearly are not( I wish I could go back and tell that to my 13 year old self)
Study....it'll stand to you in the end.
Don't let people walk all over you.

whadabouchasir

Don't worry you'll grow out of it.

mink_man

all of the above!

Ginja Ninja

Live life,keep thinking:"It'll be crap,it'll be great but by the end someone somewhere's life will have changed,just by you being in it"

And:"Be excellent to each other"[means a lot,once you think about it]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WVXGC896Jdw

Jay P wrote: »

Edit: And wear sunscreen!

I hate that song ever so much.

Sean7

Learn an art form, learn it well, it doesn't matter if you paint or play a musical instrument, sculpt in stone or take moody black & white photos, whatever it is it will make your life more interesting.
Travel everywhere you get the oppurtunity to go, there is nothing worse missing a trip and wondering if you will ever see that part of the world in your life. In an even broader sense you can apply this to just about anything you wnat to do, if it doesn't kill then why not do it? If it does kill you save it until last.
Screw/Make love to (Delete As Applicable) as many people as you can, as often as you can.You will probably be very bad at it at first but you will improve with practice, the desire to practice also seems to increase with practice. The first time will not be/wasn't (DAA) special, the time you do it with the right person that is something special.
Get a job you really really like, I can not stress this enough. Nothing makes life seems more pointless and dull than a job you dislike. However, if you turn your hobby into your job, make sure you have something else you like to do when you're not working, distractions are always more fun than obligations even if it's something you love.
Explore everything.

There's as much BS as I can spout in one sitting but I think there are some good points in there. Ah hell, do whatever the hell you want, you're teenagers!

phlegms wrote: »

Don't get caught.

I like that. that's probably the best advice you'll get.

cocoa

this is one thing that's stuck with me from a very young age, and it works for me... No regrets, which means two things. Don't do anything you think you'll regret and don't regret anything you did.

Jackobyte

Arcade Panda wrote: »

don't be afraid to be who you are,carve your own path, don't take life too seriously, don't be afraid to be "uncool", grab life by the balls and follow your dreams, never put yourself down(this allows other people to walk all over you), however don't be cocky(so unattractive).

work hard...play harder:D

never be afraid

Carpe Diem

Like the Horace quote. Seize the day!

bluejay14

"Hold your own, know your name and go your own way" - thw lyrics of a song that I can't remember the name of right now but anyway.Basiclly, like everyone else is saying be true to yourself, don't get so lost in someone else that you don't know who you are anymore and don't be afraid to be independent and go against the tide of everyone else.



Oh and as Johnston, Mooney and O'Brian said - "Live life, Love Bread":D:D

A Neurotic

Don't try and fit in. Most people are stupid. You don't want to be just like them.

Bobalicious93

Go to the pound shop and buy yourself a bottle of Cop On...

(can't remember where I heard that but it's genius )