First off, I’d teach my teenage self to feel a pang of sympathy for the upperclassmen who pushed me into lockers between classes, since they may have already reached the zenith of their lifelong influence and notoriety.
As great an experience as college was, I might tell myself to look into a trade– maybe electrician– and forego the four years of higher education that was part and parcel of post-high school planning at the time. Maybe I would have gone to Vo-Tech, so I could study meteorology, if that was something offered. Maybe I would have ended up in college anyway, but better focused and more purposeful.
I’d tell myself to pay closer attention to and take to heart anyone who said to study hard, pay attention to the classes I take and whatever curriculum options might have been available at the time. I’d take my finances seriously! Maybe I would have studied the stock market more closely, learned how to invest and take calculated risks, buy some land as an investment, develop a certain financial acumen.
I would have insisted on guitar lessons. I’d have focused more intently on physical fitness, to the point of developing some lifelong habits. I’d have eaten better. I’d have listened more closely to the stories my elders were telling. I’d have told myself to learn as many words as possible, and how to use them to make a point and convey meaning.
Knowing what I know now, I’d tell myself to take certain things and people more seriously, to appreciate them in real time. I was a bit aimless, and still am.
3 Cents' 