i just turned 18 today
if you could tell 18 year old you something what would you say
>tfw applying to colleges and don't have a real concrete idea of what i want to do
>tfw popular kid and able to hold myself in conversation but i dont identify with any of the people around me at all on a real level voluntarily spend whatever chance I can alone
>feel like im living a lie with different personalities 24/7
>just blend in whatever group of people i'm with seamlessly
>just applying to college some of my closer friends already went of to (best college in state though so i have no idea)
>skipped out on homecoming, feel fine
>don't really want to date any of these people anyway
>spent my birthday eating out of a peanut butter jar
Try to get into classes you need as early as possible, beg if you have to because down the line you are gonna get fucked for a whole year.
I'm 23 almost 24
Literally the two most important things I found out - and wished I found out sooner - are as follows:
L I F T
I
F
T
and
R E A D
E
A
D
I'm not going to tell you why because you already know why. Just do them.
>>16457023
I'm 20 and failing half of my classes.
If I could talk to my 18 year old self, I would say "FOCUS ON SCHOOL YOU DUMBSHIT! FUCK EVERYONE ELSE! YOU'RE NOT STUPID YOU'RE JUST A LITTLE BITCH!"
And then I would slap and shake myself until I got the point.
No seriously, focus on your schooling. Everyone and everything else is entirely irrelevant. Get organized, study and make sure that you are getting the most out of the money put into your schooling. It's extremely important.
Furthermore, get a hobby (even if this is against what I said). Read more, stop visiting this shithole, get rid of your television, start running, wake up early and go to sleep early. Drink more water. Do your homework and keep your word. Actually do what you say and stick to it.
Also (and this is just for me), just come out already. God damn. No one cares. You've spent too many years being depressed about it. For no reason. Stop. It's pathetic. You're better than that.
>>16457023
holy shit op are you me?
21y/o computer engineer here, your chameleon skill is a deadly asset, you have nothing to worry about ;)
>STUDY FOR GOD'S SAKE
The amount of exams I would have made an A on is fucking ridiculous if I would have just studied for them the day before, instead of three hours before.
It doesn't matter if you don't have a concrete idea of what you want to do; as long as you're reasonably confident that what you intend to do requires an associate's degree or higher (likely), don't slack on that school.
Your first jaunt in college is going to be taking down relatively easy general education courses anyway. Unless you're very keen on getting "the proper college experience" sort of thing, strongly consider a community college for your first year. From my experience, gen-ed courses in community colleges aren't going to be of lesser quality compared to larger schools, and it'll be far cheaper.
If you're an affable person, as I get the perception you are, that will serve you well. If you're fortunate enough to be that motherfucker that people have a hard time disliking, or if you've somehow developed this sort of skill, things will be a bit easier for you. I can understand it feeling as though you're living a lie at times. But it is perfectly reasonable to act differently around different people. Certain folks expect you to act a certain way; but more than that, they feel more comfortable and are otherwise positively affected by you acting a certain way. For example, although I am not a proper Christian, I have done a good bit volunteer work with my local church for ages now. All of the lovely people I volunteer with are under the impression that I'm a very good Christian. After all, why would the nice young man that always comes and helps out at the christian charity be anything other than a good Christian himself?
Well, it comforts them, that perceived knowledge they have about my religious identity. I'll do my best not to blatantly lie about it, for religious sorts of reasons (how funny!), but I will absolutely give out small sorts of indications that they are correct in the assumption I'm Christian. Does this make sense?
This small deception does not at all hurt these people; the very nature of it is opposed to that. I do it to help them!
Exercise and improve your diet, bit by bit.
The health impact is significant and the psychological benefits are immense, I have overcome chronic depression by doing moderate workouts and cutting 80% junk food. If I had always lived like this I would've done way better in university, socially, and at my career.
>>16457681
Basically, I'm trying to say there ain't no shame in having different personas among different people- as long as you're not significantly detrimenting any other folks. So don't sweat that shit. That sort of skill really will be a great boon to you. I think I'm blessed to have it as well. Be grateful; it isn't a curse!
>>16457023
Find a direction in life and follow it. Do something you enjoy and can make money doing it. Don't smoke weed do drugs, drink too much or think that opportunities in life are limitless.
>>16457023
>18
>applying to college
Underageb8 please
Let's see, I would say (now 11 years later):
>don't start chugging beers all day in your room regardless of how depressed you are. You'll just gain weight and won't fix anything.
>make a bigger effort to get out and spend time with people and introduce yourself to strangers. Keep your door open. You can do this, you know you get along well with people.
>go. To. Fucking. Class. Seriously, as long as you go, you won't have to study, and the couple of hours out of your day are going to pale in comparison to how much you're expected to work out of college.
>stay in Journalism and don't switch to anything with a plan of going into marketing. You'll be miserable.
>get an internship. The $30 per shift you make in retail is nowhere near as valuable as real world application of the industry you want to be in.
>do not chase Elysia, stop immediately. Right out of college she has two kids and gets horrifically fat. If there's anything you've ever done right, it was dodging that bullet.
Cheers.
>>16457023
>if you could tell 18 year old you something what would you say
It doesn't get any better, just blow your money on drugs and shoot yourself.
>>16457023
Well, what I would have told my 18 year old self probably isn't good advice for you, since it seems we are very different people.
I would have told myself to BE SOCIABLE. To quit wasting so much fucking time at the computer (even if I was learning about potentially useful shit) and go out, meet people and learn to socialize. I've now seen just how important this is in all aspects of life and how much harder it is to learn social skills once you get older.
Also I would have told myself to focus at least the minimum I need to not fail any classes and not lose any more time at college. That could have not been so bad if I was socially active and actually enjoying college, but this is not the case.
But, to make up for my social retardation, I'm very intelligent and probably will have a easy time finding a decent job even if I didn't went to college and I have a good family which can support my until I'm 24.
So my actual advice would be: improve what you know you are lacking. In my case I'm severely lacking social skills, friends, girlfriends and 'enjoying life while you are young' in general, but I know I wont have huge problems finding a decent job and keeping up a mediocre life later on.
And be proud of you skills to easy blend in with people, make them like you and make friends. It is probably the most useful skill someone can have.
>>16458619
This.
>>16457023
I'll be as honest as I possibly can:
If you are all of the following:
1. Smart
2. Able to work hard
3. Inclined towards any sort of engineering / technical discipline
DO NOT FUCKING GO TO COLLEGE
Colleges do not effectively impart education. Furthermore, degrees are entry-level tickets for the sorts of jobs that you do not want. A college degree is a ticket to a mindless job of corporate work, where you have zero control over what you do on a day to day basis, but you also don't have the time to develop enough skills to leave. It's a fucking trap.
So I am begging you here, please listen: if you want to have a genuinely satisfying career where you get to work on the truly interesting, cutting edge stuff and have control over your life, DO NOT GO TO FUCKING COLLEGE.
INSTEAD: spend the next four years learning as much as you can in your field, getting involved in as many communities as you can, completing projects and building your portfolio. Learn what the cutting edge areas are and become an expert in them. Talk with people. Write a blog. Build your reputation. Build your own education and don't rely on anybody else.
Source: I spent six years in college and now I work for one. It sucks and I am trying my damndest to escape. Don't make the same mistakes I did.
At the age of 27, my friends who dropped out of college are still doing better than me, who finnished up my shit and got an M.Sc in Engineering.
We'll see when it will start to make a difference, but im suspecting it will take another 10 years atleast.
>>16458865
Getting a research position is very hard without a degree and is probably the best career choice to work on "truly interesting, cutting edge stuff"
>>16457023
if I could tell 18y/o me something, it'd be this
>go into a profession you enjoy that will also pay bills. If you hate what you do, it doesn't matter how much you make
>find a school that you can afford. once you have a job it doesn't matter if you were Ivy league, trade school, or community college
>focus on school, if you are a full time student that is your job
>no matter how stressful your life is, you can always find time to grab a beer with your friends
>eat well and take care of yourself. just because you can eat crap and be lazy doesn't mean you should
>if you get into a sketchy situation, get the fuck out. your future is not worth some shit weed or a quick fuck
>you don't have to be buddies with your roommate, you just have to live with them
>invest some time into your hobbies. don't be a fuck that goes to work and goes home
>if you have to act differently in a group of people than you would with your best friend, they're not your friends
>find an older person to be your mentor. they can offer some wisdom that is far beyond your years. it could be a boss, your family members, or someone you see frequently
>>16458938
>your future is not worth some shit weed or a quick fuck
This dude in the picture has smoked lots of weed in his days. I have the deepest respect for him and so does the univiersites who gave him honorrary doctorates all over the world.
Smoking weed is certainly not going to destroy your future more than it makes you become a neckberad.
The biggest problem with most people is that they are to concious of what others think, to a point that they won't let themsleves live or even try things.
only thing I'd like to tell my younger self would be to get into sword fencing earlier cause it's fucking awesome and if I had done that I probably wouldn't have gotten fat in the first place.
I mean, I lost like 30 pounds since my high point, but my body looks kinda fucked up still.
Other than that it's all good now.
>>16458963
>Smoking weed is certainly not going to make you become a neckberad.
>posts picture of a neckbear
one job anon
one job
>>16458987
Not OP, but my college has a fencing club,
should i join it?
>>16458991
You seriosly belive that smoking weed makes you become a neckbeard?
God, you're stupid.
>>16457023
always do your research before making any major decisions. especially if it involves spending large sums of money.
do not idealize women. do not chase women. do not pander to women. do not spend significant amounts of money on women. and wear a condom. every. damn. time. no exceptions.
>>16458996
I fucking love it. It's the first kind of physical exercise I can to for 8 hours a day and not get tired of it. Usually I'm disappointed because others want to stop practising while I still can go on.
I mean, you're learning how to fight with a sword in real life, how fucking cool is that?
Unless you mean like sports fencing or some lame ass shit, do skip that.
>>16459028
Sports fencing?
>>16459043
like Olympic fencing
that shit is pretty boring in my opinion
