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Advice You Would Give to Your 12 Year-Old Self?
urbazewski asks: "If you could send a message back to your nerdy
unpopular 12 year old self, what would you say? I've been asking this one for several years, and the replies sound suspiciously like the lame advice I got from adults at that age ('just be yourself, dear'). The most creative answer was from an American-born Buddhist monk, who didn't think his 12 year old self would
listen to a message along the lines of 'Hey, what you're doing is kind of making things suck for me right now' --- he would send
a message to himself by adding extra lyrics to a song he really liked when he was in junior high school. I got the best replies from a large class at
UC Santa Cruz. The modal answer was 'Buy Microsoft.' About 7% of the class said 'Enjoy yourself in high school because college is really hard.' Another 7% said "Study harder in high school because college is really hard.' (The
best variant on that theme: 'Try to figure out what "studying" is'). In the hindsight-is-20/20 dept. there was a girl who said 'Do not date the
following people...' and then listed six names and a guy who said 'You know how you're thinking about trying to drive your dad's car? Don't!.' My personal favorite: 'You're a dork now, but don't worry, you'll be cool when
you're in college.'"
Drugs are bad...mmmkay
Oh god, the itching, the itching!
register slashdot.org
"You know what, just forget it, you won't listen to anything i say anyway..."
Don't post so much lame stuff on /.
Yeah, that's right, kill yourself, you heard me.
I want to find out if a fundamental paradox really causes the universe to end! I mean, suicide is not my bag, but if I had the chance to take all of you with me...
It Is the Nature of Information to Transgress Artificial Boundaries
Train your left hand for next year.
Don't let Christy Wilson go :)
Religion is a gateway psychosis. -- Dave Foley
Two bits of advice:
1) Don't go to college until you're ready to study hard, because if you don't study hard at undergrad, other options are not as easily accessible to you in the future. (Graduate school, doctoral study, etc...)
2) Play sports. If you're any good, it'll get you laid, and no matter what will make you a well-rounded person who can fight like hell for something, but accept defeat if you must.
Who did what now?
Never turn down a chance to get laid.
Oh, and buy Cisco stock in 1998 and sell it in Jan 2000.
Period.
Karma: The shiznight, mostly because I am the Drizzle.
"Self, in 4 years you're going to meet a really nice girl at a party. This time guy some fucking condoms!"
Trolling is a art,
never visit slashdot.org... hardest addiction to break
don't waste your time reading slashdot; do something useful instead.
don't pass up the best years of your life. get laid, over and over and over again. there will be time enough for slashdot/computers/programming when you're older and impotent.
err, wait, not that this has happened to me....
We're like rats, in some experiment! -- George Costanza
Start saving. Now. Put 15-20% of every penny your earn in the bank (or IRA, or other investments). You'll be debt free and have enough to retire on by the time you're 45.
Sadly, I don't have a time machine, so I'm on the "work until I'm 65" route.
-S
--- What parts of "shall make no law", "shall not be infringed", and "shall not be violated" don't you understand?
if anybody even looks at you crosseyed, stick a knife in them right away, or word will get around that you're a patsy and it will take you a whole lifetime to live it down.
You're dumb, but that shouldn't be too surprising since you're 12. When you get the chance to enter a running start program as a sophomore, do it. With high school comes stupid heartache, and an early exit will save you lots of heartache.
But, in order to accomplish that, you must ignore your evil best friend, Adam. He will bring you Warcraft II, which will consume an inordinate amount of your time and eventually lead you to Diablo and Starcraft. Which is like heroin to you.
In summary: Get away from high school and addictive Blizzard products.
Never, ever, ever click a goatse.cx link. That image will forever be burned on my retina...shudder....
... you insensitive clod!
"Just do it. You know the smart thing to do and say, don't hold back."
and: "Next Thursdays winning lotto numbers are:..."
-Matt
--- Need web hosting?
science is a religion
Dear 12 year old me,
Someday your mom is gonna want to "get rid of some of your old junk" by which she means baseball cards, your first gen Transformers, and probably those really nice old school metal Tonka trucks. Do NOT let her!
Thanks,
your 24 year old self
do not read this line twice.
Oh, and I'd probably tell myself to go on that bike ride with katie, she might be a bit wierd but she's also damn hot, and that kind of thing doesn't happen as often as TV makes you think it will.
Dear Self: You know all those things that you're hiding from your parents (report cards, alcohol, drugs, women) so they won't find out? Well, they already know. Have a good day!
"This food is problematic."
1. Get in shape - I started lifting weights too late in life and ended up hurting myself.
2. Invest in Intel, Microsoft, Apple and Cisco - 100 bucks in each company
3. Learn spanish
4. When you have that desire to drive 120 mph out on Highway 212 - don't, there might be a South Dakota Highway Patrolman there in the dark
5. Take more math classes
6. Take more automotive, welding and shop classes
7. Work to get out of high school in 3 years.
8. Girls come and go, don't get to wound up in a 17 year old chick
9. Don't buy a bunch of tapes or CDs now, Napster will come along someday
"Skip the computers -- play some football or something. And start chasing the girls *now*."
-b
If I wanted a sig I would have filled in that stupid box.
In all honesty, that's what I'd say. Rather shallow, I know.
Hakunamatata....It doesn't matter, it's in the past.
I am who I am today because of the trials and tribulations of "growing up." To make any changes to that would result in a completly different person.
I needed to be a nerd in High School to learn self pride and relaince...I needed to get my heart broken once in college to learn my alcohol tolerances.. After that you pick up your pieces and move on to bigger and better things.
--Should work--
1: Stay away from the girl up the street, she really is a tramp.
2: Smoke more pot... or is that less
3: Dont invest in Enron or Worldcom.
Seriously, nothing. I didnt make bad choices nor do I regret anything Ive done (except maybe item number 1). Without the life experiences Ive had, I wouldnt be where I am today, which is to say maybe not all that wealthy, but definitly happy. Now if I could give all my knowledge to my 12 year old self it would be a different story...
You shouldn't worry about what you could have done differently in the past. If you could send yourself a message and actually change something, there would be a whole new branch of problem and mistakes that you would most likely want to change again, and again... and again.
If you don't like something about yourself, don't fret over it. Change it starting now.
Then I would say the people who were popular at high school weren't actually investing in a skill... And that it didn't matter if I sucked at something when I was 12, the fact that I would start that early would make me phenomenal by the time I was 18 (I distincly remember thinking I couldn't start playing guitar at 15 because I thought I was too old -- WHATEVER).
Apart from that, any advice I'd have to give would be useless (regarding work and girls) because I really think I needed to go through all of that shit for myself - in any case, my father already told me what I would say now.
Spend some of that money you're saving for college and do Spring Break right when you're a freshman or sophmore. You'll never get another chance.
Or go to Europe right out of school. Screw that idea of a job right away. They can wait a couple months.
Design for Use, not Construction!
1. Most importantly, you are not always right, contrary to how you feel about most things. Make sure you research things thoroughly before you start to tell other people what you believe is right. There are many arguments you'll win and lose that you'll look back at and smack yourself for being such a wiseass, especially since you were completely wrong.
2. Girls are not worth your time. They are fun while you have them but man you regret it when they are gone. Plus, after you have one, you're hooked.
3. Go to Victoria School of Visual and Performing Arts as soon as you can. You'll be very happy there.
4. Don't drop piano lessons. You'll regret it when all of your friends are cool pianists and you are just starting again.
5. Listen to your father, play cards more often with your father, go out and play sports more with your father. When you leave for university, you'll really miss the few good times you did have with him.
6. Save your money. Don't buy stuff on a whim, make sure you want it first. There are lots of stuff you'll think is cool to own, but later on you'll kick yourself for spending so much on it.
7. Star Trek is not as cool as you think it is.
8. Be nice to your sisters, especially Peggy. You may not approve of her ways, but you can learn a lot from her.
9. Get rid of your damn huge glasses, and get smaller ones or contacts.
10. Stop watching TV, if need be, just use the computer. Full House isn't that good of a series.
11. Exercise more, or do more physical activity. It's worth it.
12. Get involved in the community more. At Vic, get involved in the arts scene more. You'll miss it when you are gone.
That should be enough I think.
But most importantly.
13. Don't fight all the time. You are not right 100% of the time, and it's not worth the stress of the arguments and the loss of friendships when you fight.
That's about it. Plus, you know the usual. Invest in Microsoft, etc.
~ kjrose
Because all adults will tell you is what they wished _they_ had done.
An Eye for an Eye will make the whole world blind - Gandhi
Screw microsoft stock... I'd just tell my 12yr old self who won the major sporting events for the following few years... Money would compound exponentially... Oh.. possibly throw out the idea of patenting anything and everything related to "one click"...
Given that, at 12, I was entering that period of life where I would do pretty much exactly the opposite of what anyone advised:
1. Don't take algebra, there's no practical use for that stuff.
2. Do all the cocaine you can get your hands on. The eighties will be much more fun that way...
3. Rush out and get laid by the first girl who will do it.
That's a pretty good start...
Trouble making decisions? Just flip for it.
In the future, you are going to write to your nerdy, unpopular self.
In the meantime, think of something witty, cuz this sucks!
Later!
"This food is problematic."
...because in about 10 years, you're going to be incredibly disappointed.
Don't spend so much time worrying about and planning for the future--no matter how smart you think you are at 12, or 16, or 20, your plans never work out the way you expect them to--you can only control yourself--not the world around you.
Within reason, enjoy the present, make sensible decisions, and enjoy the time you have, since in the future, you'll look back and wish you had.
sig--we don't need no goddamn sig
Play the following lottery number in the powerball on the following date: (list would go here)
I don't need no instructions to know how to rock!!!!
--sex
Very popular slashdot journal for adul
(actually, this is to my 16-year-old self)
... that I really would go blind if I kept doing *that*.
"Sex isn't a reason to live, just the reason you're alive."
Learn kung fu early..
Have more sex.. girls are not as easy after highschool..
Drop out of highschool..
ignore college..
start a dot com..
sell all your stock in 1999..
never listen to your parents.. what the fsck do they know..
At what price learning? At what cost wisdom? The price is a man's peace of mind, and the cost is his life.
Remember the bell curve and where you are on it. That's why most people will not know what the hell you're talking about, and that's why you should cherish the people who do.
-- Fratz, human
In many ways 12 is too young - the best advice in the world is worthless if you don't have the ability to do anything about it.
But a few years later, I have some advice that I would give to my younger self - and that I'm still trying to follow past 40:
1. it's far better to regret things that you've done than things that you didn't risk. (Okay, maybe this isn't the best advice for a teenager...)
2. your PE teacher is an idiot, but time spent on physical fitness is not wasted. Get to the gym. Lift weights. Run. You'll get back the time spent today in increased productivity for years to come.
For every complex problem there is an answer that is clear, simple, and wrong. -- H L Mencken
..."Stop masturbating so much. My eyesight is terrible 10 years from now.."
why run from Vincenzo?
I'd say, "Don't worry about getting shot down by girls. You'll never be able to have sex with high school girls again without serious legal consequences. Go for it. Time spent not having sex is time wasted."
Aside from that... life became excellent for me, starting exactly at the end of seventh grade. So I turned things around for myself at the age of 12. It just took the beginnings of some self confidence.
There are no trails. There are no trees out here.
FYI: Inflammable means flammable...
Im 30, i have a 15 year old neice. Im her uncle whos a bad influence. She has a very chauvanitsic dad, and an old fashoned mom who goes along with it. SO my sister and I have taken to buying her science related presents, advising her on how to start drinking in college, I taught her how to sharpen a knife properly for the girl scouts, and have basically told her all the stuff that i wish i had known at 15. Sex hasnt come up yet, but she hasnt asked.
All Troll + "offtopic" mods are meta moderated as "Unfair", because you abused the system.
Aaah, if only your parents had that piece of advice.
It gets better.
This sig is not the Zahir. Lucky for you.
Not programming languages, but real (verbal/written) langugaes.. .. I've been struggling learning French, Japanese and German over the past 6 years, and wishing I had started at an earlier age..
Go to the top of the WTC on September 9, 2001. LEAVE NEW YORK THE NEXT DAY.
s''$/=\2048;while(<>){G=29;R=142;if((@a=unqT="C*", _)[20]&48){D=89;_=unqb24,qT,@2 5,_;H=73;O=$b[4]<<9& (Q>>12^Q>>4^Q/8^Q))<<17,O=O>>8^(E&(F=(S=O>>14&7^O) T ,"\xb\ntd\xbz\x14d")[_/16%8]);EG ^=12*(U-2?0:S&17)),H^=_%64?12:0,@z)[_%8]}(16..271) )[_]^((D>>=8T ,@a}';s/[D-HO-U_]/\$$&/g;s/q/pack+/g;eval
b=map{ord qB8,unqb8,qT,_^$a[--D]}@INC;s/...$/1$&/;Q=unqV,qb
|256|$b[3];Q=Q>>8^(P=(E=255)
^S*8^S<<6))<<9,_=(map{U=_%16orE^=R^=110&(S=(unq
^=(72,@z=(64,72,
)+=P+(~F&E))for@a[128..$#a]}print+q
Considering how much time I spent playing games in my youth and how much school I skipped as a result, I'd probably tell my 12 year old self this...
"You're going to lose the Quake match that you skipped your High School graduation dance to play in, and you're going to feel like a big dork for doing so. Go to the dance dumbass."
Twenty-five years from now, when you post on slashdot, read the whole article rather then responding to the title, so you don't look like a putz, responding with a "joke" that's in the article itself.
The cake is a pie
Psudo-serious: "Do not go out with that girl your senior year in HS! She will ruin the next ten years for you WRT women."
Totally-serious: "Tell your dad you love him more often and spend more time with him. You will not have him around as long as you think."
--
If I actually could spell I'd have spelled it right in the first place.
I've learned that any embaressment incurred in Jr. High and High School don't really matter later on. So take the chance when you are afraid of being embaressed, in the long run you only have something to gain.
"Not knowing when the dawn will come, I open every door." - Emily Dickinson
1) The nerdy girl in your morning science class is going to be beautiful at 22 when you run into her in college. The hot little girl in your homeroom will be neither.
2) Don't, don't, don't think it'll be a good idea to use the dog clippers to trim the top of your head. You'll miss and need to make up some excuse that you were checking for 666.
3) Don't use silicone spray to lubricate the lawnmower. The gases are very flammable and you'll singe your lungs.
4) Have absolutely no moral dillemma about having fun with your girlfriend's hot little friend. Your girlfriend will dump you a week later for the SWAT sergeant.
5) Late at night, when everything is dark, do not blindly drink from the 1/2 gallon plastic jug in the back of the fridge. It will *look* like lemonade, but....
6) Have fun. Have lots of fun. Take lots of classes, even ones you don't need.
I really think I'd just tease my 12 year old self who'd be sitting there playing NES, with fantastic tales of the Gamecube and PS2, and then disappear into the night.
(Modified my original post)
Trolls lurk everywhere. Mod them down.
Our society's glamorization of high school is sickening to me. All these movies and tv shows portray high school as the apex of one's life. This is simply a lie. If high school is the highlight of your life then something is very very sad and/or wrong.
Other than that I wouldn't tell myself too much. It would ruin the surprises. I certainly wouldn't tell myself who I was going to marry for instance. In fact doing so would probably prevent it from happening.
Lasers Controlled Games!
dear 12 year old self: just let it die
intellectual property law is philosophically incoherent. it is your moral duty to ignore it or sabotage it
Big Mark to Little Mark: "Last week's winning lottery number are . . . "
track7.org has all kinds of interesting stuff!
and introduce him to girls and beer in high school. He'll never get anything done.
How about: "Hey self, stop smoking so much dope. Your memory will be shot by the time you're 18"
Beauty is in the eye of the beerholder.
Buy AT&T stock
Patent Gui interface, operating system for personal computer, graphical interface assembled from text tags, one-click shopping, auction over a network, business over a network, sound and video over a network and then don't enforce them, saying the world is free to do with these as they please.
Don't spend so much time reading slashdot.
Get a summer job in a national park, to meet girls!
Spend at least a year travelling overseas.
Read Watership Down every spring.
Do not trade in your vinyl records for CDs
Set a doctor appointment on June 19th, 1986
Don't stress it, you'll survive.
Invest in a better bicycle.
Spend more time in the glow of the sun and moon, less in the glow of a CRT
A feeling of having made the same mistake before: Deja Foobar
"Read the book, Body For Life ASAP, and eat tons of protein.. In 6 years you'll be the star quarterback of the football team, instead of spending study hall crying in the bathroom."
I would tell your 12-year old self to quickly learn the amazing control you can exert over geeks by providing them with p0rn.
Random is the New Order.
1. Your dad is not a dope. Tell him that what you want more than anything in the world is to be able to spend more time with him. He will be dead before you are thirty and it will be too late.
2. You're not as smart as you think you are. Coasting through jr high/high school will make college a LOT harder. Learn how to learn now because you will need those skills the rest of your life, and largely your ability to earn a living is directly correlated to assimilation of technical information and people skills.
3. Most importantly, being a Christian is NOT about going to church or getting a "get out of hell free card." Jesus Christ wants you to serve Him with all of your heart, soul, mind, and strength.
Your current approach of "how much can I get away with and still go to heaven" doesn't work now, and won't work for the rest of your life.
Peace, contentment, and real/deep/meaningful relationships are found when your greatest desire is to please God and serve Him.
But Herr Heisenberg, how does the electron know when I'm looking?
I would tell myself to not register slashdot.org as doing so would mean there is no slashdot to ask this question and thus I couldn't have made the initial change thus causing a paradox.
Oh... and stay away from the airport ( especially the guy with the blonde wig and sunglasses )
2. Sleep with everything that moves, knowing that as you make more money, the women get prettier. If you dont like the girls who like you, make more money!
3. STUDY! STUDY! STUDY! STUDY! STUDY! STUDY! STUDY! STUDY! STUDY! STUDY! STUDY! STUDY! STUDY! STUDY! STUDY! STUDY! STUDY! STUDY! STUDY! STUDY! STUDY!
4. Under no circumstances ever consider marriage unless you reach 30 and make less than 150K a year. If you are younger and/or make more, your options for trim are too good to settle for just one chick regardless of what you look like.
5. Dont buy a Mac.
6. Just because you will love Java, doesn't mean you can ever do anything productive with it. Stick with C++ and dont be afraid of garbage collection and pointers.
7. Everyone you think is cool, will be washing your car, turning down your hotel bed, and bringing you meals in 20 years, if you refuse to be like them now.
8. Those big tits you love so much right now, will be hanging around her navel in 25 years. Learn to like the flat girls.
9. Once you make decent money, you will forget all that crap about the environment, compassion and helping others, so why waste your time now?
10. Everyone does it, anyone who says they dont is lying.
What would your future self (10 years from now) want to tell you? I'd wager that it boils down to what you would tell your 12 year-old self.
Have more fun be Happy! Be positive!
Be proactive and make things happen.
Make lots of Friends.
Go on adventures so you can tell cool stories.
Do what you love! It's not worth it to do anything else.
Take care of your body.
People expect to much of a year and not enough from a decade. - Neil Armstrong
Hey, you know all those girls who think they're hot shit right now? in four years, they'll all be skanky sluts who still think they're hot shit--treat them like the skanks they are and they'll be putty in your hands. They'll stay that way until they're about 25. Then you can be nice to girls again.
1. Buy lots of stock in Qualcomm in 1999 for $50/share and sell it all in 2000 for $600/share.
2. Don't have sex with the weird chick with the really short hair.
3. DO have sex with the blonde that drives an Audi
4. Learn to do calculus before the calc midterm.
5. Don't drive through a certain intersection on May 4th 2001.
6. Get in lots of trouble with the cops before you turn 18 so that it stays on your juvenile record. Remember kids - after 18, it stays on your rap sheet for life.
I'd rather be a conservative nutjob than a liberal with no nuts and no job.
"Put 15-20% of every penny your earn in the bank"
Maybe so you you don't have to shave/cut your pennies and nickels, you could put 15-20% of every dollar you earn in the bank. I'd hate to deal with all those pennies...
You should SUE girl A for not breaking up with you sooner!
the preceding comment is my own and in no way reflects the opinion of the Joint Chiefs of Staff
goatse.cx .. Please young version of me, register that domain and save me from having an image imprinted on my mind forever.
I was so uncool when I was twelve, if I could go back in time I'd probably beat myself up...
Statistically speaking, there's a 99.998% chance that my IQ is higher than yours. Get over it.
To which 12yr old me would say:
What the hell does register mean, and what is slashdot.org?
33yroldme: It is a website
12yroldme: What the hell is a website?
33yroldme: You know the internet.
12yroldme: What the hell is the internet?
33yroldme: A bunch of computers hooked up together to share information.
12yroldme: What the hell is a computer?
33yroldme: You know, a personal computer.
12yroldme: No, I have no idea what you are talking about.
33yroldme: It is a screen, like a TV, and you can do all kinds of things on it, like playing games.
12yroldme: Oh, in your house, like an Atari?
33yroldme: Yeah, sort of, but they are all over the world too.
12yroldme: Oh, you mean in the arcade like a Pac-Man machine? And that new game, Pole Position? That game is cool. It is so realistic! Or Joust, that game is fun because two people can play at once. I have only played it a couple of times because it is brand new. There is always a line for it.
33yroldme: Dude, nevermind. Have fun.
My beliefs do not require that you agree with them.
I would tell myself not to look at $$$$$exyGal's journal at work!
Geez, that could have gotten me fired.
What do you think you'd like your future self to tell you now?
Unable to read configuration file '/bigassraid/htdig//conf/14229.conf'
Geocrawler error message.
Hey asshead, this guy was 12 in 1982. The only people who had computers in 82 were rich geeky college kids and big companies. Just because you were 12 in 1998 doesn't mean everyone was.
-B
Well, they're going to college too, on sports "scholarships". Get used to the idea now and when you get there you can skip the disappointment phase and enjoy your freshman year a lot more.
If you do that you'll discover that college professors ( at least the good ones) aren't authority figures. They're actually *teachers,* and are quite willing to be your friend as well. Even when things get rocky. Find the good ones and cultivate them.
You aren't really socially inept. You've matured early. This puts you about 20 to 30 years ahead of the curve. When you hit 40 or so people will suddenly think you're "cool" not because of any change in you, but because they've finally caught up. So don't sweat not fitting in with people who are, essentially, still savages.
KFG
send a message to yourself in the past by the time you reach a certain age (i.e. 24).
In 10 years you're going to graduate from college. Assuming that you still pretty much refuse to practice the oboe, you're gonna be a CS Engineer.
Do yourself a favor. It's 1997. Put off grad school, and move to California for two years. Maybe three.
Then go to grad school, but skip the Ph.D, and get your Masters. You're going to wind up bailing anyway.
Take the time to read. It's well worth the effort.
Stop by my site where I write about ERP systems & more
Aside from the lottery numbers, I'd probably say
I know you're hungry, I know you're drunk, and I know it smells appetising, but seriously, you don't want to eat the cat food... Oh, and go drag your buddy back inside, he wandered out into the street and passed out while you were MICROWAVING A BOWL OF CAT FOOD.
Come to think of it, can I give me a slap too?
Learn to love who you are.
If you are comfortable with yourself then you can be comfortable with other people.
Treat yourself and others with respect.
If you are comfortable with other people they will realize that you have it together and they will treat you with respect. People pick up easily on how others expect them to act... if you expect people to treat you with respect, chances are they will.
Those that lose your respect, ignore. Not in the sense that you pretend they don't exist, just don't waste energy dealing with them. You have much better things to do with your time than be mad at other people. It usually doesn't accomplish anything except to raise your blood pressure and give you ulcers and heart attacks.
Angry people are too focused on what is wrong and miss out on many things that are good. Don't be angry. If you need to work out some agression then get some exercise and think happy thoughts.
If you make someones day better there is a good chance that they will make somebody elses day better and the world will get better bit by bit. If you go around making other people's days worse then eventually the whole world will be filled with angry people.
One person can make a difference.
42 - So long and thanks for all the fish.
....Because you can ruin them before you even knew what happened. And pester your parents to get you braces now, no matter how much you think they will hurt.
Also....dont try to be cool. Dont change yourself to impress other people...
I lost my concept of community when my community lost all concept of me.
As opposed to what other kind of condom?
Stop by my site where I write about ERP systems & more
.. because he wouldn't hear it over the Nintendo.
.. because he thought he knew everything anyway.
.. because I don't remember what I had for lunch yesterday, forget what some creepy dude told me while I was trying to peek down girls' shirts.
Never underestimate the power of stupid people in large groups... especially in Washington.
I know its easy to go the "+1 Funny" route here and tell everyone to get ready to jerk off a lot and buy stock in [some company that will explode with profits], but after thinking about this for awhile, I've deduced my advice to a sentence:
Don't take shit.
My life from 12-17 generally consisted of me putting up with bullying, putting up with being put down, putting up with people who had no business trying to tell me what to do, and even when they had that right, they did it all the wrong way. A little standing up for yourself goes a long way.
What would I tell myself? When that bully picks on you, punch him in the face as hard as you can. Go Ender on him--don't stop until they pull you off of him. I guarantee that he'll never try it again, yet this amazing fact eluded me, and I just assumed that no matter what I did, and that included fighting back, that I would be stuck in my little hole of miserableness forever.
Don't let your boss walk all over you. When I entered the "corporate world," also known as the Full Time Job, my little "Computer Operator" job got me nothing but headaches and more miserableness. Just when I thought I had escaped the clutches of bullies and put downs, here comes Office Politics to screw it all up again. Suddenly my boss would take credit for all my work and leave me hung out to dry when I made a mistake, holding myself up to the whole place as an example of How To Screw Up Rightly. The more I think about it, the more it hurts in the futility of it all.
Did I ever finally grow some gumption and let it fly? Sure. But it was far too late. The damage had been done, and this fantastic article rang so true my ears are still ringing. I told off my old boss, let the higher ups know what was going on, and moved on to greener pastures. I settled down, found a wonderful wife and now have a gorgeous 8 month old daughter who I value more than my own life. And I'll be sure to let her know, when she turns 12, that life isn't about the microcosm of high school, or the inmates, er, students in it.
My greatest hope would be that my 12 year old self would be, at the very least, left alone. And that's more than most depressed, repressed teenagers get.
http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/B00005V0XF/ diramyspla
What the hell? You insert Amazon Affiliate links into your recommendations in everyday, informal communication suggesting a movie??? Do you do this in conversation, too?
El Karma: excelente(principalmente la suma de moderación hecha a los comentarios de los usuarios)
WTF is the "wrong" way? Twisting?
I just want to say one word to you... ''plastics''.
Open source development is my way of competing with the low-cost programmers in India...
Register immediately. Get ID #001.
Wait until 2003. Go to a site called 'ebay'. Sell said slashdot ID. Let your mind boggle that you now have $81.
Mine is simple enough...
Drugs are overrated.
Your mind is screwed up enough already, why fuck with it?
so just keep wasting it you little bastard!
I think my new advice would be to start using the word "asshead"! That's awesome!
"Reality is merely an illusion, albeit a very persistent one " -Albert Einstein
Go into the kitchen and drink everything under the sink. Completely. Even the stuff that burns your mouth.
It will uh... raise your Charisma to 18!
-----
1) Everyone has been, and will keep telling you, to turn the other cheek.
Everyone is full of shit.
Trust yourself and stand up for yourself--even if it gets you in trouble. Nobody else cares more about your life than they do about their own. Challenge everything, especially those who challenge you.
2) Don't be afraid to piss people off.
Not everyone understands the same concepts of right and wrong that you do; not everyone shares your goals or respects your rights to them. If you wait for handouts, you get leftovers; if you wait for respect, you get pity. Trust your heart to tell you what you want, and don't let other people's agendas impede your progress (this includes your family) (see #1).
3) Everyone is bluffing. Nobody is really as cool or put-together or powerful as you think they are--or at the very least, you are a match for them. Never question your ability to compete.
4) You should bluff, too. Act like you have a right to what you want, and people will believe you (most people don't realize #3). And if someone tries to call your bluff, never back down. Herein lies the power to do and be whatever you want in life. Try it, it works.
5) Your parents are lousy role models or I wouldn't have to be telling you these things. You're going to have to go outside of your family to find the inspiration and support you need to be successful in life.
Comment removed based on user account deletion
Harlan Ellison wrote a really marvelous speculative fiction tale about just this topic, so for his response to this, hunt up a copy of the short story "One Life, Furnished In Early Poverty."
1) your mother is in a cult, don't let her brainwash you and destroy your sense of self/ego
2) at age 16, avoid that odd girl in your summer school class but not for reasons you suspect
3) go to art school even if the parents refuse to pay, computers will lead to a lifetime of unsatisfying wageslavery
4) don't worry so damn much
5) you don't need to be normal
Zero tolerance equals zero intelligence
I wouldn't tell my 12 year-old anything. I wouldn't want to screw up meeting my wife (at age 29) nor having my son (age 34).
Things happen for a reason, which only figure out after the fact.
Failure is not an option. It comes bundled with your Microsoft product. -- Ferenc Mantfeld
Don't wait for Duke Nukem Forever.
The title is more suitable than you'll ever comprehend.
Tall and skinny now is an ASSET.
Your mother's dying will make you stronger. But cry now & get the grieving over with BEFORE college.
Do not let your stepmonster bother you. She's little and petty; she will change after a house fire in 1999.
GET SOME SELF-CONFIDENCE! Go for it! Don't be afraid of engineering! You're smarter than everyone says you are!
Pierce stuff in college before marrying someone who hates it. Trust me on this one.
You look GOOD with black hair--goth is you!
Oh, and so much more...
Whatever women do they must do twice as well as men to be thought half as good. Luckily this is not difficult. -Whitton
.. is normally dangerous, not because you know what bad things will happen, but because you changed with that knowledge, and the future will not be the same.
Even knowing that I will live till now would change my life, and maybe in a way the actual reality, and the final result could be far worse than actual one. What puts a little problem: should I say that I'm myself older? if not would my younger me follow my advice?
Also I could not follow the safe way, and take the risk, but this must worth it, and probably could be only one shot, if its big all could change.
In this case my best try would be checking what happened a bit after I would contact myself, and take advantage of it, like giving a paper with lotto numbers, or say something like "be there, avoid that and be a hero", and pray that what I changed on my life don't put me in Twin Towers when the attack, or in a plane that will crash, or whatever thing that make things worse, not better, that are now.
(1) don't stay in a relationship that's anything less than euphoric for at least the first 3 months and
(2) don't stay with anyone you (majorly) fight with more than twice a year. (yes it is possible).
i'm thinking that the reason there's so little advice to give is that by 25 there's a good chance that you have learned not to have regrets. and once you have no regrets, its difficult to say that you would have changed anything.
the real evil is not what people think - its how people think
Dear Chris,
When you turn 19 you will, for some really stupid reason, decide that long hair is cool and looks good on you.
It doesn't. Your passport photo is an embarassment that you will live with for 10 years.
Yes, she really does like you. You will realize this in another ten years and kick yourself that you did not ask her out. So go do it.
(this advice multiplied by 3 or 4...)
Hey asshead, this guy was 12 in 1982. The only people who had computers in 82 were rich geeky college kids and big companies. Just because you were 12 in 1998 doesn't mean everyone was.
No need to call someone an asshead. There are many instances of folks who owned computers back then and they were not rich or part of a big company. I mowed lawns for two years and purchased my first computer, an Apple ][+ in 1981. At the time, we were definately not well to do. That computer got me my first job ( at age 12 in 1982) at our local school of medicine as the tech support guy (before that was a title) for all the MD's and PhD's running Visicalc and such on their Apples and TRS-80's.
Visit Jonesblog and say hello.
1. Hug your mom and tell her you love her. Now. Go do it now. (I would not tell me that it's my last chance).
2. Learn what studying means. Learn to do it, but don't let it take over your life.
3. Your first year in college you are going to meet a hot red head that shares the suite of the girl you are dating. _DO NOT DATE HER_. fnord She's a bitch. Everyone will know it but you. Prozac is not a _choice_. Do not pay for the sins of the father. fnord. You have been warned.
Was it CGA or ASCII art? :)
As copyright owner of this comment, I authorize everyone to defeat any technological measure which limits access to it.
I'd tell the 12-year old me the same thing that the 30-year old me told me when I was 12.
"You cannot simultaneously prevent and prepare for war." -- Albert Einstein
12yroldme: What the hell is the internet?
30yearoldme: It's kind of like a giant BBS, with unlimited porn.
12yearoldme: Mind if I take notes?
I knew I forgot to mention something....
Divert power to the reflector dish so we can create a tachyon field.
Thanks for reminding me
Stop doing that or you'll go blind!
PR
1. Don't take easy courses. You're paying those guys to teach you stuff; don't waste your time and money having them help you learn stuff you could learn easily enough on your own.
2. In college, don't major in what you think you want to do as a career. Major in something different that is peripherally related to what you think you want to do (and preferably harder, see #1). That way, when you eventually get around to what you really want to do, you'll already know a bunch of stuff that most people in that field don't know, and you'll pick up the stuff that everybody knows easily enough.
As you smoke that crack pipe, explaining your 12yearold self to not smoke the crack pipe, go remind 3DRealms that Project Managment Courses in college are a Good Thing(TM).
But I'm sure you already Gnu that.
(I saw the smiley, too bad the moderators didn't.)
Nope. Didn't see a computer until a couple of years later. TRS-80 I believe, then we got a used C64 at home. When I got to high school, started taking computer classes, programming BASIC on the TRS-80s. Then we got in the new 286s. Sweet.
I don't proclaim to be some uber-geek, I can swap "my first computer" stories, but they aren't that impressive. I didn't actually buy a computer myself until 1990 (3rd year of college), and that was a 386dx-33 for about $2200. My next computer was a P266. The one after that was an Athlon900. I was around the damn things all day, I didn't want to go home and mess with them. I had no desire to use them at home, until Linux came along. :-) Before that, anything I needed to do could be done at work.
Yeah, I know, there are people around here who probably built PDP-11s from spare parts around the house when they were 12, but not me. I didn't get into computers until high-school. I played a lot of Atari2600 and ColecoVision and visited one or both of the arcades that managed to stay in business in my home town. Computers were fringe, man. Why sit at home in front of a tiny screen when you could be at an arcade pumping in quarters, sneaking cigarettes, swearing at the games, and hanging out? I had Pac-Man fever. If you didn't grow up during that time, you just don't understand.
My beliefs do not require that you agree with them.
Dear 12 year-old self,
Your life is about to be forever changed. You don't know it now, but in three years, you're going to be in millions of households world-wide.
Everywhere you go, people are going to scream at you that they hate you. Listen to this advice, 12 year-old self, because I know that nobody else is going to give it to you: whatever you do,don't listen to them, and let them define your sense of self-worth. It's going to hurt, a lot. You won't understand it, and you'll try really hard to convince them otherwise, but they will not listen . . . because they're just as insecure and confused as you are right now. You're going to want to quit the show, but if you do, you'll be 30 before you stop regretting it. Trust me on this one.
Stay on that show until it's over, and when you're older, you'll realize that for every person who screamed "I hate you," there is another who was quietly inspired by something you did. It all balances out, kid.
You are never going to be cool, no matter how hard you try, so save yourself the agony of trying to fit in. You end up marrying a real hottie who loves your inner geek.
And register wilwheaton.com before someone else picks it up.
OH! And when you're 22, and you're in a bar in New York, just say, "No, thank you." You'll understand why when the time comes.
My advice would be to take the accounting and ecconomics electives in school which I avoided like the plague. When your software company becomes a success, you'll really wish you'd had some basic background in things which suddenly became very important.
What else can I say?
I think my favorite is "asshat." I don't know what it means (You wear an ass on your hat? For your hat? Someone else uses your ass for a hat? Your ass is shaped like a hat?) But it makes me giggle.
-If
I just thought of something, it could be a compound of "as shat." I don't know what that would mean, either. It's as if you were shat out of someone else? It's as if you had just shat?
Ugh, my head is swimming.
Run a pencil-and-paper RPG campaign with your far-off friends: Gametable!
Dear Self,
You are 12 years old now and are starting to feel deeply your own inner voice... listen to it! Your creativity is beginning is beginning to flourish so do anything, everything you can to express yourself. Take chances. Don't do it for anyone else, do it for yourself. And if someone happens to critisize you for having your head in the clouds, or being weird, don't listen to them! Follow this inner muse and you will be richly rewarded with a happy life and lots of money.
Your parents mean well, so try to understand that at least their heart is in the right place. If you strongly disagree with them, I suggest at the vert least you keep reserve that strength for yourself and not for battling your parents. It will only cause both you and them needless amounts of grief. Experiment and get away with what you can, and if you get caught, do your best to at least play the part of the "good son". They don't need to know everything you're up to, because you are a life long quest of exploration and adventure and the fun is only getting started.
Good luck, and may you reach the stars before I do.
You older self,
Paul
Planet P Blog
www.enthea.org
Money is not important to me because it allows me to acquire material goods.
It's important to me because it maximizes my freedom.
Because of money (or rather a lack of it), I cannot go straight to grad school, cannot go snowboarding in Utah tomorrow, cannot take a trip to Tokyo, etc. etc. etc.
I accept that life is not about what you have. But it many ways it IS about what you can do and what you have done.
Maybe these people who win the Lottery don't realize this, and fritter away their cash on stuff instead of experiences.
Just a thought.
+++ATH0
Also buy Compaq and Cisco. No, none of these companies exist yet, but watch for them. And plastics, don't forget plastics; Dow, DuPont, 3M, and Monsanto exist now. Starve if you have to. Re-invest the interest. [Hey, everybody gives this advice because it's good advice.]
*sigh* Ask Dad.
We have great parents, by the way. Listen to what they say. Be nice to them. Don't stop hugging them, ever, or you'll forget how.
You oblivious dork, Dad has a stack of Playboys, somewhere. Find them. One or two off the bottom, now and then, won't be noticed, or at least admitted to. Don't dink around with the National Geographics; go for the gold.
Anything that seems at all cool now, books, magazines, comics, toys, whatever, buy one to use and one to save. Don't even take the saved one out of the box or wrapper.
No, the Playboys aren't worth saving. Dispose of them discreetly, or give them back. Unwrinkled, untorn, certainly unstained.
You're a goof. Goof is good, folks like being entertained, but avoid weird.
Those cool books in the school library about chemistry magic with all the fireworks recipes? Steal them now. (One at a time, and leave another, similar book from Adam's Used Books on the table so you won't be noticed.) The librarians will throw them out within three years anyway, to keep them out of the hands of budding revolutionaries. Don't make a habit of this, but those three are worth the risk and guilt, and you will use them for good, not evil.
That stupid idea about using computers for animation? Not stupid.
But learn to draw first. You actually have a talent for it. Draw at least one picture every day. Start today.
History is cool.
Your textbooks are gap-filled, error-ridden and often lie outright; embarrass your teachers.
Hey, George Washington grew pot! The Constitution is written on hemp paper! Honest! Look it up!
Never, ever, stand by and let someone else get hazed or belittled.
Hit bullies back. Hard.
Learn to shoot.
Dump the dorky book bag and get a good briefcase.
Dump the slide rule; it will be utterly obsolete by the time you really need it. No, I swear. See the notes above about collectibles.
Dump the cheap polyester pants and shirts too. Admit it, you do know what looks good. Nothing to be ashamed of.
Get a haircut. Carry a comb. Your hair will never be neat, but you can keep it from getting all ratty and tangled.
Read the top of the mayonaise jar: KEEP COOL BUT DON'T FREEZE. Nevertheless:
Be bold with girls.
Know what color her eyes are before you speak to her the first time. Occasionally, drop a hint that shows you are paying attention: a favorite color, a favorite flower, a favorite song. No, don't make them yours. Just be sure she knows you are noticing hers. This will be hard for you, I know. Practice casually, so that you will be ready when you meet HER.
When you touch her, be certain that when she looks at you, you are staring straight into her eyes. Mean it. Don't flinch.
These can't be your only tricks. Think of others. And they're not tricks. Once again, mean it.
Never blame on malice what can be attributed to stupidity.
Take risks in public, but think them through and practice privately first, if possible. For really risky stuff, have a trusted buddy standing by when you practice.
When you are the trusted buddy, and things go badly, stick it out, stand by your man, take your lumps along with his.
Above all, remember: EVERYBODY MAKES MISTAKES. HORRIBLE ONES. They are too wrapped up in their own to worry much about yours. You are free.
In the wrong hands, sanity is a dangerous weapon.
I'd prefer to talk to the me in year 2 or year 3, so aged about 7 or 8. I'd like to say, "Okay, you're clever, don't stop being clever, but you know fuck all about the world. Don't learn it the hard way. Sure, in eight years you'll be able to stand up to the bullies, but now they're twice your size, and you'll never really fight them off. Don't be too different from everyone else, and don't be too blind or trusting."
But would this actually make a difference? Sure, it'd have made year 4 a whole lot less painful, but that was eight years ago. Would I be a better person if I hadn't gone through that?
I mean, I'd like the me from a week from now to pop back and tell me if I'll be successful with this chick on Monday. But, hey, is missing out on some wholesome rejection going to hurt me?
I'd like the me from six years from now to advise me on career choices, to tell me if I end up failing the rest of my GCSE's through laziness and working as a meat packer for the rest of my life. But if I knew I was going to do well, would I put in enough effort? Without going into a bunch of theories on time travel, would I fail because I was too sure I would succeed?
In my case, being picked on in primary school has made just enjoy taking the piss out of the even geekier kids (you know, the D table) - rejection never fails to get me moping around uselessly, and I've so far proved myself excellent at judging how much laziness I can get away with without actually getting low grades. So I guess, it probably would be good if I could travel back in time and tell myself all these things. Curse this stupid non-time travel age!
Why do so many of the current replies to this topic reference drugs or drug usage, and why are these moderated as "funny"? Am I the only one here who has lost co-workers, friends and relatives to drugs and alcohol? Ok, twenty years ago I might have thought it was funny, but not any more. I've been to too many memorials -- I've had to bury friends who couldn't believe they were dying. And I was almost one of 'em, but that's another story and this isn't the forum.
The Russians have won. They have made the world a cesspool of distrust, greed, fear and hate.
Stop them.
Don't worry about yourself: You turn out fine, and your mistakes are ones you can learn from; if I tell you how to avoid them, you'll be less prepared for what comes next.
The two statements "this is what I'd tell myself" and "this is what I should tell my kids" are closely related. Here's mine:
:)
:)
High school is prison. The inmates are savages. And it's absolutely nothing like the outside. This is what the Lord of the Flies is about. (btw, read it now, before they make you)
You're smart. Study psychology. It'll give you great insight as to how to socialize yourself, not to mention explain the behaviour of your peers.
Bit of useful psychology #1: when you're depressed, you're mean to yourself, and when you're hard on yourself, you're hard on others. Take a hard good look at the mean people around you.
Bit of useful psychology #2: people hate having their bubbles burst. Keep this in mind while exercising #1. This is a great way to make enemies.
If you haven't already, learn how to make friends. Use this knowledge to realize when other, more outgoing people are trying to make friends with you. It's a skill that you'll need throughout your life.
Don't be afraid to make friends with geeks, especially when she's as pretty as Megan B was.
Learn to be a good lover. This might not win you points with the popular girls in high school (see that bit about how HS is not real life), but for the most part they're stupid and shallow anyway. Following this path will ensure that your every possible sexual fantasy is fulfilled. It worked for me.
"No problem. I have the capacity to do infinite work so long as you don't mind that my quality approaches zero."-Dilbert
I really don't want to think of all of the changes that might have happened had I not done what I've done. Granted I've made some mistakes, but I've grown from them. If I were to change anything in the past, no matter how minute, it would completely change who and what I am right now. That IS NOT what I would want. I like who I am for the first time in a long time. I'm at peace for the first time in a long time. And I'm completely head over heals in love with a member of the opposite sex, who I doubt I would have met had anything been changed.
I like and love where I am now. Nothing needs to be changed. Nothing.
It is more logical to assume that you believe God created us in his own likeness. No human, save the most pathetic sociopaths, would ever demand worship from anyone. IF your original assertions were correct, your God did not create you in his likeness.
Your logic does not follow. If God created us to worship Him, then how is that evil? It is repulsive for one human to worship another human, because we know all humans are faulty and evil. Therefore the act of worshipping another is misguided and corrupt. Besides this, it is also evil because worship is to God alone
I got news for you. That isn't logic. It is my opinion that your god is evil. However, I stand by the assertion that no human being would demand worship from anyone. If you read the bold statement, that IS a logical conclusion. No sane man demands worship from another. Your god creates men to worship him, thus desires said worship. Ergo, he is not like man.
If you feel a life of a mindless ass kisser is a good life, hey, feel free.
Let me take the classic example - the resurrection of Jesus the Christ. If you are genuinely wanting to know if this can be proven sufficiently (say, as much as we are sure about the authors of those works you mention later) then I suggest you read this book [amazon.com] as an introduction to where and to whom you look for the answers - not sufficient in itself to prove the case, but if you investigate and follow a similar journey you should find the answers.
I have read the book. It is typical of "pop" non-fiction today. The writing style is casual, the citiations are few, and the exploration of alternative explanations non-existant. Part of the reason such books have little impact on people like me, is I really don't care whether or not there is a god. Even if I find out there is a god, it will have no impact on my life. This book attempts ultimately, to suggest it is up to you to find Christ. Bullshit, that is not an answer.
If this world is perfect then how can you condemn my choices, or suggest we strive for heaven on earth? By perfect I must assume that you mean the way it is meant to be.
I am saying that when you rid yourself of the fear of death so common in theists, and the sick idea that life is suffering, you will realize what a beautiful world we live in. A child may dream a terrible dream, but every morning he awakes in paradise again. What makes life worth living is creating things of value in the world. Build a more beautiful house. Paint a pictures, write some music. Read, and learn. Start with the reading list in the parent post which I gave to the last clown. Don't be such an ignorant fool. So what if you die. Thats life. Deal with it.
And that meaning is derived by the inherent meaningless of a universe without God.
That is the reason for your sorrows. You are unable to create meaning in your own life. You desire some sort of master to tell you what to do.That is your problem. Learn to deal with it.
Humans raised outside of the slave morality of religions do not feel that way.
You are confusing the first with the last - the Christianity as taught by Jesus and the Apostles with the pseudo-Christianity taught by Roman Catholicism, an abominable organisation.
I don't think you are as aware of Christian history as you think you are. There is virtually no evidence Christianity ever existed prior to 100AD. It is now absolutely certain that most of the new testimate was created in those years around the Council of Nicea in 323 AD. Christianity, as well as other religions which failed to acknowledge the divinity of the emperor, were legalized in 313 with the Edict of Milan.
The Council of Nicea focused on determing the exact nature of Jesus Christ. Note the banned gospel of thomas, which presents a much more vicious Jesus.
You dismiss 1700 years of Christian religion and expect me to believe that is the cause of my misunderstanding. Who do you think created your bible? Catholics.
By all means, tell me the singular difference between catholicism and these reformed religions. I have examined both bibles. Outside of the King Jame's version removing allusions to adultery, I cannot seem to find much substantial difference. They all clearly adhere to the council if Nicea conclusions on the nature of Jesus.
Yet I suggest that you don't understand that there are a few Christians who live to understand, yet this comprehension has led them to the inescapable conclusion that there is a God.
Note, I have not denied the existence of a god. It is impossible for me to make such a claim. There may very well be a god, but he obviously is not too concerned with people worshipping him, otherwise we would not have such confusion about which god to worship, let alone which bible to read, or any of the other inconsistencies amongst the worlds religions.
Live your life, treat humans humanely, use the head that you have. If there is a god, so what. Do good beacause it is the right thing to do, not because you are afraid of hell. Live your life knowing that you are going to die soon, but don't be afraid of death. But above all, focus on NOW, not the fictional world of heaven. Trust your passions, as that is what makes you human.
Love your humanity, do not despise it.
I don't read or respond to AC posts
Back when I was 12, I wouldn't listento anybody!
I don't think I would have listened to myself.
Hopefully, with the wealth of a couple of Bill Gates, I will be able to find the generosity to do something interesting with it as David Brin suggests.