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@the older members of the forum
Former Member
Posts: 1,876,323 The Mix Honorary Guru
in General Chat
i'm 24, and i'm wondering if anyone older than me can share their knowledge/experience/advice to other people my age.
what advice would you give to yourself age 24, or a random 24 yr old lad like me about the future?
thanks.
what advice would you give to yourself age 24, or a random 24 yr old lad like me about the future?
thanks.
0
Comments
1. Go work abroad for 1-4 years. Now is the time to do it, somewhere like New York, Hong Kong, Paris, Singapore, Sydney. They said you'd regret it if you don't and look back having only lived/worked in the same country, it looks really good on the CV, and easier to get girls in places like NY where the dating culture is much more open and direct.
2. Don't settle down, ideally sleep around lots, have lots of flings / casual relationships. They all found the right person in their early 30s, again saying they'd have regretted being with the same person through their 20s. Obviously a slightly controversial opinion.
I'd basically say make the most of it. You're young, not committed with a wife/kids presumably, so pack in everything into your life you won't be able to do later. Work hard in your job to move up the career ladder, enjoy some crazy travels, don't waste too much time procrastinating.
Id advise a younger me to do that.
Also dont do so much drugs, leave that idiot and dont drop out of college
this is my problem.... ive been wanting to travel for ages but could never afford it. i then worked a crappy job for a year, saving up some money to go travelling this summer for a year. But i few months ago i landed myself a good job in the field i studied in, and i would be stupid to quit really. I see myself staying in this job at least for 12 more months. But i dont want to leave my travelling too late.
i knocked the drugs on the head a few years ago, but im seriously considers knocking the drink as well. And i nearly dropped out of uni, but stuck it out and now ive got a decent job.
I doubt ill be having kids soon lol. Im awful with the ladies as it is...
Enjoy the power and beauty of your youth; oh nevermind; you will not understand the power and beauty of your youth until they have faded. But trust me, in 20 years you'll look back at photos of yourself and recall in a way you can't grasp now how much possibility lay before you and how fabulous you really looked….You're not as fat as you imagine.
Don't worry about the future; or worry, but know that worrying is as effective as trying to solve an algebra equation by chewing bubblegum. The real troubles in your life are apt to be things that never crossed your worried mind; the kind that blindside you at 4pm on some idle Tuesday.
Do one thing everyday that scares you
Sing
Don't be reckless with other people's hearts, don't put up with people who are reckless with yours.
Floss
Don't waste your time on jealousy; sometimes you're ahead, sometimes you're behind…the race is long, and in the end, it's only with yourself.
Remember the compliments you receive, forget the insults; if you succeed in doing this, tell me how.
Keep your old love letters, throw away your old bank statements.
Stretch
Don't feel guilty if you don't know what you want to do with your life…the most interesting people I know didn't know at 22 what they wanted to do with their lives, some of the most interesting 40 year olds know still don't.
Get plenty of calcium.
Be kind to your knees, you'll miss them when they're gone.
Maybe you'll marry, maybe you won't, maybe you'll have children, maybe you won't, maybe you'll divorce at 40, maybe you'll dance the funky chicken on your 75th wedding anniversary…what ever you do, don't congratulate yourself too much or berate yourself either – your choices are half chance, so are everybody else's. Enjoy your body, use it every way you can…don't be afraid of it, or what other people think of it, it's the greatest instrument you'll ever own..
Dance…even if you have nowhere to do it but in your own living room.
Read the directions, even if you don't follow them.
Do NOT read beauty magazines, they will only make you feel ugly.
Get to know your parents, you never know when they'll be gone for good.
Be nice to your siblings; they are the best link to your past and the people most likely to stick with you in the future.
Understand that friends come and go,but for the precious few you should hold on. Work hard to bridge the gaps in geography in lifestyle because the older you get, the more you need the people you knew when you were young.
Live in New York City once, but leave before it makes you hard; live in Northern California once, but leave before it makes you soft.
Travel.
Accept certain inalienable truths, prices will rise, politicians will philander, you too will get old, and when you do you'll fantasize that when you were young prices were reasonable, politicians were noble and children respected their elders.
Respect your elders.
Don't expect anyone else to support you. Maybe you have a trust fund, maybe you have a wealthy spouse; but you never know when either one might run out.
Don't mess too much with your hair, or by the time it's 40, it will look 85.
Be careful whose advice you buy, but, be patient with those who supply it. Advice is a form of nostalgia, dispensing it is a way of fishing the past from the disposal, wiping it off, painting over the ugly parts and recycling it for more than it's worth.
But trust me on the sunscreen...
http://www.leoslyrics.com/listlyrics.php?hid=T60Oxd6GhCw%3D
I can't emphasise enough making the very most of it all and packing a lot of stuff in - do you want to look back on your 20s and think how you spent all your time in a mundane job and the rest slacking in front of the TV/internet? Get an interesting hobby (dancing, sport, music etc) into your spare time, will keep you challenged and motivated.
well, ive been looking into teaching english in china, and teaching basketball in ghana. I was 95% certain to start one of them this summer, but this new job i got a few months ago has changed that. Maybe i should just ask this same question again in 12 months....
i have been spending a bit too much time slacking in front on the internet recently, attempting to save money for going abroad. bit of a catch 22 though.
cheers though. top advice so far. thanks people.
I know what I want to do with my life is just the doing it that holds me back!!:p
Ideally Id also sleep around a lot too
Basically,I think we all want to be able to look back on our own lives and not be able to regret anything,be able to say we did everything we wanted,everything we wanted to achieved we did or if we didnt we gave it everything we had.
Sorry,rambled a bit there.:cool:
I suppose I need to imagine myself in the future, as hard as that may be...
Having a bank holiday with nothing to do does make me think a lot about things...
About the travel thing, I also highly recommend it, but at 24 you still have lots of time to travel or work abroad. If you have landed yourself the job you wanted then just postpone the travels, don't worry too much about it.
And basically, just ENJOY life. That's the advice I'd give to my 24yo self, definitely. :yes:
But what you should do is ensure you hve enough money for fun stuff - because having fun is important....
Um i can't think of any more - do some volunteering maybe
Living, working, travelling in different countries is the best way to broaden your horizons. I have been taking every opportunity to travel and live in different countries since I was 16 and I will continue to do so until my children are of school-going age. The best decision I ever made was to just get out there in the big, wide world and see places, meet people, experience new things. It's life-changing in every way, ways you can't even imagine until you do it.
Yeah, I see where you're coming from. I hope you do make the break, at some point, you wouldn't regret it. But speaking in realistic terms, I can see that it would become harder and harder, the longer you're in a "real job" and the more progress you make on your chosen career path. Any opportunity - whether through work or just through sudden random desire for a change of scenery - grab it with both hands :thumb:
Remember when you're young you don't NEED to be realistic, of course. Good jobs will always be around, despite what people say. The world will also (hopefully) still be around, too, but it's just harder as you get older and start to make a real life for yourself. If you see what I mean...
Other advice would be to learn everything you can while you can, try everything while you can. It does get harder to try new things and think outside of the box - so to speak - as you grow older. And you can never have enough knowledge, never have enough experiences, and never know enough people.
Most importantly, have fun. To coin a cliché (and I've become a walking book of them over the last year or so) "youth is wasted on the young." You see so many serious, anxious young people these days that it's startling. I guess it was always like that, the only safeguard against that is not getting into debt, I think... that's the ball and chain that keeps my friends tied to one place when they want to be anywhere but there. I don't like it one bit, life's for living while you're young, free and [possibly] single.
Travel I guess. I've done quite a bit of it myself and it's not done my one scintilla of harm.
Even at 27?
John Lennon.
Easier than the UK?
Life's short, and I guarantee you that one thing you won't think on your deathbed is 'oh god, I wish I'd had less fun'. Unless you're very strange, in which case, don't listen to me, age before your time.
Basically I guess what i'm saying is dont' waste your youth taking loads of drugs and sitting on your backside - that includes going to university and not doing any work.
I guess what i'm saying is if you decide to do it don't do it halfheartedly.
Going to university is not the be all and end all of anything but if you go make sure its for somethign worthwhile, if you dont' go do get some other form of traning because its super useful in life.
Oh and also when you get to about 26 - 27 its quite normal to suddenly have a what on earth am i doing with my life crisis.
Once you choose one carrear path it doesnt' have to be forever.
Make loads of friends and meet loads of different people - dont' be afraid to talk to people who have a different view point from you..
Also save somethign every month - even if its only a fiver and save it for a rainy day.
Save up to do stuff rather than getting credit
Start your pension fund at the earlyest opportunity
"Think less, read more, enjoy yourself."
it is my new mantra.