“You Will Regret It Later On”: 25 Millennials Share The Best…
Article created by: Mantas Kačerauskas
As exhilarating as it can feel to be young, it’s easy to also feel lost and unsure. Let’s face it, without life experience, it’s pretty darn hard to know what to do and, just as importantly, what not to do. Mistakes are good teachers, but seldom fun to go through.
A netizen asked people 30 and older “What advice can you give to people in their early 20s or younger?” and folks from across the internet gave their best suggestions. So get comfortable as you scroll through and take note if you are on the younger side. Upvote your favorites and share some wisdom if you happen to be thirty or older.
If you feel like college isn’t for you or you have no idea what you want to do, you can make a very respectable living and have far more job security if you learn a trade. The world will ALWAYS need electricians, carpenters and plumbers…etc.
When I was growing up, college was pushed on us so hard that we would feel like failures if we went into a trade. Buying into that mentality is something I will always regret.
Don’t take criticism from someone you wouldn’t ask for advice. Why would you let a bunch of basement-dwellers’ DMs make you feel bad about yourself?
Don’t keep toxic people in your life based on brief memories of good deeds. It’s temporary and probably manipulative tactics. Friendship is a two-way street, it’s a mutual giving. If this person tears you down, makes jokes at your expense, doesn’t contact you unless they want something. Get rid. I had so many toxic friends in my early 20s that took me way too long to get rid of.
The entire economy is set up to abuse you in every way that it can. Learn math, financial literacy and how to plan EARLY, OFTEN and CONSISTENTLY.
Indulge in your hobbies, it’s so fulfilling and gratifying. Sketching, painting, pottery, crochet? DO IT. Hobbies nurture the soul and feed the spirit. If it makes you happy keep at it. You don’t need to make a career out of it. Just so long as it makes you happy.
Don’t be afraid to say I’m sorry/ I was wrong/ I don’t understand/ could you please explain that again? People don’t think about you as much as you think they do.
Take care of your body. Eat healthy and exercise. You will be shocked at how much your body starts falling apart as you age. I know I was.
Keep in mind that when someone who is older and more experienced gives you advice, they’re generally giving the advice that they wish they had followed when they were young. It’s not necessarily advice that is calibrated for you or your circumstance.
I have two pieces of advice. Do not run up debt it will follow you or ruin you. Do start saving money as soon as you possibly can. If you have 5000 dollars in savings you will be better off then 70% of Americans.
Learn to cook. Way cheaper and way healthier. Learn to change your car’s brakes yourself. There’s not much else with owning a car where you can turn a $500 fix into an $80 fix in two hours.
Please put your own health at one of the highest priorities. Both physical and mental. Things get much harder the older you get. Your health will help you if you take care of it for many things.
If it means deciding on taking breaks from things that’s OK.
Don’t get married yet. You have no idea who you actually are and what’s really important to you in your early 20s.
DO NOT SETTLE! You are young. You may feel societal, familial, or relationship pressures to settle. Whether that be settling in a relationship with someone you are afraid to leave, or settling in a career that you don’t like because it will appease your family etc… don’t do it. You will regret it later on down the road. Enjoy life, be free/ be your authentic self.
Love people. Hold onto the people who matter to you, learn to forgive (with the caveat that you keep a soft eye out for manipulators), and know that no one is perfect. But they’re worth keeping around. Hold on tight, for as long as you can.
If you think you might have a addiction take care of it now. The whole “you hurt the people closest to you” isn’t a cliche and if you have a conscious it’ll be hard to live with. It’s better to get it taken care of sooner than later.
