What do you wish you'd known at 16?

[wonderwhatshappening1978]

What do you wish you'd known at 16?

For me, I wish I'd been told that not every attentive man had good intentions. 😡. You?

Do exercise every day.

That there was no shame that you struggled with languages and wanted to drop to a lower level to take on an extra subject that you thrived at.

That he was truly the love of my life despite what people told me.

That parents don't always know best.

That staying with a man, and marrying him, because you'd be terribly lonely otherwise, will bring more pain and sadness than you could ever imagine.

That what people think doesn't matter.

That my mother was a narcissist. That normal relationships didn’t look like my parents. That I wasn’t an overly anxious child, it was the shitty environment I lived in. That I should distance myself from them asap. Sadly took another 30 years for me to work it out for myself!

Wise words!

That I wasn't fat. That just because someone was nice it didn't mean I had to stay in a relationship with him. (to be fair I should have grasped this by myself but I never did).

That my best friend was a backstabbing sociopath who would sleep with my husband.

That what people think doesn't matter.

And a lot of the time, they’re not thinking about you at all, so don’t let that stop you being yourself.

1. That the vast majority of men are selfish and vile. They really do think we are beneath them. I wish I knew at 16 that they prey on women. At 51 I’ve told a lot of men to go F themselves and wish I’d known this and had the courage at 16.

2. To pay into a pension from 18, not to waste money

3. to look after my health and fitness more

An interesting thread OP.

So many things I wish I had known at 16.
My parents failed me in many ways.
That it wasn't my fault.

That the vast majority of men are selfish and vile. They really do think we are beneath them.

That is a disgusting sexist comment. Do you have sons?

That they're actually jealous. You're worth more.

That I was HOT STUFF 😂

Buy Apple shares.

You're not mental, you have ADHD! Get some meds and chill out!

That it will all turn out ok in the end.

That I wasn't in the slightest bit fat!

That I had a lucky escape when he ditched me for her. He is evil. She's been through 25 years of torture because of him.

How important getting help for your mental health is. Especially anxiety. Struggling more than ever now I have a baby and I'm so so so overwhelmed, I left it was too long and now I'm in too deep, I just thought it would go away

That I didn't have to have sex because 'everyone else' was doing it. That I should have dumped my coercive abusive (same age) boyfriend who threatened to dump me if I didn't. It was 50 years ago and it was decades later that I saw it for what it was.

Same here gaviscon same here. To be fair my grandmother knew the house was mad and told me when I was 16 to make sure I got clear. I was in my forties by the time I distanced from them.

That going to school and paying attention, rather than having fun, was a good idea.

That it gets better. That school isn’t real life.

That your parents are full of shit.