What's something you wish someone would have told you about life?

[ThatFraggle]

If you could go back in time with that knowledge, what would the knowledge be?

To study something sensible in Uni. I had a laugh in my younger days. But I have nothing to show for it now. Still, a lot of my friends who have everything aren’t happy… I also might have married a sensible guy, too!

Don't get fat.

I second don't get fat
Brush, brush, brush your teeth everyday - and then brush them again
Don't pick at acne as it will more than likely leave a mark/scar
Study hard when young, there is still time to party in your 20s after studying
Get a job you enjoy as you will may very well end up spending more hours a day at that job than at home/with family
Don't get into debt

... all these are from my own experience !

Wear sunscreen on your face.
Follow your gut and your heart.
Leave him, don't think it will get better.
Move your body, every day.
Eat real food.

Have fun while you're young.

Studying doesnt pay off.

Dont work for the NHS

Make sure you're qualifications work on an international scale.

Prepare to emigrate.

Stop caring so much about what people think. For one thing, the random thoughts inside the heads of complete strangers mean the square root of fuck all; for a second thing, they probably aren’t even thinking about you anyway. I wish it hadn’t taken me until about 30 for that to sink in, I’d probably have enjoyed my younger self a lot more!

I wish I'd moved around more and travelled.

I suffer with anxiety and depression and had a... difficult home life as a child. I think I spent too much of my life trying to "settle down" and have a stable home life that I craved as a child. Now as an adult I feel like I missed out on some great experiences and opportunities that I didn't even realise were possible because I was too scared to take chances incase I failed or was left in a state of chaos again.

Maybe if I could go back I'd tell myself to just try and be more carefree and not try to rush my life to get to the part with all the stability and enjoy the possible chaos.

Don't get fat. Mind you that also links to not caring what people think which I dont really anymore.
Have lots of sex with different people before settling down.
Work in the private sector rather than the public sector.

Don't take your parents for granted, they may just die quite young

And - along with “wear sunscreen” - two of my favourite paragraphs from Mary Schmich’s Chicago Tribune piece:

Don't worry about the future. Or worry, but know that worrying is as effective as trying to solve an algebra equation by chewing bubble gum. The real troubles in your life are apt to be things that never crossed your worried mind, the kind that blindside you at 4 p.m. on some idle Tuesday.

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 I know still don't.

All of the above and... most importantly... marry a rich man (and don't marry my ex)!

Dry the washing machine seal every time.

Don't cling to a mistake just because you spent a long time making it.

Too many times I've stayed in an unhappy situation just because it had been years and I didn't want to have wasted those years, instead I wasted more.

That neurotypical often don't say what they really mean, and that that's actually a them problem not a me problem.

How to make a home. It's a complete mystery to me how people have nice homes and keep them that way. I try my hardest, but it feels like pushing a rock uphill. If someone need to come to my house I die inside.

Don't leave uni.

Dump that stupid idiot of a boy, he'll only become a bigger idiot with age.

And emigrate.

So many!

Wear sunscreen

Take care of your teeth

Stay active - it’s a lot harder to get back into it than it is to continue being fit

Be carefree while you can

Go to therapy as soon as you can afford it

People can pretend to be nice and caring but they never fake being nasty or unkind. When you see that behaviour know that that’s the real person

Learn to enjoy your own company and live a life for yourself before you commit to someone else

Never stay in a job, relationship or situation because you are afraid of the unknown

It's totally OK to stay single and choose not to have children.

I second “trust your gut” and don’t be too proud to call time on a relationship.

Said to a lifelong friend recently that if I’d found it as easy to dump the wrong’ us at 24 as I do at 64, my life would have been totally different.

You're not fat and ugly

Prioritise your career, do not get married, protect your financial well-being at all costs.

Look after your teeth
Look after your feet
Stay out of the sun, wear spf daily
Save 10% of everything you earn, even if it's 10% of £1
Marry someone who respects you
Treat everyone how they treat you - took me 50 years to learn THAT one

Not to worry about getting a partner and having children, it really isn’t the be all and end all and you can have a perfectly lovely life without those things!

Think a bit more carefully about where you want to be and who you want to be near. I live and settled where I do now because I had a job here. Kids at school now and I feel totally trapped by schools etc which is a shame as not sure I really wanted to end up here!

Study for a profession or learn a trade.
Never be in the position when you’re relying on someone else to fund you.
Never miss an opportunity to travel.

Start boxing NOW.
Yes, you'll love it and be fucking awesome at it when you take it up in your mid-30s but you won't be as flexible as needed. And you'll be too old for an amateur bout.

Wear sunscream. Every single day.

Drink more water.

Bin off the boyfriend as soon as you get the ick. Don't waste your late-teens with him. He's facially beautiful but you hate his pudgy belly, round shoulder and flat feet body. And you hate staying over because his house is dirty. Don't waste your time. Go forth and fuck around.

Spend more time with the dog.

Call your mum more regularly. She's a massive twat but she's a single parent and you're her only child. You leaving home and then just not calling for months will be very hard for her.

Try more food. You're not a fussy eater. Your mum's cooking is boring and terrible. Try more stuff, you'll like it.