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AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

Original poster

To be curious what you would tell your 16 yr old self now?

287 replies

WannabeNigella · 18/11/2010 22:26

Just wondered really, if you could just pass on one little nugget of wisdom to yourself at 16, what would it be?

Inspired by a trending topic on Twitter just in case any of you saw it.

OP posts:
Tania23 · 20/08/2011 00:26

You will never be this thin again. Stop eating shit, go to the gym & you will stay thin forever!
Stop being so shy - It's so easy to talk to anyone - just try it.
Don't waste 2 years attempting academic A Levels which you will never use. Instead research careers you can do that make good money & look at the qualifications you need.
You are pretty actually - make the most of it & have more fun with boys!

Thruaglassdarkly · 20/08/2011 00:29

Be lovely to your mum - you won't have her beyond your 30s. And chill a bit - your dad lives longer than you thought he would and isn't going to die of alcoholism for just over 20 years yet.

And all those bfs after your 16 yo one...well, don't even bother with them. You missed the boat...Give up, go home...

midlandsmumof4 · 20/08/2011 00:33

Don't be forced into an abortion? We are talking 30+ years ago Sad.

TheFrogs · 20/08/2011 00:45

you have a size 8 figure, and you actually are quite attractive. Make the most of it and have some confidence because no-one will tell you this until you're 27 and 3 sizes bigger, when they will say "you were so attractive, look how you've let yourself go".

Dawnybabe · 20/08/2011 00:46

Stop spending money on crap and start saving some.

Stop giving a shit about what anybody thinks of you and learn some self respect. You can be confident.

Find a boy in the year above you at school called MrDawnybabe and get to know him a bit.

Please appreciate your mum and dad a bit more because you haven't actually got that long left with them. Or your nan.

Be a bit more loyal to your friends. You are a bit fickle and unreliable and later on you will wish that this had not been the case.

Don't waste time on university. A degree really isn't worth all that much but work experience is.

Don't give in to the pressure to get married abroad without your family. You will regret this but it will be too late.

MoominsAreScary · 20/08/2011 00:48

He's no good, you know it you just need to accept it! No he isn't going to make a good father your just kidding yourself.

Spend more time with your dad he will be gone before you turn 17

Don't spend the next 14 years making bad choices ( men wise) if a man hits you once he will do it again.

Stop settling for crappy jobs, go and train to be a nurse now don't wait till your nearly 30, it will be harder when the kids are older not easier.

manicbmc · 20/08/2011 01:04

At 16 it would be - don't take French A level. You will never go to France and by the age of 17 you will be cursing the mental French teacher.

I should have taken economics as I'm damn good at it.

Thruaglassdarkly · 20/08/2011 01:09

This is the saddest thread of unrealised dreams and regrets.... Can we go home now?

manicbmc · 20/08/2011 01:10

I just hated French.

nicciaa · 20/08/2011 01:18

Apart from, 'don't listen to all the bullys, they are talking shit,' I would just let my 16 year old me be. I wouldn't chage anything, the good or the bad, cause its made me what I am now. Happily married, 2 children, (1 grown up, 1 nearly 5 years old), and a place in Uni. :D

manicbmc · 20/08/2011 01:25

I agree with nicciaa, my life has made me who I am and (apart from French A level) I wouldn't change anything. I like me.

manicbmc · 20/08/2011 01:26

Though I might possibly have thumped a few people when I was young enough to get away with it. Wink

NotADudeExactly · 20/08/2011 01:40

FFS start doing your homework and actually turning up to school every once in a while. And don't drop out - you will have to rely solely on your talking skills to still get into uni otherwise.

D's a sweetheart, be nice to him. He has a shit background and you'll only find out later. And when the time comes do NOT start dating that guy A. He's an abusive twat.

Don't bother with Roaccutane. It will leave you feeling desperate and suicidal. And it won't work. But your skin is going to sort itself out in a few years, so no panic.

Oh and you'll end up being a professional software developer, so all your efforts to look like less of a nerd are kind of in vain. :o

Thetrickistokeepbreathing · 20/08/2011 01:50

Love this thread!
Wear the shortest skirts possible : your legs are so much better than you think and your skin will never glow like this again!!
This boy who has left you broken hearted will end up bloated, balding and barely scraping by and one day you will cross the road to avoid him out of pity even though he is making you feel like shit right now.
Go out more.
IGNORE your mother even more than you do already!!
Smile more while your eyes don't crinkle like crepe paper as you're doing it.

RyvitaDiva · 20/08/2011 01:57

Do not start smoking at uni, no matter how cool you think it is!

Don't listen to Grandma, much as you adore her, about not doing English Lit at Uni.

Make sure you go to uni so you meet dh :)

Kiwiinkits · 20/08/2011 04:14

Buy Google shares. Now.

Kiwiinkits · 20/08/2011 04:17

or, actually, 16 year old me, Google doesn't exist as a company yet. So maybe you'll need to set aside money now to buy google shares eight years from now in 2004 when they issue their IPO!

learningtofly · 20/08/2011 08:56

You are not fat. You think you are but seriously you are not. You are normal and very attractive. Things will rapidly head south later in life, enjoy it while it lasts!

Ps that love of your in your twenties is not. He is a manipulative twat. Do not take him back when you kick him out the first time

Foxy800 · 20/08/2011 09:07

At 16 not to give up after college and go onto university (Am now doing it through open university and it is costing a fortune!!)

At 19 follow your heart, dont give up but at the same time not to rush into anything. (I gave up on my first true love when he finished it with me over something silly, we are very good friends now, I have a partner who Im happy with and he is working on his marriage at the moment, doesnt live near me, we both have kids, but just if I had the chance back then I dont know maybe things would have been different but I AM happy with my life now so this is just a what if if I was still that young, not what I would do now!!!LOL)

wobblyweeble82 · 20/08/2011 09:09

For god sake girl, keep your knickers on. Sex doesn't equal love, no matter how hard you try. You'll be a mum by the time you're 21 too. You'll finish your degree by the skin of your teeth, but it won't be through hard work, just enough of a blagging nature. And whilst everyone is out celebrating, you'll be at home patting your bump as YOU DIDN'T KEEP YOUR KNICKERS ON!!! And that boy whose heart you're about to break? Well one day, he'll bounce back in to your life and you'll realise that nobody has ever loved like he does, and you really will live happily ever after. You just need to get over yourself a bit, kiddo. Sure you've a pretty face, and sure that makes you sometimes feel invincible. But you're not, sugar. You're just going to have to find out the hard way.

Foxy800 · 20/08/2011 09:14

Another one is come on and learn to drive (I left it till I was 24 and it made life a lot easier).

Another one is come on, dont let so called friends walk over you and use you (this ended up happening many times).

Foxy800 · 20/08/2011 09:15

Cor isnt it interesting when you look back at your life and think about what you would say to yourself back then.

bananapirate · 20/08/2011 09:17

You are really attractive, boys fancy you, learn to read the signs

Stat away from the vending machine in the 6th form

Play netball at university

Do not get a credit card, save up first

When you are about 35, a big rugby guy from the southern hemisphere will come into your life. Do not marry him.
Have his baby, it will be the best thing in your life, but leave him after that.

madeupme · 20/08/2011 09:17

You are not infertile like you thought you were. After your degree do your PGCE like you planned and dont avoid the career you were born to do because you are scared.

Dont lose your self respect over a bloke who isnt worth it. There is someone much better waiting in the wings who was made for you!

midoriway · 20/08/2011 09:18

Don't be so shy around boys, they are not all potential rapists, what ever your fuck up of a mum says.

Work harder on maths, stop using the fact that you have never had a decent maths teacher in your life as an excuse for not getting through basic maths.