What do you wish you could tell your younger self?

[krystee]

Do not waste one more precious moment of your life obsessing about your inability to lose weight. You are more than a number. You will find someone who loves you and you will have amazing kids and you will advance in your career. Your weight will not hold you back from anything.

I look back at my Facebook memories and I was so obsessed with trying to prove that I was trying to lose weight because my fatness was somehow more acceptable if I acknowledged it as a failure and tried to fix it. It is only in the last year that I have stopped weighing myself or worrying about it. It makes me sad.

[jackie011]

Stick around for the 5th year masters program
Spend more time with your dad because he’ll be gone before you turn 30

[lilafowler]

Exercise is fun when you find your thing.

You were NOT too fat to join activities.

Work harder and smarter and become a dentist. You love talking and learning about dental stuff and are fascinated by teeth.

[mellymel]

Get out of your comfort zone.

Travel. Explore.

You are not fat.

You’ll figure out what you want to do in life. And you’ll crush it.

Enjoy the little stuff.

Life is too short.

[sadlebred]

That my life would be one big sucky thing.

[mysteriouswife]

Stop stressing money so much you can’t be happy. Buy that overpriced coat you’ll keep it many years. Buy yourself new shoes.

Stop caring about people’s problems more than they care.

Love yourself more.

Grief doesn’t have to define you.

[noodleoo]

Do not get a degree in engineering. One of the worst mistakes of my life.

Don’t waste your entire 20s trying to win your parents approval. You’ll never get it and it doesn’t matter anyway.

Have kids younger. Yes they’re hard but they’re the best joy of my life.

[jennistarr1]

Be nice to your mom ...she might live long enough for you not to feel like a shit bag for some of that

[Nonny]

A lot of mine are martial arts related - wear knee pads, tap out earlier, don't ever attempt clap push ups, scew the costs and go to China because that trip opportunity won't ever present itself again, and watch your step at the market.

Also, the opposite of someone else's, fight your mom harder on this in highschool, because French or German will be more useful to your future job than the Spanish she forced you to take.

[jewel]

I started typing out a list but at the heart of it, I should have addressed my anxiety much earlier in life.

Also, have a lot more sex, with a lot more people.

[wise_rita]

These guys you obsess over are losers and mean nothing in the long run. Use your energy on something more productive!

Team have more sex, but otherwise do exactly what you're doing (study abroad!) because it will really, really pay off in the long run.

[mrsukyankee]

I love where I am, so I wouldn't change much, even some of my stupidity. AND, I'd tell myself to stop spending money you don't have. You don't NEED stuff. Take a class on personal finance and figure it out.

[eddy]

You truly were so skinny and hot. Stop it with the analyzing and obsessing. Enjoy it lol

[wanderlustmom]

I really wish I could have nudged myself to play a high school sport, especially tennis. It’s the only sport I’ve ever been good at and it would have helped so much with my confidence.

Also wish I would have gone to therapy, drank less and had better self esteem.

[strawberry]

So many things! Starting with “ Hike to the top of even more tall mountains now, because even though you hope to hike until you are 80& want to, at 40 and beyond your hips will no longer allow you to.” 😭

“Life get’s easier.”

“Slow down”

“Tell nosy people’s it is none of their business when they dig into your personal life that is none of their business.”

“You are smart enough, brave enough and strong enough.”

“Speak up!”

“Don’t break your body & mind for that minimum wage job.”

“Take more time to relax.”

“Therapy does not mean you are weak.”

. “You are not fat.”
“You are so much better looking than you think you are.”
“Ask that guy out.”
“He’s flirting with you. Just because you are completely oblivious to it doesn’t mean he wasn’t.” (I was SO blind to it.)
“Stay in contact with your siblings and old friends.”

[notsopicky]

Go to therapy.

Don't drink so much; you don't have to be a binge-drinking mess to have friends/find a dude/be a fun person.

Study abroad.

[shortstax]

You’re doing great, kid. Keep it up.

[fivechickens]

Not to worry so much about boys.

Go to college.

[wildrice]

Don't settle. Just because you're 22 and have had a string of rejections doesn't mean you have to settle and marry the first person who stuck around. Being single in your early 20's is actually more ideal! I

Don't go to graduate school straight after undergrad without working first. And pick a career where you aren't sitting at a desk all day.

Make sure to spend a semester abroad like you want to and go on that backpacking trip you want to go on, even if your parents say it's a bad idea. It's not. You'll never get those opportunities again. Put it on a credit card if you have to.

Another you aren't fat. You are never going to be skinny so enjoy being smaller while you can. Also, it never serves you well to worry about dieting or feel bad about your weight - the only thing it changes is your happiness.

There are a probably a ton of others.

Also, I did sleep around a decent amount between 19-22 years old and I don't think those of you who didn't missed much. I had a couple of really good experiences but most were because of lack of confidence or thinking I wanted to date someone and then getting rejected. I did not have the maturity to do this without it messing with me. So I guess I'd tell my younger self not to do that?

[pandorica]

Stop being so shy and scared to put yourself out there. Get involved in things, even if your friends aren't! Make more friends (and keep in touch better)!

I would say don't marry the first guy, but that got me here so I wouldn't want to change that. But maybe get divorced sooner 😂

[W.T.Faulkner]

Your parents are right about most things. Not everything, but most. Sorry.

You’ll be better-looking in your 30s.

[Deleted]

Wear sunscreen.

Put money in your 401K.

[arielroux]

Stop putting up with behavior that has a negative effect on your mental health just because you’re afraid of being alone or upsetting someone else. (In fact, I STILL need to tell myself this.)

Other people liking you is not a measure of your worth.

You are smarter and more capable than you give yourself credit for.

You’re not lazy - You have undiagnosed adhd and anxiety.

[katyintx]

Wear sunscreen and moisturizer every day.

Go to class more, and pay attention. Even though I don’t use my college degree at all, I still have anxiety dreams about not going to class and doing terribly on tests.

[fangoriagurkel]

You look fan-fucking-tastic!

Chill! C’s get degrees!

Cigarettes are not your friend!

[starburst604]

Well based on some responses here I guess I should thank myself for not marrying until 38 and having lots of sex??

In general I try not to have regrets because I wouldn’t want a life other than the one I have now, and doing even one tiny thing differently could change that. But I wouldn’t mind slapping myself around about letting a certain guy string me along for a long time and wasting so much energy on him. I bet if I showed young me his current social media, she would get over him!

[SwimDeep]

You are not broken.

Life after 30 will be okay.

You are not a coward.

You are trapped, but you will break free.

[DotAndBuzz]

It's going to work out. It's going to be very different than what you think you want now, but it will work out.

That word for what you're feeling, and how it makes you react, is anxiety.

You're allowed to say "no" to your parents.

[gretchenindisguise]

Explore more medical non-doctor niche jobs.

Take at least a year off between undergrad and grad school.

[cville]

Be more self aware about your limited world view. You can't possibly understand everyone else's perspective, but be better about realizing that. Like, I don't think I've ever been aggressively close minded, just myopic. Still am, I'm sure.

Excise anyone from your life who demonstrates a fundamental misalignment with your values or who discusses your weight in negative fashion. Everyone. Even family.

Be nicer to your brother.

Get that first wedding dress you loved that your BFF didn't. On your 18th anniversary (tomorrow) you'll still be thinking about it, even though you liked what you did wear.

Don't pick at your scabs.