Oh never mind. You will not understand the power and beauty
of your youth until they've faded - But trust me; In twenty
years you'll look back at photos of yourself and recall
in a way you can't grasp now how much possibility lay before
you and how fabulous you really looked.
You are not as fat as you imagine .
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 blindsides you
at 4pm on some idle Tuesday.
Do one thing every day that scares you.
Sing.
Don't be reckless with other people's hearts...
Don't put up with people who are reckless
with yours.
Floss.
Don't waste your time on jealousy. Sometimes your ahead,
sometimes you're behind. The race is long and in the end,
it's only with yourself.
Remember compliments you receive. Forget the insults. If
you succeed in doing this, tell me how.
Keep your old love letters. Throw away your old bank statements.
Stretch.
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 twenty two what they wanted to do with their lives.
Some of the most interesting forty year olds still don't.
Get plenty of calcium.
Be kind to your knees - You'll miss them when their gone.
Maybe you'll marry. Maybe you won't. Maybe you'll have children.
Maybe you won't. Maybe you'll divorce at forty. Maybe you'll
dance the funky chicken on your seventieth wedding anniversary.
Whatever you do, don't congratulate yourself too much or
berate yourself either. Your choices are half chance - So
are everybody else's.
Enjoy your body. Use it every way you can. Don't be afraid
of it or what other people think of it. It's the greatest
instrument you'll ever own.
Dance even if you have no where to do it but in your own
living room.
Read the directions even if you don't follow them.
Do not read beauty magazines. They will only make you feel
ugly.
Get to know your parents. You never know when they'll be
gone for good.
Be nice to your siblings. They're your best link to your
past and the people most likely to stick with you in the
future.
Understand that friends come and go but with a precious
few you should hold on.
Work hard to bridge the gap between geography and lifestyle
because the older you get the more you need the people you
knew when you were young.
Travel.
Live in New York City once, but leave before it makes you
hard. Live in Northern California once, but leave before
it makes you soft.
Respect
your elders.
Accept certain enduring truths: Prices will rise. Politicians
will philander.
You too will get old and when you do, you'll fantasize that
when you were young that prices were reasonable, politicians
were noble and children respected their elders.
Don't expect anyone else to support you. Maybe you'll have
a trust fund, maybe you'll have a wealthy spouse, but you
never know when either one might run out.
Don't mess too much with your hair or by the time your forty
it will look eighty five.
Be careful whose advice you buy, but be patient with those
who supply it.
Advice is a form of nostalgia: Dispensing it is a way of
fishing the past from the disposal, wiping it off, painting
over the ugly parts and recycling it for more than it's
worth.
