What I wish I knew when I was your age...

howacupcake

5-Year Member
Joined
Mar 19, 2011
Messages
247
I thought it would be helpful for everyone to share what they wish they knew when they were younger (18-20's and beyond). As I'm getting older, I'm learning more and more about the real world. It would be nice for others to share what they wish they knew...
 
I wish I knew that all those late night "Beer and Sonic" expeditions in my early 20's would catch up to me 35 years later and no amount of running would get rid of them!
Sorry: it's Friday afternoon :wink:
 
I wish I would have kept my mouth closed and my ears open more of the time.
 
Nelson Algren's 1956 novel "A Walk on the Wild Side" contained three rules for life.

1. Never play cards with a man called Doc.
2. Never eat at a place called Mom's
3. Never sleep with someone whose troubles are worse than your own.

(Years later, an exception to Rule #2 was proposed - if you find yourself in a small town and the only other choice is called Eats)

And, yes, it is Friday afternoon.
 
Whatever is happening today is only temporary. If it is good, appreciate it and show gratitude. If it is bad, know that this too shall pass.
 
when faced with a quandary and all you have to go with is: "it seemed like a good idea at that time"-reconsider.
 
Oh, sweet Jesus!

I could write a book.

Here's an easy one: if I'd known how my failure to get into nuclear power school was going to haunt me for the next two decades after graduation, I'd have studied harder at USNA.

I still can't watch Crimson Tide without getting a tear in my eye... :frown:
 
Nelson Algren's 1956 novel "A Walk on the Wild Side" contained three rules for life.

1. Never play cards with a man called Doc.
2. Never eat at a place called Mom's
3. Never sleep with someone whose troubles are worse than your own.

(Years later, an exception to Rule #2 was proposed - if you find yourself in a small town and the only other choice is called Eats)

And, yes, it is Friday afternoon.

#3 is one I can vouch for. Live by that.
 
I should have chosen the career path of Tibetan monk. Considerably less drama.
 
Oh, sweet Jesus!

I could write a book.

Here's an easy one: if I'd known how my failure to get into nuclear power school was going to haunt me for the next two decades after graduation, I'd have studied harder at USNA.

I still can't watch Crimson Tide without getting a tear in my eye... :frown:

Aww, that is a good one. I need to study hard when I get there!!
 
"(Years later, an exception to Rule #2 was proposed - if you find yourself in a small town and the only other choice is called Eats)"

I don't get this one? Can someone explain?:eek:
 
Knowledge

Its better to beg for forgivness than ask for permission.

Youth is a state of mind and that is why I the 1970 Plymouth Road Runner Superbird is still the coolest car ever made.

Everyone works for someone.

Three things guaranteed for men in life, death, taxes and mowing the grass.

"Everything, works out, one way or another" and that, "nothing is ever as bad as it seems at the time."

When things are going bad never say "things can't get any worse" because they do...

If you think acceptance to an academy is a life altering experience it isn't. Academy, graduation, and marriage are minor compared to having your first child. That will rock your world.

:thumb:
 
If you think acceptance to an academy is a life altering experience it isn't. Academy, graduation, and marriage are minor compared to having your first child. That will rock your world.

:thumb:

Boy is that true!:thumb:

In a more serious vein than my earlier post: A few things that I have learned:
*Regardless of what "IT" is, it's not going to work out the way you pictured it in your head. So just do your best and hang in there and deal with things as they are without obsessing over what will be.
* "The Army" doesn't care about you- you are just a card in the deck to be played or discarded as appropriate. Your family & friends are who care about you.
*When listening to other folks tell you how screwed up this place is remember that :"The best ship most guys ever served on was the last one"- never this one (an observation made to me by my Dad the former sailor). People like to gripe about their present circumstances and put a gloss on the past so take those comments with a lot of grains of salt.
* You never know what's going to happen and when, so make sure you take advantage of the moment to tell people that you love them and don't put off spending time with them- because you might not get the chance again.
* Your hair and sixpack abs will disappear- your personality and character won't. Make sure that is why people want to be with you!
* Sometimes, those old guys who you have no time for actually have done a lot of really cool stuff that you can learn a lot from. I wish I had talked to them more when I had the chance instead of talking at them or ignoring them.
 
Last edited:
#1 thing I wish I knew when I was 20: "I'm not as smart as I think I am. And they're not as dumb as I think they are." :redface:

#2: "My retirement portfolio should be mostly in the stock of these two little up-start technology companies called Apple and Microsoft." :wink:
 
Advice for now...

Be nice to your family the last few weeks you have left at home. You will want to say goodbye to your friends, but carve out as much time or more for your family members. Your friends will come and go, but your family will always be your family.

Advice for 15 years down the road for you...

I'm starting to regret not keeping my education or work experience current. As my children are getting ready to leave the nest, I'm finding it impossible to find a job even being a service academy grad with a master's degree. My 8 years of active duty were too long ago (I got out in 99) and my degrees even older. I'm thinking that I should have gone back to school when the kids were in middle school and been working at least part time while they were in high school. As much as I love being a stay at home mom, I did myself no favors by becoming unemployable while raising great kids.
 
"Treat people as if they were what they ought to be, and you help them to become what they are capable of being"...Johann Wolfgang von Goethe
(my favorite quote)

People will judge who and what you are by the company you keep.

The duty of the strong is to protect and help the weak, whether that weakness is physical or mental. i.e. If you give a man a fish you feed him for a day, if you teach him to fish you feed him for life. So I firmly believe in the second as far as helping. There is a BIG difference.


Just an observation...Making a decision about going to a Service Academy means that you are making a life career decision that most people in other colleges don't have to make until they are Juniors or Seniors. Making that decision requires a maturity that most people are unable to make right out of HS.
 
"Treat people as if they were what they ought to be, and you help them to become what they are capable of being"...Johann Wolfgang von Goethe
(my favorite quote)

People will judge who and what you are by the company you keep.

The duty of the strong is to protect and help the weak, whether that weakness is physical or mental. i.e. If you give a man a fish you feed him for a day, if you teach him to fish you feed him for life. So I firmly believe in the second as far as helping. There is a BIG difference.


Just an observation...Making a decision about going to a Service Academy means that you are making a life career decision that most people in other colleges don't have to make until they are Juniors or Seniors. Making that decision requires a maturity that most people are unable to make right out of HS.
People will also judge you by how you treat other people. Be kind, courteous and compassionate to everyone, regardless of how they act. You never know what difficulties they face or what hard battles they are fighting.
 
Back
Top