Don't hold in your burps, farts, poops or hiccups. It's bad for you. I can say with 100% certainty that the older I get I realize that just about everything my Mom told me over the years was right. I hate that but it's true. Listen to them. Also, many of my friends have what could be called a blueprint of how they think their life should play out...married by this age, house by this year, parent by this one....people, there is no blueprint. Part of why life is so great is because we never ever know what lies around the next corner. If you spend your years trying to live up to whatever your drum up in your little brain to be how it will be it will turn out you'll be so busy chasing that perfect picture you'll pass by a bunch of good (yes and bad, but how else do we learn if we make no mistakes?) shit. In the end you will only come to realize that blueprint isn't going to ever pan out and you will be nothing but disappointed that you aren't able to make it happen. Who wants to live like that? And one more thing, if you're in a bad relationship, one that for whatever reason isn't going too well and you're thinking or have thought about ending it, END IT. Do not waste time. Time passing will not make it any better in the long term. End it sooner rather than later and do both of you a favor.
Quoted for truth. Nowadays I think the notion of what "friends" means is seriously askew. Be a loyal friend, but not blindly loyal. Also: I've found there are almost no absolutes, no "black and white" in this world, it's all shades of gray. Roll with it. Hangovers hurt like a motherfucker after 35. Try to have fewer of them. Take pride in your home, in your belongings. It may have been cool to be a slob when you were in college, not anymore. And I think Mike Ness mentioned it earlier, but definitely travel. I have been "going to Ireland in another year" for the last 15. Just do it before the kids and mortgage. Life isn't fair. It will knock you down once in awhile, and when it does, pick yourself up, dust yourself off, flip it the bird and keep at it. Never let someone tell you "it can't be done". Those who say that are the ones who will someday be the ones "wishing they had".
Humiliating your friends in front of groups of people (especially women) does not have the sexual pull it did in high school so stop doing it. And why the fuck are you still wearing that varsity jacket, creep? If you borrow money from a friend or associate pay it back A.S.A.P. To sacrifice payback so you can get wasted again this weekend. Somebody bailed you out and you owe them. You are never to old to go tobogganing. Women hate it when you walk in on them when they're putting on make-up. It's like walking backstage while the magician is shoving the cards up his sleeves.
- Can the sense of entitlement. Every generation complains about the one before it, it's natural. And it's generally because they're left holding the bag of all the shit the oldies did. We're trying to sort out the problems that have been passed down to us and keep everything together. Doing this while having you cry and bitch at us isn't fun, but it is karmic retribution for what we gave our parents. When the crop under you come up, you will understand. In the meantime, I don't fucking owe you anything. It was broken when I got here. - Having a child to fix anything or make it better is dumb. You're doing yourself and your child a disservice and the odds are against you for not fucking it up. For the sake of clarity, you do not have a child because you're lonely, you want the government handout, to keep a man/woman, all of your friends are doing it, because your relationship/marriage is troubled, it will make you grow up or any other number of fucked up circumstances. Get yourself right before you breed. - And I concur with Nettdata: get off my lawn. It's my lawn, and I worked hard for it. I don't give a fuck if you respect me personally but you will respect my effort and the rewards I enjoy for it. I can only hope to see the bitter realisation in your eyes the first time someone ruins something you worked long and hard for.
Never, ever....Marry a girl you meet in a bar. They are whores. Yeah, the sex is great, but it's alot damn cheaper to get married than get a divorce.
Blaming your parents for stuff is pointless and a waste of time and energy ; they are probably doing (or have done) the best they can. Save at least 10% of your income. Fashions come and go , don't follow them slavishly. Be honest with yourself , living in denial or stubbornly resisting change means you probably won't grow as a person. Don't think you're the smartest person in the room all of the time; you probably don't know as much as you think. If you think you can make money from gambling , you're an idiot.
Sooooo, all girls who go to bars are whores and by this logic we should disregard all girls that have ever been to a bar? I realize you're probably (hopefully) joking, but there are a lot of guys 18-24 that think if they meet a girl in a bar or party and she puts out quickly that she's a dirty slut and they shouldn't pursue anything with her. News flash asshole, a lot of respectable, well adjusted girls like one night stands just like guys. And you know what, if things go further than that roll with it, don't bitch out because she knows what she wants and went for it. the best part is that I'm still getting laid twice a day in a 4+ year relationship with a girl I had what started as a one night stand at a party with while a bunch of my limp dick friends are dating borderline nuns and still haven't tried anal, pathetic.
The first sentence; no. The last sentence; definitely. I recommend two credit cards, one of which has the lowest possible limit and is used exclusively for registrations and purchases on the internet. It's easier to check for anomalies and if it gets stolen, they can do less damage with it before hitting the maximum. I have a $500 limit no frills, no annual fee credit card for this exact reason. On a money note, learn to do a budget and stick to it. Everyone should be able to do this. Being nonchalant about money gets old really quick when it's your money. Learn customer service skills. They are useful in almost every facet of your life, not just being a fast food technician. You don't even have to try hard to be head and shoulders above the ambivalent pack, and you are all but guaranteed to get a better response out of people (or, at the very least, a less surly one). We don't even care if you fake it.
Be positive. I'm not suggesting that you be naive or oblivious, but it is so much better to be positive about everything you possibly can. The way you think, the way you relate to people, the image you project. Negative people are exhausting and no one enjoys being around them for long. Start trying to catch yourself thinking a negative thought and force yourself to re-think it positively. Sound cheesy? Sure does. But you have to start somewhere. Be kind. Open the door for people. Say thank you. Be polite to everyone, but especially service people. I don't care how bad the service at the store is, be nice to the cashier; she makes minimum wage and it isn't her fault that Corporation X are a group of fucktards with a stupid policy that made it so you couldn't [return something/buy something/exchange something/whatever]. I put myself through school working customer service (four years of it at the returns desk), and I can 100% guarantee that a shitty, rude attitude will get you nowhere. You never know who is going to be seeing you off at the airport. I move a lot. I've lived in many countries, and subsequently moved away from many countries. I can say with complete certainty that the people I keep in touch with, the die-hard friends who get up at 3am to drive me to the airport or fly down to help me move are the people I thought, "Well we won't get along at all," when we initially met. You never know who your rock-solid friends are going to be. Do whatever you can to hang onto them. Pack what your mother tells you to pack. Every single freaking time my mother said, "Do you think you should take [whatever]?" and I brushed her off, you could fast forward to me in Developing Country X, stranded without [whatever], unable to buy it. Every time. Family is so important. I didn't learn how close my family was or how much we meant to each other until the week of November 17, 2007. My 18-year-old cousin (whom I'd only met two or three times) collapsed and died in her dorm room. Seeing what it did to her parents, and to the entire extended family, was extraordinary. Your family are the ones that will always be there; as much as possible, see past the bullshit and work to stay close with them. You can't save an addict. You can't cure an addict. You didn't cause the addiction. Say your peace, then walk away. Don't invest years of your life trying to change anybody; you can only change yourself. Don't worry about the lawn. If it dies, then that means I don't have to cut it so go nuts. But don't you dare park your car in front of my house. Park in front of your own house, or in the lot five houses down.
Are you serious, man? I met my wife in a bar, we've been together eight years. Define to me what's a "whore" and what's a "woman who likes to fuck". I've had at least 35 one night stands in my life, a lot of them were pretty cool chicks that I met for those few hours. Were they whores? Well, maybe some of them. Granted, I wasn't the sharpest knife in the spoon back in the day but some of them were just horny at the time and wanted to end the night with fireworks. Most of us are that way. Only some of us are just dirty whores.
Take a skeptical view of advice from t3h intarwebs. 99% of the time, if the person giving you advice on the intarwebs was standing in front of you - you'd never even consider taking their advice. Or eating anything that they prepared. Ignore social timelines. Get married when you want. Buy a house when you can afford it. Have kids if you decide you're ready. If you decide not to do any of those things - as long as it's your decision and you've thought it through - be happy in your awesomeness. But peer pressure is for highschool. Realise quickly that you aren't as awesome as you think, and don't get too depressed about other people being better than you at some shit. It's incredibly likely that you are within one standard deviation of average at everything. How hard you work at being better at those things will mean vastly more than your current level of skill or any kind of natural talent. If you can't pay it off in your next three pay cheques, the only reason to get credit is for an asset that will apprieciate in value. Putting yourself in debt for a year so that you can have a big screen TV is fucking nuts. You can't save anyone who doesn't want to be saved. Some addicts, all they need is some help. But if you're going to go around helping people - learn to recognise the people who want help to change, and learn to recognise the people who just want to be able to continue on exactly the way they always have without the consequences.
I cannot express how untrue the above statement is. Anything you could ever want requires money to get it. House, truck, kids etc. Start work as early as possible, and work as many hours as you can. I started working when I was 13 and Im glad I did. Sure I missed out on some stuff, but nothing that I couldnt make up later. Working hard when your young pays off more then I can explain. I saved half of everything I made from I was 13 until now, and from roughly 15 I made more then $15 000 a year, to now making more then 20k a year working part time. The very day bofore I got my drivers license, I had my first truck insured, gassed and shined up sitting in the driveway ready to go. Ive got enough money to put a nice down payment on a house if I wanted to. My four years at college is paid for cash. I go on a sick out of province hunting trip every year. I feel I can say this because Im more successful then most of the people I know my age and even 10 or 20 years older then me, and its all due to hard work. The best advice I could pass on is from my dad, tying in what I said above: Work hard when your young; in school, at work, playing sports etc. Sure your going to miss a few nights of going and hanging out with your friends but by the time you 30 you will be successful and its at that point when you can relax. Watch your friends who coasted along when you were young, and what they are doing when the're 30. Busting your back in your 20s is alot easier then busting your back in your 40s. Im 20 by the way.
I disagree with the first sentance also. I have two credit cards. One gets me airline miles, and the other gets me hotel points. This helps with the travel imensly. I put everything on a credit card. Gas, groceries, rent, utilities, everything. Which turn into points, which take me all over the place for next to nothing. The second senetence is the smartest thing I've ever read. I have never carried a balance on either of my credit cards. Bonus wisdom (I'm 26, so delete this if necessary)- If you have a credit card make sure you are getting cash back or points. I'm not sure where or what kind of family you come from, but 5k is a shit ton of money to most young people. That was more than my savings account had in it for a few years after college. And to the guy that claimed money isn't everything. Find a god damn good job that will meet your needs. 99% of jobs suck a dick. Don't spend your days looking for that job that doesn't feel like a job, becuase in almost all situations it doesn't exist. Use your job to live the life you want, not the other way around- You don't know what true sadness is until you have lived in your car for an extended period of time or had only $4 per day to eat on. Guess what that buys - unlimited Ramen, 3 cans of tuna and two bags of frozen veggies. And you eat that every day. Which brings me to my final lesson- Never have too much pride to ask your parents for help when you need it.
Pay. Your. Bills. Have food in your fridge and heat in thw winter. Necessities before leisure, always. It's hard to explain, but eventually you outgrow your Kegerator and realize if you play Beirut by removing the cups, table and ball and simply drink non-stop it's equally effective and you won't be tasting the cold sores and saliva of your fellow players.
That explains that post - but you're still incredibly wrong. It's easy to be all or nothing about money - but reality is that it sits down the middle. Money is very nice to have. It makes lots of things easier and more comfortable. To a certain extent it's critically necessary. If you don't have enough - then you'll almost certainly be miserable. But key advice here is to keep 'enough' under control. Hence all the advice about credit cards and debt. It's real, real easy to end up with 'Enough' as more than you can reasonably make. I know people who gross a couple of million a year who still never have 'enough' money. I know people who struggle to scrape $10k a year who have more than 'enough' and are vastly happier than the millionaires. Don't ever listen to anyone who devalues travel. Travel on your own - share a flight and a hotel room or whatever with a friend if you want - but have the freedom to go separate ways when you need too, and go separate ways. Be responsible for, and to yourself - and no one else, for at least a decent stretch, entirely removed from your social network and family safety nets. And travel internationally, get out of your own culture and see the world and to meet people who are nothing like the ones you grew up with. It'll add infinitely more value to your life than having an insured truck the day you get your license, or an out of province hunting trip. When you're old - the memory of travel and self sufficiency and exploration of other cultures will be up there with the great loves of your life and if you're a breeder, the joyous moments with your children. You won't give a shit about what your your bank balance was when you were twenty.
Understand too though that going overboad with travel though is a bad thing. I know two seperate people whose lives passed them by when they "seen the world." While they were spending 4 or 5 months abroad to see the different cultures, they had no time to create a life at home. They would come back home to work for half a year, leave for half a year. Over the years they couldnt hold up a steady relationship, couldnt make a family or a good home and guess where they are now? 34 and 48 with no kids, single, not that great of a job and not liking life. They have each said they would have spent less time traveling because of where they are now, a family would have been more important to them then a bunch of pictures and memories. My trip every year to Manitoba to go moose hunting means more to me then travelling abroad because its something I have done for years. I go up with my dad, brother, 2 cousins and my uncle. Its the only time we have to relax and get to sit down for a week. I cant wait untill I have my kids so they can come with us too. Its a family tradition. Ive travelled to Mexico and Cuba, all over Canada and some of the States but I still look foward to loading up the trucks and going up north more then going anywhere else. The point I tried to make about my bank balance is that it took alot of hard work to get it. The payoff being that it will enable me to own an investment (house) much sooner then most so when Im 45 or 50 I wont have to worry about a mortgage. In my opinion what one has or dosent have when the're younger impacts how the next 30 years of my life will go. Look at this guy: Sure he has an extreme amount of school, but look at what he wrote. If I was in his situation from working hard all my life I wouldnt have a fair bit of that debt, which will enable me to pay off the student loan by 30 or 35, then start saving for a downpayent for a house then at 40 or 45 I could start thinking of retirement. Just an example of how a good bank balance when your young impacts your life.
Exactly why they had this as the advice for the young thread. Just wondering, what do you plan to pay a year for college. Edit: You used another board member as an example, now where (Because I believe where you live college education is a little cheaper) do you plan on attending higher education. Also, I believe BL1Y has a Law degree, do you?
I have well over a hundred friends (not randoms i kind of know and added to facebook, but people who have an open invitation to stay at my house and borrow my car and expect a birthday gift if they're in town), who'd disagree. I've met somewhere in the vicinity of a thousand people who have travelled extensively, aged between 16 and 75, and not one of them that I've ever spoken too regreted tavelling. Also, I don't believe for a second that international travel leads to an inability to form a relationship, or a lack of job skills. Because again - I have a ludicrous number of friends who formed relationships while travelling internationall. My wife and I weren't living in the same country when we met. I've worked both as a traveller and with travellers for almost all of my adult career - and progressed my career and watched theirs progress as part of the role. Every person I knew before and after significant travel, came back from the trip more employable then they were when they left.
Im going into the second year (out of three) of my electricial engineering tech course. First year though cost $3600 for tuition, $450 for my parking pass, about $750 for books, and another $600 for various supplies and my netbook. Intotal $5400 a year, and Im still working while in school. Second year and third year cost slight less as well.