Wear sunscreen.
If I could offer you only one tip for the
future, sunscreen would be it. The long-term
benefits of sunscreen have been proved by
scientists, whereas the rest of my advice
has no basis more reliable than my own
meandering experience. I will dispense this
advice now.
Enjoy the power and beauty of your youth.
Oh, never mind. You will not understand
the power and beauty of your youth until
they've faded. But trust me, in 20 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
blindside you at 4 pm 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 you're 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
22 what they wanted to do with their lives.
Some of the most interesting 40-year-olds
I know still don't.
Get plenty of calcium. Be kind to your
knees. You'll miss them when they're gone.
Maybe you'll marry, maybe you won't.
Maybe you'll have children, maybe
you won't. Maybe you'll divorce at 40,
maybe you'll dance the funky chicken
on your 75th 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 of what other people
think of it. It's the greatest instrument you'll
ever own.
Dance, even if you have nowhere to do
it but your 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 gaps in geography
and lifestyle, because the older you get, the
more you need the people who knew you
when you were young.
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. Travel.
Accept certain inalienable truths: Prices
will rise. Politicians will philander. You, too,
will get old. And when you do, you'll
fantasize that when you were young, prices
were reasonable, politicians were noble,
and children respected their elders.
Respect your elders.
Don't expect anyone else to support you.
Maybe you 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 you're 40 it will look 85.
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.
But trust me on the sunscreen.
