As a woman, what do you wish you'd known at 18 that you know now?

Question

As we get older, we learn so much about our selves, about others, and the world in general. I often wish I could visit my 18-yr-old self, and give her tips and advice that would have saved me from so much hurt and sadness, such as having self-esteem and strong self-belief; an understanding that those who are capable of hurting you are not worthy to be in your life; that the stronger you are - whilst remaining a caring person - the greater the chance of being treated well by other; that you should love and understand yourself first and foremost, before others can love you. I'd love to hear from other women - and perhaps men! - who have life-tips they wish they could impart to those who have yet to live their lives...

Answer 1

Not to ever stay with someone just because. That the love of your life can come in numerous ages. To finish college, no matter what you major in. And not to have children until you are completely comfortable with yourself and I mean career wise as well.

Answer 2

The only thing I can think of at this point, is keeping on the career path and enhancing it with a lot of variety would have made a huge difference, however with a lot of the unwanted states of negative behaviour/s I have experienced, has taken me down many pathways, but just so happy I survived them, and met wonderful people along the way. I am also very glad that all the unwanted cruelty and negative behaviours I have experienced, has not made me treat the world like that, and I can still keep open minded and have the ability to love. The best thing I have learnt is to be as beautiful as a butterfly...keep spreading your wings to fly, and discover the world in all it's beauty while you can, you only get one life to do it with so I just do it! Thanks for asking.

Answer 3

I would probably give the 18 year old me the knowledge i've gained over the years (I'm 26 now).

Work harder in school, don't ever be afraid to stand up to people and fight for what you believe in, have faith in your own ability to live your life, your family doesn't always know best, but respect their opinions (you will thank them for it later!), boys aren't the be all and end all of the world (your perfect lover is just around the corner), don't fight with your best friends or your sister, because one day you may really need them/her (and they/she you), tell everyone that you love that you love them, and don't be shy (because they may never be there again), being aggressive is not always the best way to do things (calm down and think!), get in touch with your inner self and let it guide you, it will alway tell you what you need to best live your life, take care of your body, because later on it will be impossible to repair, exercise more and eat healtier, drink more water (your skin will thank you), make sure you crack it in the job market now, don't leave it until after you get that degree (it won't necessarily find you work), follow your dreams, they *can* become a reality, keep that chin up! .... jees, my list could go on and on. I really hope this helps you, or helps someone. It was very cathartic for me to write this down. Thank you!

Answer 4

First, we should have kept God first in our lives! We should have hoped that as we listened to his direction that we encountered some people in our lives that were worthy of being in our space and those who weren't, moved on from. Some people are only meant to be in our lives for a season, and because we don't have the good sense @ 18 to know this then we think he's the one for me-FOREVER! Never once getting to know who he is, where he comes from and who he comes from. At that age we are only thinking about our flesh and that clouds any & everything else that could possibly be a factor in the path that we chose.
As for now, I would only go back and advise myself to be true to myself and not to worry about what other folks thought of me, cause in 20 years they're gonna wish they were you!
Realize that the world is what it is and keep on your guided path of prosperity. Those are the things that I would have done.
We can't understand anyone else, if we don't first know who we are and what it is in life that we expect. We need to remember that we have to treat people the way that we want to be treated!!

Answer 5

lol.. this is a great question! It reminds me of a saying "I knew more at 18 than I know now" - its so true.. you think u know everything when your 18 and only when u get older do u realise you didnt know half of it! I think i would like to tell my 18 yo self to love the body i was given. I have a curvy body, never overweight, but i was never stick thin either. I used to give myself a really hard time about it. If i knew then what i know now, then i wouldnt have been on those crazy fad diets that made me miserable!

Answer 6

As an older man, I wish I had "lived" before I got this old, and been more certain of things, in my life. However, I am beginning to live now, and enjoy more that life has to offer. I wish I had known how fast you go from 20 to 50.....in the blink of an eye it seems.

Answer 7

I don't every want to go back to being 18 or 20 or whatnot. But at 18 I wish I respected my grandmother a little more, she's not here now but we used to fight like cat and dog - My advice might be: hold your tongue. Anyway, that experience has taught me a lot so I guess if I found myself at 18, I wouldn't give any advice at all.

Answer 8

aaah thi is truly a great question!
if i could visit my 18 yr old self, i would tell her to study, oh i did! ok then i would tell her to study at a higher level, but her esteem was low and she just had a kid, never mind.

i never thought i knew it all at that age but what i now know is enough for me, i think.
iam looking forward to ageing and at 36 iam thinking more about my past and my parents i do regret a few things but we all make mistakes and things havent turned out too bad. like you say its all about balancing it all out, self respect and a caring attitude to others. i see alot of bitter ppl out there and its so sad. when we have our own kids we realise how important it is to be a good parent. i know a woman in her 60s that still complains about her childhood, i have never done this (my sis has!) nobody has a perfect childhood i'm waffling on sorry.

Answer 9

To not have taken my Mom & Dad for granted thinking they would always be around. Dad passed in 96 & Mom passed in 2000 & I learned so much from them. I grieve to this day over them cause I miss them dearly. I harbor no guilt of ever being mean to them though. Unfortunately some of my brothers & sisters cannot say the same !

Answer 10

I wish I would have known that I should have traveled more while I still could..people always think they will have time to do all the things they want to do, but things happen in our lives that make that change! Go ahead, do whatever it is you want to do ( safely) while you have the chance, you never know what life will hand you!