7 important things we'd love to hear at prom but learned much later

2024 Author: Malcolm Clapton | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-17 03:44

The life hacker asked the graduates of past years what parting words they would give themselves to a seventeen-year-old if they could go back in time.

1. Choose your future profession carefully

When deciding on a university, it is important to remember that the years of study are only a step towards a future profession. And its relevance is not such an important criterion. In 10 years, everything can change. Therefore, it is more important to assess the prospects of the profession, the possibility of retraining or acquiring new skills within the specialty.

When choosing a profession, think that it is interesting to you, because this is what you will do later. You will have to work very soon. Think about what knowledge you need, and not about the fact that you can extend your childhood for another five years, even if it will be a waste of time and parental money.

Anya Fedorova

See what taxation is before you apply. Don't waste so much time with boys, don't give up travel or work because of them. Learn more and do what you like.

2. But remember that everything can always be changed

If you miss your career choice, the world will not collapse. After all, only 27% of Russians work in the specialty they received at the university. The rest have found themselves in something else, and you can.

Tatiana Nikitina

In graduation class, I doubted until the last where to go, and was very worried. I was preparing for journalism and linguistics, and two months before the exam, I suddenly decided that I wanted to be an orientalist, and abruptly began to study history. A simple knowledge would help me a lot to sleep more peacefully: when choosing a university, you do not necessarily choose a future profession. And you definitely don't choose your whole future life.

You can drop out of college or change faculty in your third year. You can study mechanics and get carried away with editing, or learn Python in parallel with your philological studies. Now I know many such examples.

This is an important choice but should not be overestimated. There will be many more moments when you can re-choose, go the other way, or start over. Everything will be OK. That's what I would say to myself in my senior year.

3. Start working as early as possible

After college, the joke that employers are looking for 25-year-old employees with ten years of experience will cease to be funny. So it's best to think about your portfolio of accomplishments ahead of time.

Marina Kovshova

I would wish myself to start working as early as possible, so that life does not beat in the head with a frying pan when you graduate from university with zero work experience. Work in the summer. Do not listen to parents when they say: "Study while - this is the most important thing." And not to be an exemplary student, not to attend all the lectures. And instead, find any movement that may be associated with your dream of who you want to become. Do not be afraid to call, intrude and ask stupid questions.

Oksana Dyachenko

Learn. Much more. And attach importance not to estimates, but to what remains in your head. But do not attach much importance to loves until the age of 20. Do not be afraid to declare yourself, even if you have to sit in a puddle. Start working, playing sports and traveling as early as possible.

4. Monitor your health

At 17, it seems that the time when the body starts to fail will never come. You are cheerful, full of strength and energy. And although the Ministry of Health believes that only 12% of schoolchildren are absolutely healthy, ailments practically do not make themselves felt.

This will not always be the case. Therefore, it is better to start taking care of your health earlier so that it is not too late.

Natalia Vinogradova

I would say so. Stop eating so many buns and sweets, otherwise you will become a sugar addict. Don't be afraid to go abroad. Always choose yourself and what is best for you in the short term. Do not smoke.

Sergey Bolisov

The main thing I would tell myself to a 17-year-old is: think less about work and the future, move more. Success can be achieved a little later, and a sedentary lifestyle will make itself felt not at 50, but already at 25-27, noticeably spoiling life.

5. Don't be too hard on yourself

Teens tend to be maximal, but already now it is necessary to approach any issue with exactly the amount of effort that it deserves.

There are marathons in life where you need to distribute the load evenly in order to reach the finish line. And there are sprints where you apply super-efforts for a short time, but be sure to rest and recover between them. It is important to learn to distinguish between sprints and marathons and to prioritize so as not to waste nerve cells: there is a long life ahead, they will definitely come in handy.

Natalia Alexa

Travel more, do not think that passing the exam on time is more important than the opportunity to see Lake Baikal or that taking an academic leave to live abroad for six months, working as a waitress - is utter nonsense. You will regret it later. Feast on feelings, find more opportunities and take less responsibility on yourself that no one has assigned to you.

Polina Nakrainikova

If I could go back in time and give advice to myself as a schoolgirl, they would be like this:

1. Your life is not equal to the USE and will not end after the USE. Let me explain: in the 11th grade, I literally got obsessed with exams, which I had to pass six at once. I spent all the after-school time with a tutor, and sometimes classes ended at 11 pm. But I would not study less - I would just calm myself down and not worry so much. It seemed to me that if I didn’t pass the exam, I would go to a bad university and an unloved job and a terrible life awaited me. I literally drove myself to hysterics every night, presenting the most eerie scenarios. Now I understand that even if my scores were lower, this would hardly have affected the quality of life: I would have gone to another university or started working earlier.
2. You shouldn't be afraid that no one will ever love you. Another stupid childish fear that I will not find my other half, and just a person who will understand me. At one time, he gave rise to many complexes and pretty spoiled the blood. But right after school I met my future husband. And, by the way, if I returned to the past, I would appreciate this relationship even more.
3. Rest is just as important as anything else. It always seemed to me: the more I do, the cooler I am. Until I faced burnout at age 21. I would advise all hyperresponsible schoolchildren not to be afraid of free time and not to overload it with a million things to do: it is not always possible for adults to have a rest as cool as at school.
4. Appreciate your friends. In a couple of years, they will all disperse to other cities. Yes, everything!
5. Set as ambitious goals as you can. At school, it seemed to me that my maximum was to be a teacher of the Russian language. I couldn’t even imagine that I would be able to achieve something from what I have now: I just didn’t think about it, I acted slowly, I did a bunch of things, but at the same time I didn’t think about what result my actions should lead to. It would be great to fix that.

6. Don't be afraid to be wrong

You can look for yourself all your life, but now there is a particularly large amount of time and opportunities for this. If you don't try to break boundaries, you will never know how much you can do. Not all attempts will be successful, and that's okay. But the risk that is justified can change your life forever.

Evgeny Trukhachev

I would advise myself to be less afraid, do more, be more confident, take chances, look for opportunities, not waste time, not regret mistakes, dig into oneself less, spend more time in society. Don't go for journalism. Well, a bunch of other things. Although I'm not at all sure that it would have changed anything.

Liza Platonova

The older you get, the more missed opportunities you see in the past. Now I would like to say to myself: do not be afraid of difficulties and do not be afraid to make mistakes. The younger you are, the more stupid things you can do without consequences, so you need to act and not be afraid to make mistakes.

Getting real skills is more important than knowledge at a university, so it’s not scary to forget to study and work. If you need education, you can always get it later, but work experience is not so easy to acquire. Well, and one more thing: it is better to do and regret than not to do and still regret.

For those who want new achievements?

6 good reasons to give up perfectionism

7. Believe in yourself, you will succeed

You can do much more than you think. Everything is in your hands, and don't let anyone pull the steering wheel out of your life. You are great, and everything will be fine. But for this you have to work hard.

Lydia Suyagina

Don't be upset about the ratings. Because of algebra Cs, you don't have to pick up bottles after school and live under a bridge, it's all nonsense. But learn English, it will come in handy more than once. And yes, you will work in the specialty for which you are entering, count it!

Don't let anyone tell you that you are not capable of anything. Capable, even as capable, then you yourself will be surprised. Empty hassles will kick in for health, so tie them up early. Remember that you are a sweetheart, which one to look for.

Spend more time with your loved ones. They leave - it is sudden and painful, but a person can cope with everything. So you can handle it.

Main spoiler: the plans are bullshit, in fact, everything will be much better.

Natalia Kopylova

Literally nothing will come true that you are now served under the sauce "when you grow up, you will understand." You will not be overgrown with dirt, you will not starve to death. Your categorical nature will surprisingly attract people, not repulse, and make life much easier, because you will not need to understand the sorts of shit.

Life will not break you off, because the ideas that you defend are the right ideas. And your inner strength is enough to stay true to them. You will not "speak differently" even when faced with setbacks that could bend. You will get up.

Also, you won't start eating everything. And you will get married, even if you "like this" wring out a rag. Because the world is full of adequate people - this is also worth remembering, even when it seems that humanity is doomed.

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