Mine:
- Learn a second language and keep up with the language your parents speak. You will regret being a brat about not wanting to speak this language especially as your family members pass.
- The only opinions about you that really matter are from the people you respect and who respect you back
- Being a kind humble person, who leads their political convictions with curiosity and not self righteousness is important. As that one person said: “I am no hero and neither are you.”
- Don’t throw out your old media (mix cds, tapes, records, photos, zinee, etc) because you think they’re embarrassing. They either will not be embarrassing later or they will become expensive and you can tell them for mad bucks.
People are the most suspicious of the behavior they are most guilty of. The guy who thinks everyone is stealing from him, is probably stealing from everybody else. If it’s your boss, keep an eye on your paycheck. The person who always thinks their person is cheating on them, is probably a cheater. People do this because they’re trying to excuse they’re own behavior - “I only do it because everyone else is doing it to me,” even if they aren’t.
Commit to doing something difficult, even if it’s just a hobby, like running, working out, playing a musical instrument, writing, painting, learning a language, cooking, reading classic novels, birdwatching, etc. Having something that’s important to you, and investing deeply into it, will fulfill your soul, and give you something good to hang onto when times get tough. And they will get tough. And don’t tolerate people around you who dismiss or are disrespectful about it. It’s important to YOU, that’s all that matters. Their validation is irrelevant.
The first point is not just true for the guilty, but also their victims. Once burned, twice shy.