Of a Message to a Younger Me

One of the coolest things I’ve seen online is a site called ‘The Wilderness Downtown’. It’s a showcase for HTML5 and promotes Googles Chrome Browser. It’s an interactive piece based on Arcade Fire’s ‘We Used To Wait’.Anyway, in the experience, you’re encouraged to message the ‘younger you’.Which got me thinking. What would I write to myself? What lessons or suggestions would I impart to myself as a teen?Here are some things that sprung to mind.- Work a little harder at school (because you can, not because you have to). Explore a wider range of subjects. Don’t allow ignorant teachers get under your skin. Achieve despite them.- Be more noticeable. Make more noise. Don’t worry about having Dad and Mum on staff there.- Play more sports. You’re actually quite good and you’ll bulk up in time.- Don’t coast through University. Master your subjects. You are able to.- Don’t limit your friends to those in your Church Youth Group.- Don’t turn down beach parties with your schoolmates. Yes, you’ll probably end up shitfaced and buried to your neck in sand, but it is worth it.- Actively stay in touch with friends. They won’t do it themselves.- Surround yourself with positive people and don’t judge or write-off those you don’t understand or agree with. Learn from them.- Don’t let your sister talk you into buying those open-top leather boat shoes.- Get a decent haircut and maintain it. You don’t want to be explaining the mullet and spiky top to people in 20 years time.- Your University Winter ‘uniform’ of cheap jeans, cheap shoes, a cobalt blue/black hand-knitted jumper and a British military parachutists smock is not cool. And has no chance of ever being cool. Just don’t do it.- Update your glasses regularly. In the future, glasses are actually ok, but they’ll invent laser surgery which removes the need for them. Totally worth it.- Girls are nice. They are not scary. You can talk to them easily.- Girls can and do actually like you.- Don’t marry the first girl who holds your hand and tells you that you’re going out.- Fall in love. Fall out of love. Have your heart broken. Take the risk. It is worth it.- Don’t get married at 22. Live first.- Be mindful of ideals, but don’t be idealistic.- Don’t judge people with different belief systems to you.- Don’t isolate yourself within a Church culture.- Be open to all walks of life. Everyone is on their own journey.- Take more risks. Don’t be scared of failing. Be scared of not trying.- Love. Stay open. You’ll get hurt from time to time but it’s worth it.- Don’t wait until you’re 30 to discover wine. Drinking alcohol is not a sin.- Do your OE. Don’t ‘do the right thing’ and stay in New Zealand.- Don’t let others tell you how to live your life. This is so important. You gain nothing from being subservient.- Put money on the Breakers winning the NBL title in 2011. Trust me.I am actually happy with how things turned out. There are a lot of experiences I missed out on but on reflection I probably missed out on a lot of pain as well. I am living now! There is so much opportunity and life to live.So. What would you write to your younger self?- Simon