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What Advice would I Give to my Teenage Self

Forestwood

To grow richer, seek new experiences, not new things.

Anonymous
Writing
Photo by Kaboompics .com on Pexels.com

My old report card from school indicates the teacher knew who I was better than I knew my pre-teen self. I’d go back and thank that teacher, Ms Gove. Among other things she taught us to cook Nasi Goreng.

Bloganuary Prompt Advice for Teen Self

I would have told my teenage self to keep writing- because funnily enough, writing is now my job! There’s so many years I’ve missed writing opportunities, stories I can no longer remember well.

I would tell my teenage self practical life tips including:

  • Not to dwell on things, for everything in life changes, nothing is permanent
  • To travel as much as possible
  • Smile more

Action gives you more clarity than thought.

Anonymous

This nicely ties into my general life mantra:


“If it is to be, it is up to me.”

Ron Barassi

2022 is subdued, starting really slowly, (Thanks, no thanks, Covid Gods). It feels like waiting for a strange dog to pass me in the street, a dog so large with such a stare that I’d best calculate its propensity for friendship, or aggression. [I hope I am wrong about you, 2022]

Thanks to Carol for her post, which gave me an inspirational kick to write for Blogonuary/Bloganuary.

Furthermore, if you don’t follow her already, you may enjoy one of my entertaining Friendly Friday Challenge Co-hosts, Sandy, who is writing more regularly for this challenge.

Published by Forestwood

A philosophic Aussie writes here at StPA, one who will readily admit to loving Scandinavia. I'm interested in global politics and what drives us to be who we are. Scratch the surface and you'll find a practical Environmentalist with an egalitarian bent, trying to unleash a little creativity via the written word. Scandinavian culture, literature and traditions are close to my heart, even though I'm Australian. Travel and courteous discussions greatly broaden the mind, so I travel if I can and am always up for a vigorous, respectful discussion. I'm an avid reader, a writer and I enjoy photography and crafts, particularly traditional art forms. I hope you'll find 'Something to Ponder About,' in my WordPress Community.

65 thoughts on “What Advice would I Give to my Teenage Self”

  1. Agreed, we should all smile more! When I went to school, one of the staffers had a poster on her wall that said something along the lines of “It takes 26 muscles to smile and 62 muscles to frown.” While I’m not 100% if those numbers are accurate, the sentiment stayed with me after all these years. Great advice!

    Liked by 4 people

    1. I believe we do use more muscles to smile but for some of us it doesn’t come naturally. So we need to exercise those muscles a bit more and relax those that hold tension. Thanks for stopping by! I love your user handle! It conjures up the nicest visual imagery. Have you been retired long?

      Liked by 1 person

  2. This is a sign. I am so tired of everything I cook or eat in restaurants–then Nasi Goreng popped up on your blog! I’m going to make it. Haven’t had it in twenty years or so and I have both an Indonesian and Pearl Buck’s Oriental cookbook and both have recipes for it. Thank you, thank you…

    Liked by 3 people

    1. A sign indeed, Judy! I haven’t made it for a while but I had the thought that I would too! We must be on the same page. We should post a photo and link back to each other. Nasi Goreng has a mini challenge of its own. Lol. Variety is the spice of life they say!

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      1. Okay.. I’m going to do a blog in the extreme difference between the Indonesian Cookbook and the one written by Pearl Buck..If I don’t do so in the next two days, okay to remind me…if you wish.

        Liked by 1 person

  3. Yikes Amanda. Your image a big dog on the street is a frightening one, but it pretty much describes what most of us are thinking.

    Thanks for the call-out and I’m glad that you find the posts interesting. I hope that you’ll be joining in again.

    Liked by 3 people

  4. Thank you for the link back to my post Amanda I am happy to have been some inspiration for this lovely post…You have a very pretty blog. I too love Nasi Goreng I should make it again soon methinks…My daughter lives in Australia I have only travelled around WA which is very beautiful once WA opens its borders I can’t wait to visit again 🙂

    Liked by 1 person

    1. Oh that is exciting that you are going to visit Australia again! Yes Western Australia will open the borders soon, but beware – when we opened out borders a month ago, Covid came with an almighty spike! We are staying under cover here in Queensland for the minute. Stay safe! Enjoy the Nasi Goreng.

      Liked by 1 person

      1. WA has been very cautious up until now and I don’t think they will relax anytime soon they have no Covid there and don’t want it…My daughter and her sons live in WA…and the least sign and they clamp down which is good …I ‘ll be so happy when Covid is contained enough to travel safely ….

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      3. I think much of it is driven by the people as much as the government they don’t want Covid there and are quite happy to keep people out…although I want to visit them I understand as well …

        Liked by 1 person

    1. No that is a good counterpoint to what I wrote, Laurie. Knowing my determined hotheaded self, I probably would not have listened either, preferring to find out for myself. Which I did, but it was a hard slog there for quite a while….

      Liked by 1 person

  6. What advice would I give to my teenage self? Where shall I start? And how much time do we have? I grew up so shy and introverted; almost completely lacking in self-esteem and personal courage. My parents didn’t understand why I was so shy. And they certainly didn’t understand the personal torture I endured as a victim of school bullying, at a time when it was considered just a part of growing up. They still provided me with a sense of safety and security at home, so I survived the madness.

    But one thing I definitely would tell my teenage self is to stand up to people and not be scared of them. Bullies like terrifying others; yet as mean as they may be, they ultimately won’t win if their targets simply refuse to be scared.

    Liked by 3 people

    1. Firstly, Alejandro, I am sorry that you had to endure that level of bullying at school. It is so damaging to the mind. The bullies are often insecure and cowardly underneath but that does little to comfort those on the end of their pointed spears! You had the right attitude with not being scared. Good for you! Be assertive – this would have lessened your chances of being a target. I do wish it wasn’t considered a part of growing up in our era. Such sorrow – and still there are great ways to solve this issue. Your advice to your former self is sound. And thanks to your solid family unit you survived. That is to be admired!

      Liked by 1 person

      1. Actually, I didn’t develop a sense of self-esteem and courage until I was almost 30! I still loathe the fact I grew up so shy, but nothing can be done about it now. I eventually had to deal with bully supervisors and managers in the workplace, but by then, I’d learned to talk back – regardless of the repercussions. No one should tolerate that level of disrespect.

        I think another key element to my survival is my love for writing and how the myriad stories that blossomed from my lonely mind managed to keep me mentally stable. I can’t tell you the number of times throughout my youth that I contemplated suicide. It was that bad! But somehow I didn’t let myself go that far. Every time I become depressed now I contemplate how much time and energy I lost to previous downward bouts. I also think of the number of stories I want to write and publish.

        About a year ago a close friend told me I’m a survivor. I had never looked at it that way, but I realize that’s true. It’s not that I’m stronger or better than anyone else. I’m just too damn stubborn! Plus, I really want to get all these stories down before I go. And visit Australia, too!

        Liked by 2 people

      2. You are not just a survivor, Alejandro, you have found the secret to finding your way out of the black hole. Attitude is significant. Whether it is being stubborn or conscious of diminishing time, it matter not. If it works and gets you moving and happier again, it is definitely a good thing! Keep on writing. It can be incredibly cathartic. This week my family had a huge crisis and writing down my emotions surrounding it has helped enormously.

        Liked by 1 person

  8. Love the school report. Haven’t made Nasi Goreng for ages. I have mince tonight out so could do my own version I used to make for the girls when they were at home. Mostly same ingredients just a few of my own tweakings if I can remember them lol 🙂

    Liked by 2 people

    1. Tweak away Brian. I hope it worked out nice. Nasi Goreng seems to be a meal that many have forgotten about. It is now a Nasi Goreng revival as I have a post coming up about it. Ping me and Judy if you post about it too.

      Liked by 1 person

  9. Pingback: Nasi Goreng Showdown | lifelessons – a blog by Judy Dykstra-Brown

    1. My father recorded his mother recounting stories of growing up in northeastern México in the early 1900s, including living through the Mexican Revolution and surviving the Spanish flu pandemic which took her own mother. I did something similar with both of my parents using a digital camera. They’re both gone now, so I’m glad I made the time and effort.

      Everyone has a story, and many of those stories – even from ordinary individuals – can be fascinating. I would advise anyone interested in family history to take the time to get their elders recounting their life stories in some way. We never know what treasures their minds and hearts may hold.

      Liked by 4 people

      1. Excellent recommendations, Alejandro. I agree everyone has a story and capturing that digitally is a great idea. I am unsure how that formats stacks up over time, but I guess you could transcribe audio to hard copy or print out photos.

        Liked by 1 person

  11. Amanda, we all need at least one Ms. Gove in our lives. You reminded me of an assignment a teacher gave with a list of names in the class. She asked the students to write one nice thing about every person. She then organized these compliments into one short summary for each student and handed them out. Many of these students carried these summaries with them well into adulthood.

    Take care, my creative and hard-working friend. Keith

    Liked by 2 people

    1. That is ever so kind of you say, Keith and the exercise your teacher did was so valuable. Unfortunately, my daughter’s teacher tried it verbally in front of the whole class. This was a class my daughter had just joined and was largely unknown and had not yet found a friend in nor a empathic ear. So when it came her turn for the class to give her compliments, nothing was said. There was one big awkward silence. This damaged her self esteem incredibly. The teacher should have handled it better.

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    1. Oh absolutely. Teen girls do so fuss over their nose, chin eyes when almost every girl will sparkle at that age. Insta has been detrimental to so the self-esteem of many.

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  13. Amanda, lovely reflections for your younger self! Your Ms Gove seems like a gem of a teacher and it’s wonderful when a teacher truly knows one. Here is to a year of more freedoms, smiles and yes, lots of travels! Take care xx

    Liked by 2 people

  14. There’s bumper sticker I see around here. It says: “bark less, wag more.” That’d be my advice to teenage me. I took things very seriously back then.

    Liked by 2 people

  15. Loved seeing that report card. I can’t imagine any of mine looking like that. I remember seeing repeatedly that Marlene does not follow directions well. Everything scrambled in my brain. My teenage self was in survival mode and would not have heard a word I said. Actually, she made many wise decisions during those years and I have to applaud her for using her survival instincts so well.

    Liked by 2 people

    1. The teen Marlene sounds very street smart. Something the teen Amanda wasn’t- at all. I had a need of wider experience if I had any hope of developing those skills. And good reports don’t pay the bills if you can’t translate it to your working life.

      Liked by 1 person

  16. I like everything about this post!

    Especially about the part of smiling more😁, I am a soft and humble guy myself so I like to just show those cheekbones of mine ✌️

    Liked by 2 people

  17. I have school reports just like yours – same era. 🙂 2022 hasn’t started well for us in Queensland, has it. We’re lucky to both be retired and have decided that home is the best place to be for the moment, as much as possible. I have the utmost admiration and gratitude for those who continue to work and put themselves at risk, especially our health care workers.

    Liked by 2 people

    1. They are amazing. I left Allied Healthcare at the start of Covid due to health issues and now I hear Victoria is contemplating sending asymptomatic covid positive Allied Health workers back to work! Unbelievable.

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  19. I don’t think I’d give my teenage self any advice, because if I did I may be in a different place on life’s pathway than I am right now – and I like where I am on that pathway at this point of time. I think the only advice I’d give anyone, including my teenage self is to remember that all things pass. Good times give way to not so good times, and visa versa. Ride the waves, and if you compare yourself to others make sure you’re comparing yourself to the relevant people that will inspire you live a better life. Focus on what you can do in life, not what you can’t do.For example we have a blind friend, who also happens to be a glass half empty person. He had an operation recently following advancements in the field, and can now see a tiny bit. Is he pleased – no way. He still can’t drive, and so remains completely dependent on his wife/carer. He could establish a fantastic degree of independence if he stopped comparing himself to sighted people and instead looked to high achieving blind people for inspiration. He has pots of money and could pay a life coach to get him started.

    Liked by 1 person

    1. I think your advice is wise and practical, Chris. But then you are Always so practical, so it doesn’t surprise me.
      Your vision impaired friend is not alone in his grumblings. Many folks with a disability have a chip on their shoulder and are stuck midway into accepting and dealing with their shortcomings. They focus on what they don’t have and it stops their enjoyment of what they do have…. Sad and a waste.

      Liked by 1 person

  20. Pingback: Simple Nasi Goreng – Something to Ponder About

  21. I would tell my teenage self to keep it up. I was so focused in my teens. I knew exactly what I wanted I worked hard to achieve my goals. I would also tell myself that I am beautiful, that I am confident and my opinions matter. I was shy, I rarely stood up to those who put me down, I chose to ignore them. Other than that I guess my teenage self was pretty good

    Liked by 1 person

    1. Well done, AnnClaire! Your sound like someone with a well developed self esteem! What made the difference for you, given that you were a shy person?

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