Trust Me On the Sunscreen.
If I could offer you only one tip for the future,
sunscreen would be it. The long term benefits of
sunscreen have been proved by scientists whereas the
rest of my advice has no basis more reliable than my
own meandering experience…I will dispense this advice
now.
Enjoy the power and beauty of your youth; oh nevermind;
you will not understand the power and beauty of your
youth until they have faded. But trust me, in 20 years
you’ll look back at photos of yourself and recall in a
way you can’t grasp now how much possibility lay before
you and how fabulous you really looked….You’re not as
fat as you imagine.
Don’t worry about the future; or worry, but know that
worrying is as effective as trying to solve an algebra
equation by chewing bubblegum. The real troubles in
your life are apt to be things that never crossed your
worried mind; the kind that blindside you at 4pm
on some idle Tuesday.
Do one thing everyday that scares you
Sing
Don’t be reckless with other people’s hearts, don’t put
up with people who are reckless with yours.
Floss
Don’t waste your time on jealousy; sometimes you’re
ahead, sometimes you’re behind…the race is long, and in
the end, it’s only with yourself.
Remember the compliments you receive, forget the
insults; if you succeed in doing this, tell me how.
Keep your old love letters, throw away your old bank
statements.
Stretch
Don’t feel guilty if you don’t know what you want to do
with your life…the most interesting people I know
didn’t know at 22 what they wanted to do with their
lives, some of the most interesting 40 year olds I know
still don’t.
Get plenty of calcium.
Be kind to your knees, you’ll miss them when they’re
gone.
Maybe you’ll marry, maybe you won’t, maybe you’ll have
children,maybe you won’t, maybe you’ll divorce at 40,
maybe you’ll dance the funky chicken on your 75th
wedding anniversary…what ever you do, don’t
congratulate yourself too much or berate yourself
either - your choices are half chance, so are everybody
else’s. Enjoy your body, use it every way you can…don’t
be afraid of it, or what other people
think of it, it’s the greatest instrument you’ll ever
own..
Dance…even if you have nowhere to do it but in your own
living room.
Read the directions, even if you don’t follow them.
Do NOT read beauty magazines, they will only make you
feel ugly.
Get to know your parents, you never know when they’ll
be gone for
good.
Be nice to your siblings; they are the best link to
your past and the people most likely to stick with you
in the future.
Understand that friends come and go,but for the
precious few you should hold on. Work hard to bridge
the gaps in geography and lifestyle because the older
you get, the more you need the people you knew when you
were young.
Live in New York City once, but leave before it makes
you hard; live in Northern California once, but leave
before it makes you soft.
Travel.
Accept certain inalienable truths, prices will rise,
politicians will philander, you too will get old, and
when you do you’ll fantasize that when you were young
prices were reasonable, politicians were noble and
children respected their elders.
Respect your elders.
Don’t expect anyone else to support you. Maybe you have
a trust fund, maybe you have a wealthy spouse; but you
never know when either one might run out.
Don’t mess too much with your hair, or by the time
you're 40, it will look 85.
Be careful whose advice you buy, but, be patient with
those who supply it. Advice is a form of nostalgia,
dispensing it is a way of fishing the past from the
disposal, wiping it off, painting over the ugly parts
and recycling it for more than it’s worth.
But trust me on the sunscreen…
sunscreen would be it. The long term benefits of
sunscreen have been proved by scientists whereas the
rest of my advice has no basis more reliable than my
own meandering experience…I will dispense this advice
now.
Enjoy the power and beauty of your youth; oh nevermind;
you will not understand the power and beauty of your
youth until they have faded. But trust me, in 20 years
you’ll look back at photos of yourself and recall in a
way you can’t grasp now how much possibility lay before
you and how fabulous you really looked….You’re not as
fat as you imagine.
Don’t worry about the future; or worry, but know that
worrying is as effective as trying to solve an algebra
equation by chewing bubblegum. The real troubles in
your life are apt to be things that never crossed your
worried mind; the kind that blindside you at 4pm
on some idle Tuesday.
Do one thing everyday that scares you
Sing
Don’t be reckless with other people’s hearts, don’t put
up with people who are reckless with yours.
Floss
Don’t waste your time on jealousy; sometimes you’re
ahead, sometimes you’re behind…the race is long, and in
the end, it’s only with yourself.
Remember the compliments you receive, forget the
insults; if you succeed in doing this, tell me how.
Keep your old love letters, throw away your old bank
statements.
Stretch
Don’t feel guilty if you don’t know what you want to do
with your life…the most interesting people I know
didn’t know at 22 what they wanted to do with their
lives, some of the most interesting 40 year olds I know
still don’t.
Get plenty of calcium.
Be kind to your knees, you’ll miss them when they’re
gone.
Maybe you’ll marry, maybe you won’t, maybe you’ll have
children,maybe you won’t, maybe you’ll divorce at 40,
maybe you’ll dance the funky chicken on your 75th
wedding anniversary…what ever you do, don’t
congratulate yourself too much or berate yourself
either - your choices are half chance, so are everybody
else’s. Enjoy your body, use it every way you can…don’t
be afraid of it, or what other people
think of it, it’s the greatest instrument you’ll ever
own..
Dance…even if you have nowhere to do it but in your own
living room.
Read the directions, even if you don’t follow them.
Do NOT read beauty magazines, they will only make you
feel ugly.
Get to know your parents, you never know when they’ll
be gone for
good.
Be nice to your siblings; they are the best link to
your past and the people most likely to stick with you
in the future.
Understand that friends come and go,but for the
precious few you should hold on. Work hard to bridge
the gaps in geography and lifestyle because the older
you get, the more you need the people you knew when you
were young.
Live in New York City once, but leave before it makes
you hard; live in Northern California once, but leave
before it makes you soft.
Travel.
Accept certain inalienable truths, prices will rise,
politicians will philander, you too will get old, and
when you do you’ll fantasize that when you were young
prices were reasonable, politicians were noble and
children respected their elders.
Respect your elders.
Don’t expect anyone else to support you. Maybe you have
a trust fund, maybe you have a wealthy spouse; but you
never know when either one might run out.
Don’t mess too much with your hair, or by the time
you're 40, it will look 85.
Be careful whose advice you buy, but, be patient with
those who supply it. Advice is a form of nostalgia,
dispensing it is a way of fishing the past from the
disposal, wiping it off, painting over the ugly parts
and recycling it for more than it’s worth.
But trust me on the sunscreen…