What I Wish I Knew At Age 17

Here's everything everyone wish they knew at the age of 17. If it's good advice, hit the upvote button. The number next to it indicates the age the author wrote it at. Feel like there's something missing? Add a new message!

Hey 17 year old, If you need guidance on how to take care of yourself and how to learn to love yourself, look up "self care for teens," or even "advice for teenage depression," and "advice for teenage anxiety," if you struggle with that yourself.

Hey 17 year old, If your body and muscles feel tense, try looking up how to do progressive muscle relaxation technique. It helps calm you down emotionally, by first helping you release the tension from your physical body, which often happens without you realizing.

Hey 17 year old, Other than guided meditations on YouTube, mindfulness meditation apps can help, such as with Headspace, Calm, Insight Timer, Smiling Mind, Buddifhy, Simple Habit, My LifeMeditation, UCLA Mindful, Healthy Minds Program and more.

Hey 17 year old, Watch videos on Youtube on common movie tropes and stereotypes like the black guy/girl who dies first, the gay best friend, the magical negro, the nerdy Asian kid, the sassy black woman, the dumb blond girl, the dumb jock, and more to examine it all.

Hey 17 year old, If you want to explore more about the social commentary on different internet trends to become a deep thinker of what you see online, such as cottage core, material girl, plastic surgery on social media, romanticize your life movement, and more.

Hey 17 year old, If you need help researching something for school, look up "research websites for students," or "tips on Google" (yes, there are a lot of hidden tips beyond the obvious) that can really, really, really help with extra credit and all. Good luck.

Hey 17 year old, One part of learning to practice physical exercise is knowing that different people like different exercises. One might prefer yoga, another person running, another martial arts, hiking, swimming, biking, and so on. Find what's right for you.

Hey 17 year old, If you want to feel less hungry all the time, look up "high satiety foods," or food that make you feel full more easily. For example, boiled potatoes, eggs, oatmeal, fish, soup, greek yogurt, vegetables, cottage cheese, legumes, nuts and more.

Hey 17 year old, One major sign of manipulation is when people try to create conflict between people who should trust each other, by making up lies about the other person. Look up "triangulation (psychology)," for example. This is to isolate you and trap you.

Hey 17 year old, If something you're studying is difficult to understand, use the Feynman technique. Explain it in your own words or using pictures, diagrams and technical definitions. Try to teach it to someone else. It will organize your thoughts. Look it up.

Hey 17 year old, When others insult you, notice if they're projecting. If they say you're fat and ugly, are they even completely fit and healthy themselves? If they say you're stupid, are they even that smart? If they say you're selfish, are they even kind at all?

Hey 17 year old, When people insult you and bully you, ask why. Not just why they're doing this, but why they believe this about you. Do they even know anything about you? Are they the expert of your life? Do they know everything about the world? Are they smart?

Hey 17 year old, People throw out names, insults, slurs and swears at you and others only because they can't actually provide any calm logical explanation for why they hate you and others. You can't reason with someone who didn't arrive at their ideas with logic.

Hey 17 year old, If you want help others, add something to your resume in college, and find a way to socialize in a very nice friendly environment, you can look up "volunteering ideas for teens," or "places to volunteer for teenagers," for some ideas.

Hey 17 year old, Some basic ways to help the social causes you care about are petition sites like Change.org and Care2. Not to mention click to donate sites (where you look at ads of companies who sponsor charities.) The most famous of this is Free Rice, a quiz game.

Hey 17 year old, If you want an easy way to support social causes, look up search engines that support/sponsor charities like Tab for a Cause, Search for a Cause, Ecosia, giveWater, Elliot for Water, Lilo, Ocean Hero, and more. Look up "charity search engines."

Hey 17 year old, Learn to be observant of the possible opportunities around you. When someone looks at the details upon things, you might end up finding things you never considered before, but only if you're willing to look closely at your surroundings.

Hey 17 year old, Learn to list your priorities. What are your main priorities in life in order? What is most important and is due the most soon? What is unimportant but due soon? What is important but not due soon? What is unimportant and not due soon?

Hey 17 year old, If you can't decide, flip a coin. If you get what you want, you'd be happy you'd get the result. If you don't get what you want, you then become aware of what you really wanted the coin to flip to. Flip a coin not to trust it, but to trust yourself.

Hey 17 year old, There are many anxiety blogs if you would like to read some, such as Beautiful Voyager, Anxious Lass, Anxiety Slayer, Anxiety Sisters, Free From Social Anxiety, Anxiety Canada, About Social Anxiety, Diary of a Social Phobic and more.

Hey 17 year old, If you're a person of color, there are many mental health resources online made for black people, such as Black Mental Health Alliance, Therapy for Black Girls podcast, Black Girls Heal, and more. Look up "black mental health resources," for more.

Hey 17 year old, If your parents think your depression, anxiety or other mental illness is caused by Satan or that means you're literally possessed by a demon, they might also need as much therapy as you, if not more. They sound pretty loony to me.

Hey 17 year old, I suggest looking up the website School of Life (a nonprofit mental health organization) for a lot of free articles on mental health answering common questions on the topics self-knowledge, relationships, work, calm, leisure and sociability.

Hey 17 year old, If you have trouble with relationships of all kinds, I suggest doing research into attachment styles, and learning the different ways people attach to people. Do you have a secure, avoidant or anxious attachment style?

Hey 17 year old, If you want help making friends or finding a date, there are many social skills guides online to help you. Examples include websites like succeedsocially, improveyoursocialskills, or just google "how to make friends" or "social skills advice."

Hey 17 year old, If you want to make a genuine smile, think of a happy memory and keep it in mind in social situations. You can also find fake smiles in others when their smiles don't reach their eyes, or their words contradict their body language.

Hey 17 year old, It's best to combine both logic and intuition in big decisions. Research the pros and cons of decisions, but if you're still stuck, listen to your gut, literally. Think about each decision, and notice if your stomach feels uncomfortable or energized.

Hey 17 year old, It's good to have a chosen career that you have passions for. Just remember that a career doesn't have to define your entire personality and sense of purpose in life. It can be found in others, side hobbies, spirituality or volunteering too.

Hey 17 year old, It's okay to be a jack or jill of all trades or to be a generalist when it comes to a career. If you could be creative, you can combine your interests together. Search the term "multipotentialite," made by the blog Puttylike.

Hey 17 year old, If you're confused about your sexuality or gender identity, look up LGBT quizzes. Google quizzes like, "Am I gay?", "Am I lesbian?", "Am I transgender?", "What is your sexuality?" or "What is my gender identity?" Not 100% accurate, but helps.