What I Wish I Knew At Age 17

Here's everything everyone wish they knew at the age of 17. The number next to it indicates the age the author wrote it at.

Hey 17 year old, There's nothing wrong with gaming, but when gaming consumes your life to the point that you can't focus on anything important, that it becomes an addiction. Look up on gaming addiction for more help, because it's a real addiction.

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 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, 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, 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, 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 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, 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 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, 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, 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, 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, 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, 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, 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, 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, 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 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, 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, 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, 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 getting classic self defense items online, look up some self defense moves for women to try, if you feel unsafe on the streets or even in your own neighborhood. Check out self defense moves from YouTube too, for some ideas.

Hey 17 year old, If you've never got to experience having a good mom or dad, or even have one of those at all, look up the subreddits /r/dadforaminute or /r/momforaminute, to have some substitute moms/dads around to ask advice from.

Hey 17 year old, If you like Reddit and you want some content to cheer you up, look up /r/Upliftingnews, /r/Humansbeingbros, /r/Mademesmile, /r/Wholesomememes, /r/aww, /r/eyebleach, /r/awwducational, /r/animalsbeingbros, /r/photoshop battles and more.

Hey 17 year old, How much you would be if you had to define your worth through money? If you say it's anything but priceless, then you're going to need to receive some kind of worth. Even if you know, people can't be bought and sold, do you act that way?

Hey 17 year old, Be careful when you're only with someone as a friend or even as a partner out of pity. This is not true love, and you can still help them without being their lover or even a friend. Though if they don't want help even as you try, they won't change.

Hey 17 year old, Do a part time job for your personal needs

Hey 17 year old, If you're smart and curious, learn a little bit more about philosophy, even from short videos on the internet. It will teach you a lot about life, meaning and purpose if you're stuck on that.

Hey 17 year old, If you always tend to disagree, learn to find things you have in common with a person before disagreeing. Some debates matter, if someone is immoral, but not all debates matter.

Hey 17 year old, People who haven't been in contact with you for a long time aren't necessarily trying to hurt you. Many people are just depressed, and they've lost contact with their friends.