What I Wish I Knew At Age 19

Here's everything everyone wish they knew at the age of 19. The number next to it indicates the age the author wrote it at.

Hey 19 year old, Thomas Frank and Scott Young's blogs really helped me through college. They got a lot of packed shortcuts, tips and tricks to studying I don't usually find elsewhere. Not saying their advice is easy, but it beats the dread of college without it.

Hey 19 year old, I suggest if you want some beginner personal development websites to look up, there is Marc and Angel Hack Life, Lifehacker, Brian Tracy, James Clear, The Emotion Machine, Tiny Buddha, Zenhabits, Pick the Brain, and Live Bold and Bloom.

Hey 19 year old, If you have trouble figuring out what to do with money, look up some personal finance apps to try, such as Mint, YNAB (You Need a Budget), Monny, Wallet, Monefy, Money Coach, Money Manager, Buddy, and Spending Tracker.

Hey 19 year old, If you want to know more about your emotions, there are mood tracker apps like Daylio, EMMO, DailyBean, Moodnotes, Tangerine, Thinky, CBT Thought Diary, Moody, MojiNote, Gratsy, 7 cups of tea, and Pixels.

Hey 19 year old, Progress isn't always a straight line. Sometimes growing up, things get worse since when you were a kid, rather than getting better. It's okay. It's normal. It's natural. Fall down 7 times. Get up 8 times.

Hey 19 year old, If you want to find places online that are untraditional open minded spaces to talk about career advice, there is rebelsatwork, Ask a Manager, Classy Career Girl, Chief Happiness Officer, Human Workplace, and the Way Women Work.

Hey 19 year old, There are many depression blogs if you would like to read some, such as Time to Change, Depressed While Black, Therapy for Black Girls, HeadsupGuys, A Splintered Mind, Blurt, Lawyer Depression Project, NAMI, and more.

Hey 19 year old, If you use Google Chrome, look up the Chrome Web Store to find some free useful extensions related to things like productivity, accessibility, search tools, shopping and even the fun section that can come surprisingly in handy for nearly everything.

Hey 19 year old, If you want help practicing self care and you like podcasts, you can look up ones like Self-Care for Extremely Busy Women, Therapy for Black Girls, Brown Girl Self-Care, The Science of Self Care, The Self Care Chronicle, and more.

Hey 19 year old, If you're stuck on what to do in life, look up a list of life goals, bucket list ideas, list of hobbies/interests, or New Year's resolution ideas (even if it's not the New Year), if you want some ideas on what to do with your life.

Hey 19 year old, Learn a new vocabulary word everyday. It will help you communicate with all kinds of difficult situations growing up, and more words can also allow you to better describe problems you have so you can understand it. Then use it in real life.

Hey 19 year old, If you still want to connect with your inner child as an adult, you can. In your remaining free time, try building things with LEGO, making things with clay, scrapbooking with stickers, watching cartoons, coloring books/apps, and whatever you like.

Hey 19 year old, If you want help releasing stress, I recommend finding a place where you can be alone, or perhaps a loud enough place where no one can hear you, and just scream out all of your stress. Shout everything that stresses you out at the top of your lungs.

Hey 19 year old, Whatever career path you choose, look for online communities on it. If you're in IT, look for a programmer forum. If you're in the arts, look for art videos. If you're in nursing or training to be a doctor, look at med school memes. Research.

Hey 19 year old, PS : If you want to learn more about why the world is such a mess, look up the stages of spiral dynamics, based on a psychology study by Dr. Clare Graves of the stages to maturity.

Hey 19 year old, If you need help organizing your life, look up how to make a mind map, the different uses of the mind maps, the benefits of mind maps, mind map apps, mind map websites, and mind map books. It organizes EVERYTHING in your life.

Hey 19 year old, Post a reminder of your goals for you everyday, in your room where you wake up for you to see. If you want, you can add pictures or even draw your own as a vision board. Put up other things that provide inspiration to you too.

Hey 19 year old, There are better ways to contribute to society than criticism and complaints alone. Yes, those things are needed, but criticism without specific solutions or specific actions will do nothing. Keep this in mind when you judge others. What do you do?

Hey 19 year old, If you want a better world, first envision what a better world would look like. Don't just say you don't want this in the world, but you don't offer a replacement for all the wrong. What would the specific details look like? Why did you choose that?

Hey 19 year old, Adulthood is a time where you examine how much you're lying to yourself or denying to yourself certain things. Take time to carefully observe your own mind in reflection. Just watch your thoughts. Notice if you're trying to run away from anything.

Hey 19 year old, One essential grown up advice? All types of fruits, vegetables and other healthy food can be more easily eaten if you find recipes that make these ingredients more delicious. Sometimes it's not the food, but how you cook it that matters.

Hey 19 year old, If you want to try different physical exercises at home, you can look for different exercise videos on YouTube, such as yoga, dancing, strength exercises, stretching, tai chi and qigong (like Yoga, but from the Chinese), or even martial arts.

Hey 19 year old, There are lots of educational apps if you check that can be very useful for studying, or even for exploring new intellectual or creative interests if you're geeky like me. Sure, there are lots of ones for kids, but many are for adults too.

Hey 19 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 19 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 19 year old, If breathing meditation helps you, then other types of meditations that are less well known can help too, such as walking meditation, body scan meditation, mantra meditation, noting meditation, and loving kindness meditation are the basics.

Hey 19 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 19 year old, If you're looking to date as a man, know that what women want is a sensitive guy in touch with his own emotions, his humor and spontaneity. That's why women want the brooding moody creative man. Not the manly jerk with no emotions.

Hey 19 year old, As you leave for adulthood, know that it's normal for some people in your life to leave, while others stay. Sometimes some paths in adulthood still intertwine. Others get busy with their own lives, but you can always find new people, new connections.

Hey 19 year old, Go to the YouTube channel Dad, how do I? for some fatherly advice for both guys and girls on fixing stuff, baking/cooking stuff, or just advice on life in general. A YouTube channel by a dad who never got to have his own dad, so he became one to you.