When you were 17...

Join the gym. Stop eating like food is going to run out. You're unhappy now... Just wait until you've been doing this for 10 more years...it's gonna be sooo hard.

PS It'll be worth it.

PPS Boys suck. But you love them anyway. Might as well open your heart now!

-Yes that will hurt
-it sounds like a great idea now, but you know your dad/mom is gonna find out (and kick your butt)
-Your parents know everything you think they dont know
-Start saving money now
-Learn how to eat right
-The boy who you like becasue he is trouble, is trouble
-Go to class....everyday you are not too cool for school
-spend more time with your family, they may not be cool now, but one day you will realize they actually are

and lastly....the one that got away, will come back 10 years later, you will meet in an elavator in a city far away, fall in love and live happily ever after (true story)

Thanks for the trip down memory lane

Enjoy it while you can. 17 was an awesome age that I totally let slip by. Nothing you do at 17 matters as long as you don't get pierced, tattooed, pregnant or injured. :-) Go have fun, live life and learn who you are. By the time you hit mid-20's you're either married, in college or otherwise unable to just be free and happy. Don't get me started on mid-30's....................

Oh, and be nice to your parents...They try even though they'll always be tragically uncool... :-) Also, buy as much Apple stock as you can (this is to me when I was 17 and Apple was $6/share).

Stop dieting, ... just maintain whatever you weight right now - at age 17.

I was 135 when I graduated from high school - and thought I was so fat.

Now I'm struggling with my weight at a hefty 200 pounds. :sad:


I would die to be 135 again.

Have fun and never regret anything everything happens for a reason

You are NOT grown - slow down and enjoy being a kid.
smoking is stupid. Quit it
keep up your music because youll miss it someday

-Yes that will hurt
-it sounds like a great idea now, but you know your dad/mom is gonna find out (and kick your butt)
-Your parents know everything you think they dont know
-Start saving money now
-Learn how to eat right
-The boy who you like becasue he is trouble, is trouble
-Go to class....everyday you are not too cool for school
-spend more time with your family, they may not be cool now, but one day you will realize they actually are

and lastly....the one that got away, will come back 10 years later, you will meet in an elavator in a city far away, fall in love and live happily ever after (true story)

Thanks for the trip down memory lane

this sounds like my life....except for the happily ever after part
yes, boys that are trouble are TROUBLE. boys are always trouble. even at 30 they are still TROUBLE with a capital T

Live your life for you, be happy for you...be selfish

one day you will be friends with your mother...

This may not be the best advice but its what I would have wanted someone to tell me:

Don't rush growing up. Be irresponsible. Have fun. Live for the moment.

For most 17 year olds now is as good as life is going to get, take advantage, have fun, be a kid for a little bit longer. The drag that is adulthood will come soon enough, don't run to it.

What?? I totally disagree. I love my life now and I would never go back to being 17 again!n Not that being that age was bad, but there have been so many great experiences I've had just because I got older

If you smoke, stop now. If you don't...don't start!
Don't take relationships too seriously. The guy you're devastated over today....you likely won't remember after a few years.
Have fun and enjoy being 17!!! You don't see it now, but life goes by far too fast. Enjoy where you are today.

I'd have to agree with the money one. It might sound super annoying, but when you're 10 years older you'll be like.. sweet i'm NOT poor. That is, if your dream is like mine to have a house a good job and a husband. i was born in the wrong decade.

The other thing I could say is if you have something you want to do in university, just do it. Don't listen to others that say "what job will that get you" or "well how come your job now doesn't have anything to do with your degree?"... BOY that gets annoying but don't let it get to you. Or really think about that silly dream you want and go to the place that you can get it while you are not tied down. I love what I do now, but I can think of other things I may have wanted to dabble in had I not been in a relationship - such as travelling.

the friends you have now will probably not be your friends in a few years. You will still talk, maybe, but it won't be the same. Whenever I see them, my heart strings pull a bit, but then I remember I am not that person anymore.

Don't move in with your best friend. Ever.

Drive a crappy car - you'll appreciate that new car SO much more

For most 17 year olds now is as good as life is going to get, take advantage, have fun, be a kid for a little bit longer. The drag that is adulthood will come soon enough, don't run to it.

What?? I totally disagree. I love my life now and I would never go back to being 17 again!n Not that being that age was bad, but there have been so many great experiences I've had just because I got older

You're missing the point. Of course being an adult can be/is great but being that not quite adult age only happens for a short time. You'll be an adult for a good 50-60 years. Being 17 is a time of freedom from a lot of adult things such as careers, spouses,kids, and being 100% responsible for yourself. Not that any of those things are bad, they are all great things but not things to rush into.Chances are you will split ways with a lot of childhood friends soon and some you may see in the future, others not. Enjoy it while you can.

nah, not missing the point. the way you worded it was exactly what I responded to. you said the "drag" that is adulthood. Adulthood is not a drag. Obviously you didn't mean that, you meant the PULL, right?

No, to a kid adult stuff (being responsible for a lot of things) being adult is sort of a "drag". Lots kids struggle with that. I think going to college is great for bridging into adulthood, they are respnsible for a lot more but there is still some structure and people looking out for them in some ways. So, when I say "drag" I mean that from the POV of a teen.

I can't think of a thing I would tell myself. How boring...
I just don't have any regrets (despite making many MANY mistakes) so I can't think of what I'd say except, "Way to go, slugger!" And I'd knock myself on the chin a little.

When I was 17, I was in JAFROTC and ready to join the USAF, but my boyfriend decided to pop the question, thinking he was losing me. I felt like I'd be rejecting him forever if I said, "Not now".

If I'd known then what I know now, I would have said "Yes, but..." And still joined the USAF to follow my dreams of working in the fields of aerospace science and aviation, and got married when I could afford it and was mature enough for it. THOUGH, I wouldn't chance anything now--I am very happily married, he makes me laugh and smile every single day.

I know my husband loves me (more now, then even back then) and I know if I would have explained my life goals better at the time, I know he would have supported me in my career/education/military goals no matter when we got married.

I hope to teach our 2 daughters that, that if a man loves you enough to want to make you his wife, he'll be there before and during the bumpy ride, before you sign the marriage license. If you have dreams and goals, he has to love you and your dreams and goals too. Being a "People Pleaser" is not something you want to be labelled. I'm still trying to learn to make myself a priority, and I'm 26.

Have a blast but be responsible!

Hug your parents!

Go to college, it will be the best time of your life!

Don't rush life. It will happens whether you want it to or not )