Old person's advice. Go ahead, ignore it, I did.

You have choice. Not a lot, not for everything and not everyday. But, you have choices, a series of them, and often a few significant ones. Things are, in a nutshell, left up to you.

When you are finished with school and/or no longer living with your parents you will have a tons of choices. That is the good news. The bad news is that if things go badly and you want to blame someone you will need only find the nearest mirror.

Smart people worry about things that other people don't. This will not improve for you as you get older, and as you get farther and farther away from school you will spend increasing amounts of time with people less smart than those you knew in school. So, Choice- deal with this with detached amusement or be miserable. It seems to be a pretty even split for most, from what I can see.

People who you have no interest in may find you attractive and want to spend large amounts of time with you-there is no accounting for taste-go figure. You can choose to find some redeeming value in these people or you can hurt their feelings and turn away. No, ignoring them will not work. Sorry.

More bad news- the reverse of the above will likely happen to you. I hope that people will turn you down and turn you away with tact, but I wouldn't bet on it.

Good news- the law of averages is a sumbitch. If you have standards, and only talk to, date and socialize with people you like and people you enjoy spending time with you will, eventually find someone terrific who has mutual feelings for you. More likely you will try the other 300 items on the buffet first. Don't let that spoil you for the chocolate cake at the end of the last table -It's got your name on it.

For the rest of your life your family will be around you, directly or indirectly. If you cannot resolve old issues with them, fine. But don't kid yourself, they will be in and around your life, pulling strings seen and unseen for awhile. It can make you crazy. It can make you laugh. Guess who chooses which?

If you live in the United States right now you have tremendous choices on what kind of job to have and where to live. Good news- there is no "right choice" Bad news- you won't know this until you try at least two jobs. Hey, how many times did you change your major? That should be a hint to you. If you are under 20 you are telling your friends that you SWEAR you will never be stuck in a dead-end job for year upon year. Good for you. Write that down and put that on the wall of your first apartment. Too many cube dwellers have apparently lost their notes on that assignment. p.s. All the barbwire is down.

You are free to move state to state. I have tried four. I think two should be the required minimum.

Don't like or agree with any of the above? Cool, it's great to be free to choose. Your next 40 years you will be surrounded by people who don't grasp that.

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