I am 16 going on 17
I know that I’m naive
Fellows I meet may tell me I’m sweet
And willingly I believe

…
I need someone
Older and wiser
Telling me what to do
You are 17 going on 18
I’ll depend on you

lyrics from 16 Going on 17 in The Sound of Music

…

I am 25 (going on 26). So when I read the bloggy meme @ On Simplicity, 3 Things You Wish You’d Known At 20, I kinda figured I might not be old enough for this. I mean, sure there are things I didn’t know at 20 that I know now – but do any of them matter so much that I’d have truly benefited from knowing them just 5 years sooner? But then again, it’s only three things – And maybe, since I’m young, I’ll extend it back a bit and say, there are a few things I wish I’d known at 17 that I know now. For instance:

1. He’s Just Not That Into You. No bad relationship is worth staying in. No guy is worth putting up with if he’s not treating you like a freaking Goddess. When the right guy comes along, none of the jerks will matter – so you can date 3 or you can date 33, and it really won’t make a difference. The right guy will not need to “change” – he will not need to grow out of things, get over things, or See The Big Picture. He will love you unconditionally. Now suppose you are with the Right Guy but he’s not acting like the Right Guy? I say, kick him to the curb anyway. You don’t need to put up with it, and if he’s truly the Right Guy, he’ll figure it out and come find you when he’s ready to start acting like it. He can be the Right Guy later, and in the meantime, you can stop listening to so many sappy sad love songs.
2. GO TO CLASS. LEARN. Learn anything you can! Study more. Date less. Stop wasting time with men like the ones mentioned in #1 and spend more time learning everything you can. All that knowledge is right there for the taking and you are pissing it away so you can date and have fun and be with boys who won’t matter at all. In 5 years you’ll be married and have an adorable kid, and you won’t be in school anymore. And you won’t be able to take that awesome course or that one either. And you won’t remember a gazillion fascinating lectures that you half slept through because you were so tired from going to that party last night…
3. Watch your weight. You might be 110 pounds right now (and darnit, YES you are pretty), but if you keep eating the way you eat, and keep refraining from all forms of exercise, you will never be skinny ever again and all those bad habits will only get harder to change. Drink more water. Stop using elevators. Eat breakfast in the morning. Don’t eat dessert every night. Dr. Pepper does not count as a breakfast or a dinner. Never eat breakfast if you haven’t gone to sleep yet – GO TO SLEEP AT A REASONABLE HOUR. That’s part and parcel with being healthy. Do this and maybe you can keep your incredible figure.

Wow, I’m pretty smart now at the wise, sage old age of 25. I can only imagine how much I’ll know in another five or ten years. I guess I’ll have to wait until I blog about it then to find out…

So what do you wish you’d known at 20? And, in an effort to not alienate any readers if you are 20(ish) now, what things do you WISH you knew now?