@decademic Five words: "Don't Quit. Don''t Ever Quit." If you want something bad enough you need to be willing to eat/sleep/drink/breathe that thing until it's in your grasp.

@decademic I'm 21 and "holy fuck I am Legally An Adult" is still a very big mood

Everyone who you think has it all together is winging it, it's not like everyone but you got the Prima Strategy Guide for adulthood; compare notes, ask for help from people who are good at what you need, pay it forward

Also, get out and do stuff if you're at college, it does a lot to stave off depressive pits

@decademic If you're going to be an artist, then have the guts to do whatever it takes to do your art full time even if it means enduring poverty.

Above all, don't get into software development as a "day job", even if your art draws upon cyberpunk. You can research that shit.

But I'm a cishet white male and only slightly femme so I'm coming from a privileged perspective. YMMV

@decademic
- chances are nothing you did in high school really matters, so don't worry about it too much
- lean into your hobbies
- it's not enough to not be an asshole; you've gotta be compassionate
- embrace not knowing stuff and embrace asking around; I'm 29 and I'm still hacking at it
- be wary of advice you get on the internet

@decademic Live below your means and save money for a rainy day - index tracked mutual funds. The power of compound interest is great when you're very young.
Also travel. Hard to strike a balance.

@decademic Even asking this question means you are probably better prepared than most of your peers. So don't worry. You'll figure things out as you go.

@decademic I'm not much older than you are (23) but I would say to remember just how young you are, and how much time you have to figure yourself out. Barring any spectacularly bad decisions, you have almost any option available for you. If it takes you a year or two to really decide what your passion is or what you want to pursue, so be it. Don't feel like you should immediately know all of that now.

@decademic never settle. 👍

@decademic It really is who you know, not what you know. Yes, study and work hard. But don’t forget to cultivate relationships. Nobody gets there alone and you’ll need others to help you along personally and professionally.

@decademic You're on a good path already, realizing that you have so much to learn and asking for help. Don't ever lose that.

I wish somebody had told me that if you aren't using your anger to do something productive, then it's only going to eat you alive.

Taking Ray Bradbury's advice to write for 4 hours a day? Good. Do 5.

Never lose your drive. Value your ferocity.

Give your fucks to those who deserve them, and screw the ones who don't. The latter won't do you any good.

@decademic

1. No one really knows what they're doing, even if they pretend that they do.

2. You can get better at things if you practice / work at them. (I learned this lesson later than I wanted to.)

3. If He/She/Ze is into you, you'll know it and he'll/she'll/ze'll/they'll be really obvious and clear about it. You won't have doubts.

@decademic well advice I would give to 17 yr old me is pretty specific to my situation, but to make it broader, I guess...

Don't pretend to know everything. Coming into adulthood with a lot to prove but plans...go awry so easy. Try to be flexible. A lot will happen in not much time. Take care of yourself.

@decademic I think this is mostly good advice!

en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wear_Sunscreen
m.youtube.com/watch?v=sTJ7AzBIJoI

@decademic

- There's no set way to be an adult, even though plenty of people behave like there is & expect you to conform to it. To paraphrase something Neil Gaiman said: Grown-ups are just kids in drag.
- If you find yourself in a relationship that you can't picture a future in, there almost certainly isn't one. It's kinder to end things sooner than to hang on, even if you're afraid of hurting the other person / being alone.
- Love and time are more valuable than anything else

@decademic
1) Ever notice how it seems like it’s socially required for a smart person to go straight from high school to university? How tech school, even when you’re planning to get your gen ed knocked out inexpensively and transfer to a four-year university, is substandard?
It’s propaganda. Prestige is an illusion. Universities are businesses.
If you have no idea what you want to do, wait. Don’t pay tens of thousands of dollars at an institution where everyone’s “sure you’ll make a decision”.

@decademic
Don't go into debt young. You'll regret it.

If you have to go into debt, like for school, keep it less than the average car loan. But mostly focus on getting a degree debt-free if that's your path in life.

@decademic
2) The only way through grief, trauma, etc., is through it. You have to open up and feel what you’re going through, honestly and without trying to preserve your ego.

3) Arm yourself against the world.
Dave Ramsey’s Financial Peace University: Take it before you leave home. You may not agree with his Biblical stance, but follow the advice and you’ll thank yourself later.
Robert Cialdini’s “Influence: Science and Practice”: This has come in handy frequently.

@decademic
4) Be honest and straightforward, help people, and do what’s right. It takes strength sometimes. You won’t usually benefit in the here and now, and you’ll suffer the pain of seeing the bad guys win in the short term. But there are rewards and lots of them, and they’re better than whatever you’re tempted by.

@decademic Also, I feel like you’re going to be okay because you’re even asking this question, going-on-18-year-old me was open to suggestion but wasn’t going to learn a damn thing that didn’t come from trial and error

@decademic
5) If you’re not going to follow your passion as a career path, consider flexibility as a must-have. IT’s a pretty good field for that. Anything where you can work from home some days, though, is probably great.

6) There is no skill someone else possesses that you cannot also possess. That skill is just what the person focused their attention on. There’s not a magic gene that makes you a programmer or musician or mechanic. It’s time spent learning and an underpinning of confidence.

@decademic I wouldn't have taken anyone's advice at your age. All the good stuff sounded like trite drivel because I had no experience to give it context. Then years later I'm like "ohhhhh THAT'S what that's about, yeah, I wish I'd figured that out earlier".

@decademic
7) Don't procrastinate, or procrastinate effectively. Things you put off pile up and take up space in your head, and you forget. Example: I was in Iraq in 2010. When I managed to get Internet, I found out about a new thing called Bitcoin. I knew it was going to take off, I wasn't paying for anything, so I had the money and planned to invest. But warzones are stressful (who knew?) so all these IMPORTANT URGENT THINGS had to happen first and that's why I'm 32 and haven't retired yet.

@decademic Done pouring out all my regrets for now, should probably do work or something, but good luck, you've got this!

@decademic
#8) Ctrl+S. Use it habitually. Also, back up everything, in a separate geographic location if possible.

@decademic
9) Work out. Use weights if accessible. Stretch frequently.

@decademic
1) Be kind to everyone. You never know what someone is going through.
2) Be thoughtful with your humor. Being a jerk is easy, but mean.
3) If you're good at what you do, most careers max out in 10-15 years if your work for someone else. Plan ahead.
4) Learn to budget and invest. Use your money based on goals rather than what you can afford.
5) Don't wait for good things to happen to you - make them happen. Most luck is work in disguise.
6) Travel. Move somewhere new.

@decademic Don't necessary follow the linear career procedure. Take time off when you can afford, maybe take some mini-jobs, travel and think about what you want to work and get social. Get known to the world out there, about the bad and good things. In general make experiences you might have less time to make when you get older.