Wear Sunscreen

If I could offer you only one tip for the future, sunscreen would be it. The long-term benefits of sunscreen have been proved by scientists, whereas the rest of my advice has no basis more reliable than my own meandering experience. I will dispense this advice now.

Enjoy the power and beauty of your youth. Oh, never mind. You will not understand the power and beauty of your youth until they've faded. But trust me, in 20 years, you'll look back at photos of yourself and recall in a way you can't grasp now how much possibility lay before you and how fabulous you really looked. You are not as fat as you imagine.

Don't worry about the future. Or worry, but know that worrying is as effective as trying to solve an algebra equation by chewing bubble gum. The real troubles in your life are apt to be things that never crossed your worried mind, the kind that blindside you at 4 p.m. on some idle Tuesday.

Do one thing every day that scares you.

Sing.

Don't be reckless with other people's hearts. Don't put up with people who are reckless with yours.

Floss.

Don't waste your time on jealousy. Sometimes you're ahead, sometimes you're behind. The race is long and, in the end, it's only with yourself.

Remember compliments you receive. Forget the insults. If you succeed in doing this, tell me how.

Keep your old love letters. Throw away your old bank statements.

Stretch.

Don't feel guilty if you don't know what you want to do with your life. The most interesting people I know didn't know at 22 what they wanted to do with their lives. Some of the most interesting 40-year-olds I know still don't.

Get plenty of calcium. Be kind to your knees. You'll miss them when they're gone.

Maybe you'll marry, maybe you won't. Maybe you'll have children, maybe you won't. Maybe you'll divorce at 40, maybe you'll dance the funky chicken on your 75th wedding anniversary. Whatever you do, don't congratulate yourself too much, or berate yourself either. Your choices are half chance. So are everybody else's.

Enjoy your body. Use it every way you can. Don't be afraid of it or of what other people think of it. It's the greatest instrument you'll ever own.

Dance, even if you have nowhere to do it but your living room.

Read the directions, even if you don't follow them.

Do not read beauty magazines. They will only make you feel ugly.

Get to know your parents. You never know when they'll be gone for good. Be nice to your siblings. They're your best link to your past and the people most likely to stick with you in the future.

Understand that friends come and go, but with a precious few you should hold on. Work hard to bridge the gaps in geography and lifestyle, because the older you get, the more you need the people who knew you when you were young.

Live in New York City once, but leave before it makes you hard. Live in Northern California once, but leave before it makes you soft.

Travel.

Accept certain inalienable truths: Prices will rise. Politicians will philander. You, too, will get old. And when you do, you'll fantasize that when you were young, prices were reasonable, politicians were noble and children respected their elders.

Respect your elders.

Don't expect anyone else to support you. Maybe you have a trust fund. Maybe you'll have a wealthy spouse. But you never know when either one might run out.

Don't mess too much with your hair or by the time you're 40 it will look 85.

Be careful whose advice you buy, but be patient with those who supply it. Advice is a form of nostalgia. Dispensing it is a way of fishing the past from the disposal, wiping it off, painting over the ugly parts and recycling it for more than it's worth.

But trust me on the sunscreen.

By Mary Schmich

(Random Friday Post.)

have always like this. Thanks for the reminder, Tom.

At least we know that even though, in reality, we're always alone; we're all in it together.

Love this. Thank-you.

Except for the sunscreen...I'm going to continue to be ignorant on that one unfortunately lol. Face lifts will be cheap when I'm old right...?

Take a shower, hippie.

Wow-  I was prepared to be HUGELY impressed with you trhawley for writing this. 

Now I will settled for being hugely impressed with you for posting it .

Original Post by trikki:

Love this. Thank-you.

Except for the sunscreen...I'm going to continue to be ignorant on that one unfortunately lol. Face lifts will be cheap when I'm old right...?

 Face lifts will be cheap, but the cancer treatments and scars from melanoma removal won't.  But I'm a total hippocrite because I never wear sunscreen either, even though I know how important it is.

Don't feel guilty if you don't know what you want to do with your life. The most interesting people I know didn't know at 22 what they wanted to do with their lives. Some of the most interesting 40-year-olds I know still don't.

I'm glad this was there, because I just turned 23 and I don't have a CLUE.

Original Post by sugarshocked:

Original Post by trikki:

Love this. Thank-you.

Except for the sunscreen...I'm going to continue to be ignorant on that one unfortunately lol. Face lifts will be cheap when I'm old right...?

 Face lifts will be cheap, but the cancer treatments and scars from melanoma removal won't.  But I'm a total hippocrite because I never wear sunscreen either, even though I know how important it is.

 Completely know how important it is, but I really hate being pastey lol. I use the justification that I live in Canada, so I don't get as many sunny days as say, people in LA anyways. Thats legit right?

I love that song.

Original Post by trikki:

Original Post by sugarshocked:

Original Post by trikki:

Love this. Thank-you.

Except for the sunscreen...I'm going to continue to be ignorant on that one unfortunately lol. Face lifts will be cheap when I'm old right...?

 Face lifts will be cheap, but the cancer treatments and scars from melanoma removal won't.  But I'm a total hippocrite because I never wear sunscreen either, even though I know how important it is.

 Completely know how important it is, but I really hate being pastey lol. I use the justification that I live in Canada, so I don't get as many sunny days as say, people in LA anyways. Thats legit right?

 Self-tanner people!!!

You still tan with sunscreen on! I've wore sunscreen my whole life (I really love the smell...) and I used to tan all the time when I was little from playing in the sun. I wear sunscreen 24/7/365, it's part of my "going out" routine. Y'know, do hair, maybe some lip gloss, SUNSCREEN!, outfit... XD

I always smell like sunscreen, lmao. I've got 50 SPF, which might be a bit much cause I'm not going to be lying out in the sun all day, but just in case... I worry too much. I use banana boat brand. And a moisturizer for my face by Clean and Clear that's got 15 SPF in it and doesn't clog pores. I have acanthosis ngricans and shouldn't be in the sun because the dark patches get DARKER before my skin even tans, and if I don't wear sunscreen (extremely rare) the dark parts turn all red and burn, this only happens in the summer for some reason. I've got it on my arms, neck, chest... and the last thing I want is a dark ring around my neck. :P

"Don't waste your time on jealousy. Sometimes you're ahead, sometimes you're behind. The race is long and, in the end, it's only with yourself."

i liked this one, a lot.  thanks.

oh sunscreen is important my mom just had a melanoma removed.  they are on the rise and not to be thought lightly about (coming from a tanner).  get skin checks.
AND MYSTIC TAN!!