I WASN'T LISTENING OR I DIDN'T WANT TO HEAR

When you are growing up there are those ahead of you who try to tell you

and warn you about the puzzles and pitfalls.  But who listens to them when they 

have no idea how much a mess your life is?  

So you carry on and find surprise and misery at

every turn.  There are paths and quicksand and bridges and 

SO MANY CHOICES!

  Good things come your way but sometimes you need help to get at them.

Life is not all bumps and tumbles.  There is a lot of joy right in front of you.

Almost anything good ...

...can be overdone.

* * * * * * * * 

Other things I might have been told but I didn't believe.

♥ Even though you focus on the imperfections--

the body you have when you are twenty isn't so bad.

♥ People who talk behind your back are seldom talking about you.

And if they are, it usually doesn't matter.

♥ It is really true.  Your friends are your future.

♥ Before you get all upset; honestly ask yourself, 

"Will this matter one year from now?

How about one month?

One week?"

♥ Don't compare yourself to others.

They are more messed up than you think.

♥ If we are always guided by others' thoughts,

what is the point of having our own?

♥ Once you carry a child inside you, that child

will be a part of you for the rest of your life.

 ♥ The music you live by in your teen-age years

--no matter how bad and how cheezy--

becomes your forever favorite.

♥  Good nature is more important than good looks.

♥ Big changes in your life usually start with small decisions.

Permanent changes--good or bad--often happen gradually.