Happy 30th Birthday! (to my 13 year old self)
Today is my 30th birthday, and it’s not every day you turn 30. To mark the occasion on my blog, I thought I’d write a handy little guide for my teenage self, just in case time travel becomes an option and I can fast track some of the best things it took me so long to discover.
30 things it would have been handy to know at 13
1. It’s a cliche because it’s true, your family and your friends really are everything. Stick with it, even when it’s heartbreaking, and make sure you always give back.
2. Don’t miss the big stuff, and especially not for money. Beg, borrow and steal to make it to events, milestones, that special something. Memories cannot be manufactured.
3. Turn off the TV.
4. Time is the only thing everybody has the same amount of. Everyone gets just 24 hours in a day. The Prime Minister, Albert Einstein, Madonna, Simone de Beavoir - everyone.
5. On time, when you use “I just don’t have time” as an excuse, what you are really saying is “This is just not a priority for me.” Now we’ve sorted that out, do you still not have time?
6. Read. Read more.
7. Keep a journal and write in it regularly. It is cheaper than a therapist, and seeing just how far you’ve come is rewarding.
8. Gamble everything for love.
9. Don’t eat that chicken schwarma in St Petersburg, July 2000.
10. Keep your secrets, and everybody else’s. Even better, try not to have any secrets at all.
11. Vote in every election, every time. Democracy is a process you are privileged to be part of.
12. That thing called the internet? Embrace, dear child.
13. Get moving! Working out is not as scary as it seems.
14. Find a mentor, and thank her for everything she gives you. Then find another one.
15. It will get bad. You will get better.
16. Treat money like public transport, it’s not the reason or the destination, it just helps you get around.
17. Nobody is having as much sex as you think.
18. Write. Write more days than you don’t.
19. Go on, give up meat. Soon, you won’t even notice, and your grocery bills will halve (and the planet will love you more).
20. Get on that plane.
21. If you suspect you won’t be able to walk very far in the shoes, do you need to buy them?
22. Everybody is uncomfortable in their own skin sometimes, and sorry, this is not unique to being a teenager.
23. Sorry, you’ll also still get pimples. Thankfully, you won’t care so much.
24. That whole career thing? Of course you don’t know honey, your world up to now has been entirely directed by other people and how are you supposed to know people get paid to come up with ideas, or spread enthusiasm, or write things other than books or newspapers?
25. It would really be better if you just never started with the diet coke thing.
26. Master the art of giving genuine compliments.
27. Falling in love is everything The Cure say it is but even more so, and as for being single, you’ll love that too.
28. Seek out new and different ideas. Find someone you can debate them with, or as many people as you can to debate them with. Do this often. Even better? Find a way to get paid for it and do it daily.
29. If you hate doing it, don’t do it for long. This goes for everything: jobs, parties, food, people, cities, books, clothes, music, philosophies - everything. You will get so much more out of doing things you enjoy.
30. This whole being an adult thing? You were right, you’re going to absolutely love it.
In case you were wondering, I’m not actually spending my 30th birthday writing blog posts, though I would be cool with that if I was. I’m in Sydney, and I hope it’s sunny.
