I recently turned 65, and it has been a trigger for a lot of introspective thinking. I have looked back over a relatively long life, and thought about all the decisions I've made, all the things that have happened, and my hopes for the future. One thing I've thought about a lot is what advice I wish I could have given myself back then, when I was 19 or 20 and making major life decisions that would direct or affect the entire course of my life, but I just didn't know enough to realize it or understand the importance of it all. So here are some thoughts on what advice I would give my 18 year old self.
Choose a major that will get you a satisfying career right out of college. Research your hidden interests and strengths, and don't be afraid to explore the things that you didn't know you were good at. Don't accept other people's opinons and judgements of your strengths, because they don't see all of you and usually have a hidden preconception that blinds them to your realities. Don't worry about starting salary, but do worry about average salary ten years down the road, because that is when you will be making mortgage payments and raising children and saving for their college and your retirement, and by then it is a lot harder to make changes.
