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comment by kleinbl00
kleinbl00  ·  2761 days ago  ·  link  ·    ·  parent  ·  post: What should teenagers spend their time doing?

THE SECRETS OF BEING A TEENAGER

1) Believe it or not, all of your peers are restricted by a crippling insecurity that prevents them from doing 95% of the things that they love. There will come a time, for example, when you will not believe that you were crippled for days over the thought of the crushing rejection you would experience were that girl to say no to the homecoming dance.

2) Believe it or not, all of your teachers, relatives, clergy, parents etc care about your day-to-day experience and tribulations so little you'd be astounded. So long as you do not (A) get really shitty grades (B) get arrested (C) get a family started you have vastly more leeway than you know.

My advice is to spend your time doing the stuff that you're nervous about spending your time doing. I like to say that I've never met anyone who regretted something they did and everyone I know regrets stuff they didn't do. The exception to that rule is a former meth addict, so that should give you the parameters of the dilemma.

There will come a time when you will realize that your life is truly your own and that nobody but you really cares what you do with it. The sooner that realization aligns with that reality, the sooner you will achieve nirvana. Do whatever you need to keep your parents, teachers and other important people in your life from restricting your movement, and beyond that stretch your leash to its absolute max.

Other word of advice: anything that interests you? At any level? Find experts and talk to them. You have more freedom to interact with these people as a high schooler than you will in college, and more freedom in college than you will as a professional. Leverage that shit.

http://www.techinsider.io/inspiring-story-young-neil-degrasse-tyson-met-carl-sagan-2015-11