Pick and mix

Thanks so much to everyone who wrote and called in with “Things I wish I could tell my 18-year-old self” for  last week’s radio show

There were some gems. From the deeply pragmatic:

  • “Eat less sweet stuff”
  • “Get a haircut”
  • “Avoid credit cards”
  • “Take that trip to New Zealand”
  • “Learn to drive”
  • “Make sure you wear ear defenders”

to the reassuring:

  • “Forget trying to impress everybody else and just do what you want”
  • “Mistakes are fertile learning ground, so don’t be afraid to make them”
  • “Don’t worry – there’s no such thing as normal”
  • “Getting things wrong probably makes people like you more, not less”
  • “Don’t be afraid to ask for help along the way”
  • “You are, most definitely, enough”
  • “Don’t spend time worrying that you don’t know what you want to ‘be’ –  just make the most of any opportunities, explore them and accept each step as it comes”

and the inspiring:

  • “Every day give some attention to what gets your creative juices flowing”
  • “Dream bigger”
  • “Don’t look back at yesterday and say, I wish I’d done that. Look back at yesterday and say, well, I gave it a shot…”
  • “Anything is possible – say yes to every opportunity and make it happen rather than listening to the fear”

Finally, there was this, from Jane, who said:
“If I could go back to my 18 year old self I would play her Sunscreen by Baz Luhrmann. Job done.”

So for anyone, like me, who hadn’t come across this before, I’m sharing it here. Enjoy…

The show’s available online for a few weeks longer – if you’d like to listen, you can find it here.

(With special thanks to Dave, Pavo, Mike, Tina, Simon, Brenda, Ceri, Liz, Mim, Amanda, Catriona, Grace, Maxine, Jim, Vicky and Jane for sharing these and to everyone whose messages I read out in the show.)