In 2003 there was a teen movie starring Amanda Bynes where they had to change the poster so she wasn’t giving the peace sign anymore because the studio didn’t want to insinuate any anti-war messaging.

Talking about someone behind their back will come back to bite you in the ass more than you think.

If you are in a group situation where everyone is always shittalking other people, walk away.

I think a lot of zoomers feel like they have failed their parents or society because they don't have a career and aren't successful. The opposite of that is true - this world has failed you at every step.

None of this shit is your fault. We live in hellworld. You have inherited a deeply broken and dysfunctional system that's maybe reaching its conclusion. This world is not indifferent towards you, it's hostile to you.

The first step is to become deeply aware of that. The second step is to defend yourself. Some stuff that helped me is practicing self-compassion, journaling and meditation.

Wear earplugs to every concert.

It's okay to cut people off if they make you miserable. That goes for anyone, even your parents.

If you can, get a crock pot, rice cooker, or instant pot, it'll make your cooking life so much easier. You can prep a bunch of meals then freeze them to pull them out later and cook them whenever you're ready to eat, and it's great not to have to worry about cooking but still get a hot home meal at the end of the day. Also put MSG in everything savory.

Try to fix anything that breaks before you throw it out or replace it. A little bit of googling goes a long way there. There's a youtube video for everything, I've done fan repairs, headphone repairs, auto repairs, toilet repairs, you name it, and I didn't know a thing about any of that stuff to begin with. Just give it a shot, its okay if it doesn't work or you can't do it - at least you tried. The exception is printers, don't spend too long on those devil boxes, go into a printer repair ready to give up on it.

It's almost always better to half-ass something but get it done than to not do it at all.

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If you drive a lot, keep a road atlas in your car. You'll probably never need it, but if you do, you'll be damn glad you've got it.

People you've never met before, or who you haven't talked to in years, being really pushy about offering you a job, or a "moneymaking opportunity" are trying to scam you. They may not even know that that's what they're doing, but it is. Some of the biggest scam conpanies are Herbalife, ItWorks, Vector, Young Living, YouNique, Scentsy, and Amway.

You can get a job quick at a temp agency. It'll be shitty, and the agency may very well make it a point of pride fucking over the workers employed through them, but it's income.

If you don't already, learn how to use at least salt, pepper, and garlic powder when cooking.

Literally no one "knows what they are doing." My deepest regret of my formative years is believing what adults say without them having a meaningful justification. While experience does exist in certain contexts, if someone says they "know what they're doing" particularly for things that don't have a concrete solvable answer (think how to solve a math problem vs. making some sort of philosophical or ideological judgement) they they ESPECIALLY don't know shit and you shouldn't trust them.

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Call your grandma, text your bff from kindergarten, ask your cousins if they wanna hang out. Obviously if someone's abusive then cut them out of your life and good riddance. But if you've just "grown apart" or "won't it be awkward to suddenly call" - in my experience most times reaching out has been positive, and not reaching out led to regrets.

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Are zoomers still in high school? I feel like most zoomers are now in their early or mid 20s.

• Think about what you say before you say it. Sounds trite but it's true. Other people will remember what you say better than you will at times. They'll take one offhanded comment for who you are and everything you believe.

• Most of the time people will not correct you when you're wrong. It's a very bizarre thing because growing up on the internet, I expected people to be as pedantic as people were online. But they aren't. They either value politeness more than controversy or they don't have the energy to explain things to you. You can't use others as a reliable means of correcting your course. Therefore don't take silence or compliance as you being correct.

• Don't fall into the trap of thinking you can ever prepare for action by research or studying. Pretty much everything in life requires you to do something first-hand in order to truly master it. You can read all the books and game out all the plans in the world but actually doing it out in the real world will be different. This goes for whatever you do in school or with activism or with any skill.

• This plays into the above: you'll never feel ready. You'll never truly feel like you have a good grasp on something when you're new at it. You'll never feel prepared to take the next step. You'll swear you just need a little more time to prepare and then you'll be ready. But that feeling never goes away no matter how much you prepare. You can't let fear paralyze you.

• If you start studying theory now, and just read like two or three books a year, you'll be very knowledgeable in 10 years.

• Time moves faster than you think and you won't notice until it's over. 10 years from the day you start high school, on the day you start, is hard to imagine. 10 years afterwards seems like a few months passing.

• When you hit your 30s, a lifetime of neglect for your health will begin to show. As difficult as it seems, take care of yourself now. It's not your fault you don't have access to preventative care, but doing simple, cheap things will save you thousands of dollars in a decade or two.

• Sometimes things are just over. It's not fair, it doesn't feel great, but that's life. Friendships, romantic relationships, time spent with family, living where you are, etc. Don't try to cling to that which is over.

• This ties into the above: A lot of things are more temporary than you think. There were people in my life who I couldn't imagine living without but I don't even think about them anymore. There were promises I made to myself about what I was going to do in life and now my feelings are completely different. You will change your mind. Not on everything, but on more than you think.

• Pretty much all of human knowledge is a story, a narrative, or, an opinion. That doesn't sit well because it leaves room for the cranks to peddle their bullshit as truth. But I'm not saying the Earth doesn't go around the Sun or that the Earth is flat. I'm just saying that a whole heck of a lot is just humans creating a narrative out of observations. Some narratives are fairly concrete but they are narratives none the less. Realizing this helps avoid that debate club mentality. Also, it's all philosophy too. Once you realize that, you figure out you get to plug-and-play with different ontologies and there are different options for epistemology.

• You don't need to do drugs to be interesting or creative. You don't need drugs to prove you're open-minded. But at the same time I feel like drugs are something you should experience if you're healthy (mentally and physically) enough to handle them. They're just a unique life experience even if you decide they're not for you.

• Humility is probably one of the best personality qualities you can cultivate in yourself. But it must be authentic humility.

• Keep a watch out for the people who stick by you no matter what you do to them. This may sound weird, but it's especially helpful if you're mentally ill. There will be people who will stay even if you push them away. They will patiently wait for you to get better. They will make attempts on their own to keep in touch even when it doesn't benefit them. Those people are your real family and they are worth having in your life. Just to be clear, I'm not talking about being abusive to people. I personally suffer depression and I tend to push people out of my life and neglect keeping up relationships. Yet there are a few people who don't mind and remain in my life. Make some attempt at being there for them too.

• Get your oil changed every 3000-6000 miles. Keep jumper cables, a tool kit, some water, some anti-freeze, and some oil in your trunk. You won't need it for most of the time. But that one day you do need it, you will be glad you have it.

• Never feel awkward about being sincere. People will appreciate it.

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Don't skimp on quality windshield wiper blades when it comes time to replace them; saving a few bucks buying the crappy ones isn't worth not being able to see when it's pissing raining.