Tweet yourself at 16

Yesterday's popular them on twitter was tweet yourself when you were 16. I started seeing some random postings in the morning and it was in full swing by the afternoon. Here are some of my favorites from my twirlies (I removed their identities because some have protected their tweets)

• By your mid 20s you'll have a far better life than most of those popular people that tormented you as a young teen.
• Yup. You're right on about that boy. Don't rush it you'll have a lifetime
• I know you think running the mile sucks. HA! When you're 27 some crazies will talk you into running 26.2!
• Asking others for help doesn't mean that you're weak. It just means you GASP! don't know everything.
• when you go to make that left turn at reseda & chatsworth a month after you get your license, look twice, dumb ass.
• Stop comparing yourself to your way too skinny chicken head best friend.
• Hug your dad. A lot.
• He's gay.

My personal pearls of wisdom to teenagers

• Don't ditch your friends when you have a boyfriend. They will stay in your life. He won't.
• It's okay not to go out every Saturday night
• Don't be a workaholic yet. You'll do it for the rest of your life.

To view all of the tweets you can click here

It was a lot of fun, but got me thinking about who I was when I was 16 and where I thought I would be at 30. When I was 16, I was starting the workaholic phase of my life that I'm still in. I desperately wanted to go to Europe with my friends that summer. I'd never been out of the country and was dying to go. My family wasn't the type to do those type of things, but I was blessed with a supportive Mom. We cut a deal to split the cost provided I worked and paid for my half. After a while I was frustrated at the lack of progress I was making busing tables (whopping $4 an hour) towards the $1500 goal I had set to include my costs while on the trip. In the end, I sold Avon (not the typical 16 year old thing to do but mainly I put catalogs out around town and took orders) and worked another day job over the summer in the pizzeria at the mall. I sacrificed by delaying getting a driver's license because I couldn't do the trip and cover insurance, etc. In the end, I made it and got to stop being an Avon girl, etc. The trip was one of the most eye opening experiences of my life and a ton of fun. I traveled through Germany, Hungary, the Czech republic and Austria for two weeks right before my senior year started.

In so many ways that year changed me. I know if I hadn't done it I wouldn't been as driven to work and be productive starting so early. Maybe I would have lost interest in seeing the world.

Thanks twitter for making me reflect on my 16 year old self!