30 Nuggets Of Wisdom For 20-Somethings, From People Over 30
Time. That's one thing that we think we have plenty of but it runs out much faster than we think.
By 
Timmy Parker
1. dummystupid
Your future. Being 20something isn’t that much better than being 30something. Enjoy the fuck out of your entire life. Be in the moment and don’t worry if you’re “missing out” on anything. You are never going to be able to go back, so keep looking forward. Be happy, make mistakes, and learn – no matter how old you are.
2. FinanceITGuy
Look after your teeth. Human life expectancy keeps going up in the developed world, but many of our body parts still come with short warranty periods. Sore knees and back are very common as you get older, but dental problems can really compound with age.
3. trua
You probably still have parents.
4. schitzengigels004
Your knees. Oh how I miss my knees.
5. straydog1980
Enjoy that youthful metabolism. I appear to get fat just inhaling air. And everything is sore after I hit the gym nowadays. I miss those days.
6. icepigs
Your health and ability to physically recover faster. Get in shape now…and stay that way as you grow older. Don’t try to get in shape in your late 40’s.
7. prancingbadger
Just turned 30 myself and instantly my hangovers are twice as bad and last twice as long :/
8. dick-nipples
I’m 31, own a house, work 60+ hours a week, married and have a baby, and I love everything about my life. The only thing I really miss is hanging out with all of my old friends. Try not to lose touch with them.
9. Brandoe
Being able to sleep on the couch and not regret it in the morning.
10. fiddlepuss
Not having ear hair. Hair that grows in the ear hole. When the fuck did evolution decide that was useful.
11. Cromulents
If you decide to not have kids, your 30’s can be a lot like your 20’s but with more money. It’s awesome.
12. srm775
Find a physical sport/hobby that you like and start it now. Whether it’s soccer, rugby, boxing, running, weightlifting or some martial art, When you get in your mid-30s and find something you like, you’ll kick yourself for not starting earlier.
13. StickleyMan
There is some really good, practical advice in these comments. I’m going to suggest something less practical: take some more chances. You know that idea that’s been ruminating in the back of your mind for years? That one that doesn’t have anything to do with your job or your mortgage. That one that falls outside your schema of living and routine and that you shrug off as some immature or impractical idea; as just some silly fantasy. Maybe it’s a crazy business idea or a trip to go live in a hut in India for three months or to breed Pygmy hippos or to become a juggling street performer. Whatever it is, explore it. Maybe even try it. I don’t mean take a stupid, life-threatening risk. I’m not suggesting a trying a lifestyle of meth addiction and bare-knuckle Fight Clubs. But something outside your comfort zone. Try it. Maybe you’ll fail miserably at it. But just try it. Because in about a decade when you’re responsible for more things and more people, you won’t be able to. And you’ll find yourself in a self-imposed mental prison of ‘what-ifs’. And take it for someone who didn’t because I was too scared, too embroiled in my own insecurities and addictions, and so heavily conditioned to fear failure – you’ll wish you did.
EDIT: Also, take really good care of your teeth. Floss twice a day.
14. rabidassbaboon
A typical Friday night for me has gone from an indeterminable number of drinks out at a bar until 2 AM to 6-7 beers and falling asleep in my recliner.
15. skeeterbitten
As you get older, it really does get harder to make friends (I think partially because people have children and that’s where their focus turns) and fight the inertia of life. If you’ve thought about moving somewhere totally different (city, state, country) now is a great time to try it, especially if you have the skills or work in a field that will facilitate such a move.
16. spiced
How hot your body is. You’re in your prime, don’t forget it.
17. wxyzed
Work hard and save, as others are saying, but don’t do it at the expense of your friends or loved ones.
Let’s just say I never look back at my 20s and think, “Man, I’m really glad I put in that extra weekend of work instead of going on that awesome trip my friends all talk about now.”
I never think, “I really regret taking an afternoon off to spend time with my wife.”
People think there’s some sort of saving mechanism, where one day in the future you’ll be able to do something that you wouldn’t have been able to if you’d worked a little less or relaxed more. So far, I haven’t found that to be the case.
18. outsideitude
I don’t know if your spouse is into it, but if you haven’t started traveling internationally by now, you really need to start.
19. piclemaniscool
“There is never a good time. So either regret going, or regret not going.”
A personal mantra of mine.
20. justinzoinks
for the love of god – just talk to hotties. today.
21. JamboMcQuambo
If nobody else is going to say it, I’ll say it: Pooping.
Until my very late 20s, pooping was something to which I paid exactly zero attention. It was like taking a shower, it was just something that you do each day or two. Very binary; 1 or 0, on or off. Am I pooping right now? No I’m not. I think I’ll go poop. Pooping. And I’m done.
Then you turn thirty and suddenly this mundane activity turns into a whole spectrum of possibilities. Spicy liquid to solid rock, 3-times-a-day to once-every-3-days, Why can’t I poop? to God, please make it stop. Is that blood, don’t be blood, don’t be blood. Fuck that’s blood. Have I pooed this week? I know I pooped Monday, and today’s Frida- it’s spelled Q-U-A-M-B-O . . . no, next Tuesday’s no good, I need to see the doctor today, uh huh, since Monday, the ER? Like, right now? Great. Whole grain, Bifidobacterium animalis, spinach and you gotta stay hydrated.
It’s not like you’re constantly stressing out about it, it’s just one more thing that you have to think about, that you didn’t used to think about.
Oh, and sleep’s another one. Through your mid twenties you’re really only aware of sleep as a quantity: 4 hours, 6 hours, 8 hours. Then you get older, and shit gets complex. One day you’ll just wake up physically sore from laying still on a deluxe mattress for 7 hours. WTF? Did I get in a car wreck yesterday? Oh no, it was just my $1500 block of padding literally designed by NASA. Usually it’s comfortable, but occasionally it feels like getting hit with a golf club.
22. RipplyPig
Your friends. As soon as they start getting married you find yourself with less friends every year, and ultimately less things to do. I’m 30 and most of my close friends are married now so the weekends have gotten extremely boring. So party hard while you can, and cherish the memories
23. gumby1965
Hair. In my 20s I had a very thick head of hair. Starting in my 30s I noticed a little bit of a receding hair line, now in my 40s it’s thinning on top. Enjoy it while it lasts.
Also, while my hair is leaving the top of my head, it’s sprouting up in places I never ever though I’d worry about. My back!! My ears!! Eyebrows are all wild and wooly if I don’t take care.
Weird.
24. Elliptical_Tangent
You can travel anytime. There’s no urgency to do it while you’re young. You’ll have a different experience as a young couple as opposed to a college backpacker, family vacationer, or retirement tourist, but it’s not like the world rolls up it’s carpet and closes the door on you at 35.
25. ready_and_willing
Time. That’s one thing that we think we have plenty of but it runs out much faster than we think.
26. CorvusHasQuestioned
Build your credit. It takes years of careful credit use, but a good credit score will vastly improve your life going forward.
27. MyNameisNessuno
blowjobs. definitely, definitely, blowjobs. With a wife and two kids, I miss all the blowjobs.
28. progenyofeniac
If you’re pretty sure you’re not going to move in the next 5 years, consider buying a house. I’ve procrastinated and now I’ve paid rent for 7 years and have nothing to show for it.
29. Retlaw83
The ability to stay up late routinely. Also teenagers aren’t a blight on the Earth to you yet.
30. maganism
You can change your career or job, if you don’t like it.
