16 responses so far ↓

• 1 susannah // Feb 26, 2008 at 3:14 pm

  When you get to your fancy New England liberal arts college in a few years, there will be kids from NYC there. Lots of them. They will refer to New York as “the City,” exclusively.

  Don’t let them intimidate you. Don’t be shy.

  Keep taking pictures. And write more now than you already do.

  You might want to study abroad instead of taking a year off to intern in Atlanta. But if you go to Atlanta, remember why you’re there. Hint: It’s not the music editor who’s 15 years older than you. And it’s certainly not a job schlepping pizza with a bunch of burnouts.

  And that guy Liam in your French class sophomore year at that fancy liberal arts college? Skip it, girl, skip it.

• 2 colm // Feb 26, 2008 at 9:16 pm

  Dress better, go to the gym and stop being so depressing.

• 3 CJ // Feb 26, 2008 at 9:35 pm

  Stop rushing toward adulthood. You’ll get there–and it’ll be worth it. But slow down! Take every class that interests you in college. (Hint: there’s nothing wrong with having two minors. Or three. Or with two majors.) Don’t let foreign language requirements dictate your degree. Study abroad!

  Enjoy that fourth year. “Real life” will wait–and it’s not what you think, anyway. (It’s so much more.)

• 4 Charles // Feb 27, 2008 at 4:14 am

  You are correct in that you won’t be in that little town forever, but try to be more social and hang out with your friends outside of school.

• 5 15 Again « Pop Goes the City // Feb 27, 2008 at 4:26 am

  [...] machine, but surely the Internet is the next best thing, right? So teleport yourself over to the Magic City Question over at the Terminal to share your wisdom with your past self–and present readers. It’s [...]

• 6 Philip Griffith // Feb 27, 2008 at 3:35 pm

  1. Embrace and enjoy the fact that you drive a 1976 AMC Pacer.
  2. Take the offer to transfer from Vestavia High School to Ramsey for your sophmore year.
  3. Take every steam excursion that the Heart of Dixie railroad club offers, especially if locomotive 4501 is pulling the train.
  4. Get a camera and learn how to work in the darkroom.
  5. Don’t start smoking cigarettes.
  6. Sneak into Sloss Furnace a few more times before they start making it a museum.

• 7 david // Feb 27, 2008 at 8:17 pm

  Go to that “fancy New England liberal arts college” (as Susannah put it), it’s worlds away from the other options.

  Don’t quit playing the piano cold turkey because you fall in love with a Rickenbacker.

  Relax. Be yourself. Enjoy being young.

• 8 Jeff // Feb 27, 2008 at 10:55 pm

  You can’t fight genetics. You are more like your father than you can image. (And that’s a good thing)

• 9 Shadowhelm // Feb 28, 2008 at 12:33 pm

  1. You don’t know what you want to be at 15 pick a school a long way from home and start racking up life experiences instead of focusing on a career you don’t want.

  2. Don’t try to hide who you are to fit in because one day you will wake up and realize that the people you thought you wanted to be like aren’t worth imitating.

  3. Take a few chances. Failure isn’t a bad thing and you might just end up getting lucky occasionally.

  4. Find a way to study/travel abroad.

• 10 betsy // Feb 28, 2008 at 3:17 pm

  Don’t wait until college to get the courage to try-out for choir solos

  Sell enough of that stupid candy to be allowed to work on the prom committee

  Be late or even (gasp!) skip class at least once.

• 11 Claudia // Feb 28, 2008 at 5:21 pm

  You are so young! So quit acting like you know everything.

  Listen to your mother more, she actually DOES know what she’s talking about.

  Quit crying over boys who break your heart; they’re immature, stupid, and relationships at this age barely even “count.”

  Do the right thing. It’s takes you so much farther than you’ll ever know.

• 12 Andre // Feb 28, 2008 at 5:46 pm

  Practice digging out those throws in the dirt. It’ll come in handy that one year you play baseball in college.

  You’re in for a fun ride - don’t forget to thank the folks that make it possible along the way.

  Take that cross country car trip. Otherwise it becomes a piecemeal journey, though it’s still enjoyable.

  Call your friends from home more often - they’ll always be there to lean on, no matter what & that way You won’t feel so disconnected when they are there.

  Call your grandmother more often.

  And when you get that Gaston Street apt., know that you end up in a better place at the end of it all…

• 13 adam // Feb 28, 2008 at 7:11 pm

  Don’t let sterotypes get in the way of choosing your friends - you’ll be thankful later.

  Don’t choose the state school just because all your friends went there - they’ll be here when you get back.

  Get the used car instead of the new car - you’re not responsible enough to take care of a new car. Oh yea, and appreciate that lack of responsibility and immaturity - you won’t be able to act that way much longer.

  She wasn’t that hot after all.

• 14 Kelli // Feb 28, 2008 at 8:49 pm

  Relax. You have the rest of your life to obsses over things you can’t change.

  Being forced to stay in state for college will not ruin your life. You’ll wind up with a full scholarship, and you’ll meet the love of your life.

  Don’t start smoking!

  Go to more concerts before “artists” forget how to perform live.

  Negotiate harder for your first real-world salary. Starting in the basement leaves a lot of steps to climb.

  Don’t buy a house at age 22 in a city you hate. There are other houses in other towns.

• 15 Idlesmith // Mar 4, 2008 at 9:48 am

  Take a stand for funk and dance more. Be the first white boy from Vestavia to appear on Soul Train.

  Thank God that you’re different and find ways to travel even more so you can develop a clearer sense of how relative that term is.

  “Codependency” will be a big buzzword in 10 years or so. The gist is this: you’re not responsible for everyone. So, lighten up and start trusting your instincts now.

  Remember the way you felt, sitting in the upper balcony of the Majestic Theatre and finally seeing The Wiz in person? Now is the time to plan your move. Bone up on those dancer/actor/singer skills and network your way to NYC asap. It’s way more relevant than college.

  After a few exhausting years in Manhattan, find a good architecture program. It’s okay to borrow a little money. You’ll be able to pay it off when you’re designing houses in Portland.

• 16 hmmm // Mar 16, 2008 at 6:27 am

  -take it as a compliment when people tell you that you look unusual.

  -have faith in those damn hands of yours.

  -fuck it when people say youre too much to handle. better to rock this world with emotion than just be a machine.

  -those popular jocks and cheerleeders? they are bitter,old ,fat and BORING now, my dear. and if you google them? NOTHING. haha!

  -youre a good girl for lovin on your momma so much.

  -for gods sake stop bleaching your hair. and your boobs? love em. they are going to shrink.

  -those musician boys you love? back away. always.

  -and lastly i would hug you and tell you maybe not to let your emotions get the best of you. but then you would laugh at the 33 year old version of yourself for being a hypocrite.

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