Hey Pandas, I Turned 18 A Few Days Ago! Do You Have Any Advice For Me?

It's awful to regret something you did. It's so much worse to regret the things you DIDN'T do. Do the things while you're young.

Happy belated birthday :)

- don't compare yourself with others. not your looks, hobbies, work or anything! be yourself. everybody is different and that is good
- don't rush growing up! enjoy being a teenager. you will be an adult long enough.
- do what you love! don't study a major you hate. don't work a job you hate (sometimes you have to, i know, but try to find a job you really like!) no one gonna thank you for doing something that you hate
- it is ok to not know what you like now. you're 18! experiment and find yourself!
- if friends shame you for what you like/do/wear, they are not your friends! same goes with lovers. if they bully you for who you are, leave. they are not worth your time

Never stop your car on the railroad track, and never ever try to beat the train.

As much as you can, make your decisions based on FACTS. Not on beliefs, not on "what some guy on social media" said - testable, validated FACTS. But know you may be need to make decisions without all the facts, and facts change with new discoveries.
Invest a little provisional trust in people and institutions, but make them earn the rest.
Your integrity and trustworthiness are your only real currency. Failure to demonstrate them leads to ruin.

Go to therapy. There is so much you can learn about yourself and how to manage and express your emotions, and doing it at your age can set you up to have a healthy emotional balance for the rest of your life. That and go to the gym regularly, even if it's just to walk around the place. Your building a good habit that will keep you healthier for longer, because forrealz things go down hill quick in your 30s.

Do NOT play leapfrog with Unicorns!

*Always* have a clean pair of socks and jocks ready to go. You can get anywhere in the world within 24 hours. As long as you’ve got a clean pair of undies to change into when you arrive, you’re good to go.

(The between-the-lines stuff on that is: don’t carry baggage. You can’t change the past, but you can learn from it and get a fresh start, on the other side of the world, in less than a day - so, don’t sweat the stuff you can’t change.)

In matters of money, distance, and time, always overestimate by 15%. This eliminates things like getting somewhere late, running out of gas on the journey, and not having enough money in your pocket.

If you feel as if everything is falling apart , go get some sleep . Things will work out .

Stay true to you. You can go to the social affairs without any of the alcohol, drugs, whatever. As much as you are learning academics, college is also a time to cultivate friendships, and work on social skills as well. And learn about yourself. It’s a wonderful time in life for you. Enjoy it. Try something new once a month.

You're getting tried as an adult now, bro. Consequences are real.

1) Stay away from Everclear. Just don't do it. I know you said you're not partying, which is fine, but even when you hit legal drinking age stay the f away from Everclear.

2) Its okay to say no. This is to anything.

3) Find out who you are. This is technically a lifetime endeavor and constantly changes because you'll grow as you get older in more than age. Finding you now will lay the foundation you build you on. Be honest with yourself, embrace the dark and light parts of yourself. You have to live with you forever and some distractions from that might last decades; however you catch up to you eventually.

4) Don't stare at your feet, don't stare at the sky, don't walk backwards facing behind you, don't close your eyes, and don't shove your fingers in your ears. You're going to make mistakes, you're going to be heartbroken, you're going to lose, you're going to be so happy you won't be able to breath, you're going to laugh, cry, and scream. You'll need to let the past stay behind you, you'll need to see where you're headed, and pretending everything is fine won't help anything. Keep you're eyes open to everything around you, listen and learn from everything you have yet to go through. It all makes you a stronger and better person. Adversity builds character and that's not an easy process.

5) Don't ever stop learning. I'm not just talking about your college courses, I'm talking about anything. The minute you close you're mind is the minute you start limiting yourself. Don't be afraid to admit you were wrong.

Don’t be an asshole. Be good to people. Be nice to strangers. Take exercise & eating healthy as a way of life. Travel. Make mistakes & learn from them. Life is beautiful.

Always be willing to spend extra on anything that comes between you and the ground.
Shoes, Tires, Bed.

Do not smoke cigarettes.
Do not say stupid stuff on social media.
Choose your God carefully. [ if wanted/needed ]

Try not to get into debt. Don't borrow money because you want to buy something. Not even (least of all) from the family. Save for your purchase. Perhaps by the time you have the money, there is no longer any need to buythat thing, but the money is still there. And if you had borrowed money, you would have no need for it anymore AND debts.

Taxes. Learn them.

Safety tips: (will differ depending on your sex, and features)

Female: do NOT wear a ponytail when going out at night
Male OR female: don't go out alone at night

Male or female: put an extra pair of shoes outside to make it look like you live with someone (if you decide to live alone)

Don't walk with uncertainty and discomfort when you feel your being stalked. Walk with pace and a pissed off look on your face. And if you can, stomp a little. You won't get mugged if you look like you're gonna mug someone.

If someone punches you and looks away for even a second, be prepared for a sucker punch. Take that second they let their guard down to kick em in the family jewels so hard the bells start chiming.

If you feel uncertain in a dark alley/walkway, trust your Spidey sense and get the hell outta there.

Don't get a house right away unless you have the money for that and for the first two months of rent. You'll thank me later.

If I would have follow this advice, I would have been so much more happier in my life: If you have dicision to make try allways do what feels right in your heart. Even if it gives you pain and feels too hard to deal with. Then you dont have regrets. Small bad decisions dont stay with you, dont have to worry about those. My biggest regret in life is that I wasn't really there for my mum when she was dying... It was too painfull for me to watch. But now the pain is much more worse and wont leave me alone. Usually we know in our hearts what is "the right thing to do", but sometimes it feels too hard to follow. But life shouldn't be allways easy. Sometimes you have to go through blood and tears and after youre proud of the person you are and have peace in your heart.

Just because you're legally mature doesn't mean you're actually mature. Accept the fact that you'll still make dumb mistakes and decisions you will come to regret pretty soon. Your tastes may still change almost every year, as may your friends and your entire lifestyle. People older than you don't know everything, but you should learn to accept that their experience is priceless and generally speaking, they've been in your shoes and they will know better than you - deep down every one of them wishes they could teach their 18 year-old selves, so learn to listen and you can take advantage of this. Also, listen to this, from time to time: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sTJ7AzBIJoI

Since you are going to college, join campus clubs of people who are different from you in skin tone and orientation. Learn their experiences and listen!
As far as voting, take your top 2 concerns affecting you now and vote accordingly. There are elections every 2 years so you can always change your mind and each vote has the potential to affect you in short term order. Learn to tell the difference between biased sources and peer reviewed reports that state facts.
#1 Don't go out alone. Preferably with a group. Take self defense and keep those skills refreshed.