25 Millennials Share Advice For Gen Z’s Journey

Being young is exciting, but it can also be confusing. Let’s be real, life doesn’t come with a manual, and we all make mistakes along the way. So, what happens when someone on the internet asked folks over 30, “What advice would you give to those in their early 20s or younger?”

#1

Image source: BigBearSD, Javier Quesada

DO NOT SETTLE! You are young. You may feel societal, familial, or relationship pressures to settle. Whether that be settling in a relationship with someone you are afraid to leave, or settling in a career that you don’t like because it will appease your family etc… don’t do it. You will regret it later on down the road. Enjoy life, be free/ be your authentic self.

#2

Image source: RoseWolfie, Jonathan Borba

Please put your own health at one of the highest priorities. Both physical and mental. Things get much harder the older you get. Your health will help you if you take care of it for many things.

If it means deciding on taking breaks from things that’s OK.

#3

Image source: Status_Fact_5459, Diana Polekhina

Take care of your teeth.

#4

Image source: Gingerpyscho94, Surface

Don’t keep toxic people in your life based on brief memories of good deeds. It’s temporary and probably manipulative tactics. Friendship is a two-way street, it’s a mutual giving. If this person tears you down, makes jokes at your expense, doesn’t contact you unless they want something. Get rid. I had so many toxic friends in my early 20s that took me way too long to get rid of.

#5

Image source: ObsessiveCoder, Ben Wicks

Wait to have kids.

#6

Image source: Bizzlebanger, CHUTTERSNAP

Don’t be afraid to make mistakes. When you do own up to them, learn from them and move on.

#7

Image source: Gingerpyscho94, Priscilla Du Preez ??

Indulge in your hobbies, it’s so fulfilling and gratifying. Sketching, painting, pottery, crochet? DO IT. Hobbies nurture the soul and feed the spirit. If it makes you happy keep at it. You don’t need to make a career out of it. Just so long as it makes you happy.

#8

Image source: runnersblock, BATCH by Wisconsin Hemp Scientific

Wear sunscreen… everyday.

Regardless of skin tone or type.

#9

Image source: First_Code_404, Towfiqu barbhuiya

Save for retirement. Nobody else is going to help you in the US.

#10

Image source: OkaySureBye, Nick Karvounis

If you feel like college isn’t for you or you have no idea what you want to do, you can make a very respectable living and have far more job security if you learn a trade. The world will ALWAYS need electricians, carpenters and plumbers…etc.

When I was growing up, college was pushed on us so hard that we would feel like failures if we went into a trade. Buying into that mentality is something I will always regret.

#11

Image source: CockfaceMcDickPunch, Tyler Nix

Take care of your body. Eat healthy and exercise. You will be shocked at how much your body starts falling apart as you age. I know I was.

#12

Image source: Gingerpyscho94, Magnet.me

Don’t stay in a job that makes you miserable. I’ve had multiple jobs and at nearly every single one I was treated like shit by management or bullied by coworkers. My mental health suffered and I was miserable. I’ve since left years ago and found myself a happier one. It’s just not worth it, even for the pay.

#13

Image source: throwtheclownaway20, Dev Asangbam

Don’t take criticism from someone you wouldn’t ask for advice. Why would you let a bunch of basement-dwellers’ DMs make you feel bad about yourself?

#14

Image source: ForgettableUsername, Tim Kilby

Keep in mind that when someone who is older and more experienced gives you advice, they’re generally giving the advice that they wish they had followed when they were young. It’s not necessarily advice that is calibrated for you or your circumstance.

#15

Image source: OverallAd9971, Tyler Nix

Love people. Hold onto the people who matter to you, learn to forgive (with the caveat that you keep a soft eye out for manipulators), and know that no one is perfect. But they’re worth keeping around. Hold on tight, for as long as you can.

#16

Image source: DavosLostFingers, Austin Kehmeier

For guys especially – don’t be afraid to seek help if you feel you’re struggling mentally (male s*icide rates remain shamefully high in Western societies). Also, no matter how embarrassing you may find it, if you have medical concerns about your d**k, balls, prostate, etc., then for f***s sake go see a doctor.

#17

Image source: LonnieJaw748, Dylan de Jonge

Drink less booze or non at all.

#18

Image source: ravendarkangelx, kychan

If you think you might have a addiction take care of it now. The whole “you hurt the people closest to you” isn’t a cliche and if you have a conscious it’ll be hard to live with. It’s better to get it taken care of sooner than later.

#19

Image source: randombeing222, Erik Lucatero

It’s okay to keep things private and live offline. As you get older, you might regret how ‘open’ you were with the world.

#20

Image source: Which_Ad3038, cottonbro studio

Don’t be afraid to say I’m sorry/ I was wrong/ I don’t understand/ could you please explain that again? People don’t think about you as much as you think they do.

#21

Image source: Son_Of_Toucan_Sam, Conscious Design

Learn to cook. Way cheaper and way healthier. Learn to change your car’s brakes yourself. There’s not much else with owning a car where you can turn a $500 fix into an $80 fix in two hours.

#22

Image source: willi3blaz3, Pawel Czerwinski

Don’t start using tobacco products. Your health will thank you.

#23

Image source: Dippycat149, Levi Guzman

Don’t try and be the person that everybody likes. Not everybody is going to like you. Deal with it. The faster you realise that some people are always going to be a******s, or the faster you realise that some people are just never going to like you, and that you shouldn’t give a f**k, in return – the faster, and happier, you will be.

#24

Image source: 12345_PIZZA, Wu Jianxiong

Don’t get married yet. You have no idea who you actually are and what’s really important to you in your early 20s.

#25

Image source: ChangingHats, Adeolu Eletu

The entire economy is set up to abuse you in every way that it can. Learn math, financial literacy and how to plan EARLY, OFTEN and CONSISTENTLY.