Before 18 I should...

Sam tagged me with the “Things to do before 18” meme. I am supposed to list 6 things that I think one person should do before they turn 18. I will list the first things that come to mind.

1. The first thing that popped into my mind was getting into a relationship. It’s never too early to experience what it is like to care about somebody else, and develop feelings for someone in a non friendly way. The best lesson can be learned from relationship, and the earlier they’re learned the fewer mistakes one will make in the future.

2. Get a job. Getting a shitty job is probably the best way to encourage somebody to work harder in school. While working horrible shift at McDonald’s I would often take comfort in knowing that I’m not going to end up stuck with fast food for the rest of my life.

3. Plan a huge trip with a bunch of friends. A trip that will take you away from home for at least a week. I think trips like this build friendship a million times faster than by just hanging out, and seeing each other at school. The memories shared in these trips stay with you for life.

4. Find a hobby and practice it often. Particularly a hobby that involves creativity, and produces something that you are proud of.

5. Learn to critically think and to form opinion based on your findings not somebody else’s. Don’t take things as they are but learn to examine them further on your own.

6. Read about the universe, how it began, how big it is, and where we stand in it. Nothing is more humbling that realizing how insignificant we are. You definitely start looking at things differently.

Having mentioned these I want to mention that some of the points on the list are things that I wish I had done before I was 18, while other are things that I did and left a mark on me. Either way, it was a fun exercise coming up with the list.