I often wish I could go back in time, and I haven't been successful in doing so yet, but if I found a way to do so, two major times in my life would be at the top of the destinations list: 1.) right after high school before college, and 2.) right after college before law school. If I could go back in time and tell my 18-year-old or 21-year-old self something, this is what it would be:
1.) Life really starts after high school. Whatever you did during high school and before, doesn't really matter because your life can has the largest combination of possible results, can go in so many different directions from there. Don't dwell on what happened before (I was still dwelling on not being able to win a chess championship in high school), go forth with a fresh mind, say yes to most of the things you want to do and is within your budget and not illegal, Try everything! (from the Disney movie Zootopia, although that song itself is more trying to get people to buy more products, almost all inspirational songs are like that, I learned that after college).
2.) I didn't have a good concept of money during high school, after all you just get your lunch money every day and some allowance, and life is good, right? College is the first major expense any kid really goes through, and the amount of money probably doesn't hit home until years later, when you have to work for that money. My parents even paid for my first car! That's why my friends' parents made him pay for his own college or go into debt, to instill a sense of financial responsibility (not the worst idea).Money can't buy everything, but you can't not have money. Luckily, spending money on education isn't the worst way to spend money and usually has a positive return over a lifetime based on the doors that the degree can open and the eventual money the degree can earn for you, plus the intangible value of friends made in college, experiences, social wisdom, gained, etc., but it's important not to just let parents handle paying for college (College is SUPER EXPENSIVE now, if you haven't been paying attention) and not even know how much one is paying. There's a value for everything in the world, especially college. 钱并不是万能的，没有钱是万万不能的 ...
2b.) Invest money! Every consumer education class says to invest money early, but it's really lost on kids who never had much money to invest. I never had much money in the bank account until after law school, so it never seemed necessary to put in the paltry cash from summer jobs. Do it anyway! Pay off debts first, then put money into a mutual fund, annuity, something. Even just going online and shifting funds from checking account to savings account, although savings account doesn't pay much interest.
3.) Do research about colleges. College/ any higher education is not the end all and be all. They're a business that's trying to keep their business going, and students have to look at it at least somewhat as an investment to get ahead in life. That's why certain majors (European art comes to mind) that don't have that practical an application might be good if that's your life passion, but not so good for being marketable for employers, which is what most people's goal for college is and SHOULD be. Going through college as a trust fund baby is one thing, but for most people you need a J-O-B after college, and you have to consider the most practical majors, and the people who get the most bang out of college do. (I'm talking sciences like biology, chemistry, engineering, computer science. Yes I know they're hard, but life is hard. And employers will be looking for these backgrounds later in your career, no matter what field- in law employers often look for people with hard science backgrounds, lot of patent cases). Accounting + finance, insurance, math- OK. It's a simple demand vs. supply concept- less people like to do the hard sciences and go through the grueling curriculum, meaning there's less supply of those people out there and more demand for their services.
4.) Learning a language is not just a cool thing you mention at parties, it really helps in all facets of life. In high school I would have NEVER thought I would learn languages as part of my work, I regarded high school French as just a fun period between history and chemistry. I look back now and wonder why I didn't take it more seriously. I'm biased because my job depends on learning language, but it's never a bad thing to have on a resume and allowed me to meet so many different people with different backgrounds. Don't get me started on why Mandarin is such a good language to have and why it's a gift that Chinese parents give to their kids. (It is SO hard for people of other languages, even sister languages Korean and Japanese, to learn Mandarin, I think if robots start universally translating languages Mandarin will be the last one to die because of its vast Kanji pictograph universe and different tones making it so difficult for a computer to even detect.)
5.) Don't get too caught up in entertainment, video games, sports, etc. They're fun distractions, and people do make money from them (the movie industry, Korean video game players), but the same concept of supply and demand apply: unless you're at the top of the heap, there's too many who want to enter that industry for the same reason that you like those things: they're fun and interesting for people. Try to focus more on articles about the world, economy, etc. Sports and games will always be there, but a young mind needs real life to sharpen its use. Quick aside: I know a guy from college, poker player who won some money playing in college, now he still does it but "is still looking for his big shot." Not the way (IMO) to spend your golden 20s, when you can learn so much and experience so many things.
6.) Never stop learning. Always be humble, you're never done learning. The worst thing about being 18 for me was thinking I was "the bomb," that I was at the top of my class at a surbuban Chicago high school and was going to dominate life with ease. That was a really bad attitude and I would have been better served thinking I was a nobody. College quickly exposed to me to people much smarter than I was, more ready for life, more focused on what they wanted to do, and more willing to learn and put in the work. I didn't realize until like the second or third year of college that I might fall behind, then even in law school I didn't realize until the end of first year that "not everyone who goes to law school gets a job and just makes it big." There are no guarantees in life, which is why we should always keep working and learning from others.
7.) Acne will eventually go away, but in the meantime, try to look your best. It took a long time, but I finally was able to brighten my self appearance. Finally, after I met MJ, did I really understand the importance of how other people perceive you, whether it's dating partners or company interviews. It's unfortunately a pretty shallow world, like the song "High School Never Ends" by Bowling for Soup warned you. You gotta put on a show sometimes to fit into the cruel world.
8.) Hate to break it to little Robert, but Sears Tower (Willis Tower) is no longer the tallest building in the world. In fact, it's not even the 10th tallest building in the world. So many tall buildings were built in the last decade that Willis is now just 15th on the list, and at last check the Burj Khalifa in Dubai was the tallest building in the world. Just a metaphor that the world is always changing, and us people have to adapt or get left behind.
9.) Take as many photos as you can, man! Don't have to do those cool Youtube videos of taking a selfie every day for 10 years, but......Life only happens once, you never know when you might look back at a time and place and recall those times fondly. Even the most mundane times like being depressed in an office, those are memories! Enhance them.
10.) Write a blog! I would have told my 18 year old to start something just like this, and luckily 19-year-old Robert listened and put down most of his thoughts, even though it was juvenile ramblings about fantasy sports and reality TV at first, it really showed the evolution of one's thoughts and moods and is great to look back on ten years later. 40-year-old Robert's advice: probably maintain this blog and make it more about professional endeavors! Working on it!
Fantasize on in 2018,
HAPPY NEW YEAR!
Robert Yan
1 comment:
This is a good summary.
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