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      171 year ago

      Wear sunscreen. If I could offer you only one tip for the future, sunscreen would be it. The long term benefits of sunscreen have been proved by scientists whereas the rest of my advice has no basis more reliable than my own meandering experience. I will dispense this advice now

      Enjoy the power and beauty of your youth; or never mind. You will not understand the power and beauty of your youth until they have faded. But trust me, in 20 years you’ll look back at photos of yourself and recall in a way you can’t grasp now how much possibility lay before you and how fabulous you really looked. You are not as fat as you imagine

      Don’t worry about the future; or worry, but know that worrying is as effective as trying to solve an algebra equation by chewing Bubblegum. The real troubles in your life are apt to be things that Never crossed your worried mind; the kind that blindside you at 4 PM on some idle Tuesday Do one thing every day that scares you

      Sing

      Don’t be reckless with other people’s hearts; don’t put up with people who are reckless with yours

      Floss

      Don’t waste your time on jealousy; sometimes you’re ahead, sometimes you’re behind. The race is long, and in the end, it’s only with yourself

      Remember the compliments you receive; forget the insults. If you succeed in doing this, tell me how

      Keep your old love letters. Throw away your old bank statements

      Stretch

      Don’t feel guilty if you don’t know what you want to do with your life. The most interesting people I know didn’t know at 22 what they wanted to do with their lives. Some of the most interesting 40-year-olds I know still don’t

      Get plenty of calcium

      Be kind to your knees, you’ll miss them when they’re gone

      Maybe you’ll marry, maybe you won’t Maybe you’ll have children, maybe you won’t Maybe you’ll divorce at 40 Maybe you’ll dance the funky chicken on your 75th wedding anniversary Whatever you do, don’t congratulate yourself too much, or berate yourself either. Your choices are half chance; so are everybody else’s Enjoy your body. Use it every way you can. Don’t be afraid of it, or what other people think of it. It’s the greatest instrument you’ll ever own

      Dance, even if you have nowhere to do it but in your own living room

      Read the directions, even if you don’t follow them

      Do not read beauty magazines; they will only make you feel ugly

      Get to know your parents; you never know when they’ll be gone for good

      Be nice to your siblings; they are your best link to your past and the People most likely to stick with you in the future

      Understand that friends come and go, but for the precious few you Should hold on Work hard to bridge the gaps in geography and lifestyle, because the older you get, the more you need the people you knew when you were young

      Live in New York City once, but leave before it makes you hard

      Live in Northern California once, but leave before it makes you soft

      Travel

      Accept certain inalienable truths: prices will rise, politicians will philander, you too will get old-- and when you do, you’ll fantasize that when you were young prices were reasonable, politicians were noble and children respected their elders

      Respect your elders

      Don’t expect anyone else to support you

      Maybe you have a trust fund, maybe you have a wealthy spouse; but you never know when either one might run out

      Don’t mess too much with your hair, or by the time you’re 40, it will look 85

      Be careful whose advice you buy, but be patient with those who supply it Advice is a form of nostalgia. Dispensing it is a way of fishing the past from the disposal, wiping it off, painting over the ugly parts and recycling it for more than it’s worth

      But trust me on the sunscreen