Tweets to Sixteen Year Old Sue

First, some background.

Twitter is a conversation. When you tweet, you're talking to everyone. When tweeters want to make sure a conversation is easy to find (and join), we create a hashtag and mention it in our tweets. It's done by adding a hashtag symbol (#) in front of a string of words (no spaces or symbols). 

Recently, #tweetyour16yearoldself became a pretty popular hashtag. A tweeter would share a message that, given the chance, they'd like to send to their sixteen year old self. Add the hashtag to your tweet, and it became part of a global conversation.

Some people wondered how much sense the whole idea made. First - would a 16-year-old really listen to anything an adult has to say - even if she was the adult? Something else to think about - if you change one thing, what will happen to the course your life takes? 

Sixteen year old Sue was pretty cool. As I told one friend, she knew what she wanted from life, she loved without reservation and she had very few fears. But life happened (as it does) and she veered off what seemed to be her path. If I could tell her anything, it would be to try and stay the course. That some choices would be difficult, but they'd be worth the effort. 

I think she would have listened to me. Sue (both past and present) has never been one who felt she needed to make mistakes herself. She was always happy to learn through observation whenever possible. If someone, especially herself, was able to give her insight and direction, I like to think she would have taken it. 

Not to mention - it's all in fun; and it was better than working.

If you'd like to see what my tweets to sixteen year old Sue would look like, read on.

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@ Never, ever loan a boyfriend money. Especially THAT one - you'll know him when you meet him in a few years.

@ Go away to college, at least for one year.

@ Start going to watch the Albany-Colonie Yankees play at Heritage Park. His name is Derek Jeter. J-E-T-E-R!!! [Far and away, my favorite.]

@ Never, EVER let anyone tell you you're not beautiful. Plenty will, and it won't ever stop. Ignore them - you are.

@ Never give up writing. Take that low paying job post college. Avoid job applications that say "insurance" anywhere on them.

Then I stole two:

Via @CuteEllaIs - Don't lose you, it takes a long long time to get back.

Via @nynascar - Do not vote for George W. Bush. It will go badly. Same goes for some guy named Spitzer.

I have cool friends, don't' I? Check Cute~Ella's blog for the rest of her tweets. Also check out Kristi Gustafson's blog feature on what her readers would say to their sixteen-year-old selves.

Now, your turn.