Differently.

I wouldn't have worried about all the shiat that I was worried about at that age. None of that came to fruition; it was the unseen stuff that took me down.

I wouldn't have married my wife.

A note to a 15 year old me:

Over the next couple of years, girls you'll think are way out of your league will be nice to you. That's your cue to flirt back and ask them out. Don't spend your high school days settling for the girls you think you merit. Same for college. That cheerleader really does like you. That skinny girl has some truly heinous parents and you'll do good to stay away.

When you have the chance to move back to your mom's house, take it. Your step-dad is strict, but he loves you and wants you to be a success.

Seriously consider the ROTC route and look into USAF Communications as a career field.

Put down the cheeseburgers and pizza. That extra 20 pounds is a lot harder to lose when it is wrapped in 100 other pounds that shouldn't be there! Tell your dad that you love him and ask him to please quit smoking and eat right.

Learn to work on your own car. Take care of it too.

Don't get engaged until you are at least 25.

When you get your tax returns for the next 10 years, invest in Dell, Microsoft and EMC. By the time you are ready to get engaged, you will be able to more than afford that car, the condo and the speedboat.

Have fun being a kid. There's plenty of time to be a grown up when you are actually grown.

Love,
You

born 1971 - 15 in 1986

i would need to make 2 highly profitable underdog stock bets before i got a co-signer for my leveraging loans to really make money on the following:

get in on the initial public offering:
microsoft march 13, 1986 $0.915 - SELL NOV 2000 @ $45,52

BUY 100,000 SHARES X .915 = $99, 095
SELL 100K SHARES @ 45.52 = 4.52 MILLION



apple for $2.84838 - Feb 1986 - sell march 1991 @ $17
BUY 100000 @ 2,85 = $285,000
SELL 100,000 @ $17 = $1.7 MILLION

SEMI RETIRE ON $1.7 million

await real estate boom of 1994 - 1999 and start flippin'


buy apple again dec 1997 @ $3.2825; sell FEB 2112 @ $468.00
bUY 200,000 @ $3,38 = $676,00 (proceeds fr0m $1.7 million from last apple sale + real estae)
SELL 2200k @ $468 = $93,600,000

actually retire

96 mil should do it

42 Year Old Me: Hey there.
15 Year Old Me: Who the fark are you?
42 Year Old Me: I'm you.
15 Year Old Me: Oh shiat...what the fark happen?
42 Year Old Me: You got old. Listen, you know the Guns N Roses tattoo you want?
15 Year Old Me: Yeah?
42 Year Old Me: It's a good thing you can't find the time to get that done. While we're at it, Susie totally wants to. Quit smoking now. Don't let the calluses on your fret hand go away. Don't bother with the SAT classes the summer before your senior year, go to the beach with your friends and smoke lots of pot instead. One more thing, lighten up a little.
15 Year Old Me: That's it?
42 Year Old Me: Yup, that's pretty much it.

I would have given up right then instead of trying to persevere every day.

wouldn't have dated the crazy chicks... wouldn't have gotten my heart broken by the crazy chicks... would have convinced my mother to quit smoking so she wouldn't die 2 days after her granddaughter was born (after never seeing her).... wouldn't have done some of the drugs I did, because I swear I have lingering health issues from some of them... Would have taken better care of myself from 26 on, because that's when I gained 40-50 lbs to be overweight.

Or, change nothing - all that crap made me who I am today.

I would go see as many of the surviving original pre WWII Mississippi Delta blues players I could. and yeah, invest in internet companies before the bubble burst.

I would have boinked the hell out of Jennifer.

I would never have gotten married.

I would have learned Japanese

and invested heavly in the stocks...even with the crash, I'd be way ahead.

When I was 16 (32 years ago) and had my first job, I told my dad I wanted to start investing in stocks and CD's. He laughed, said there would be plenty of time for that later. He made me feel stupid for thinking that. I didn't do it. I wish I did.

I would never have worn those damn parachute pants.

I would have stopped smoking right then.

I would have been buying gold at $35/ounce - its legal fixed price then.

Would have had the money to buy the house I grew up in before it got bulldozed for an office building site.

I would have also stopped going along with everyone else's program.

Of course, you never know. If he was that nice, might've been mutual, but with the emotional age difference? I'd feel like a predator.

If I were 15 again, I would have to revert back to being a minor living under my pentacostal minister father's tyrannical rule. Only unlike before, I would have the mind of an adult who had tasted freedom and seen the outside world...I think I'd probably slash my wrists in under a month.

I would've picked up a lot of domain names in the early 90s.

I would have learned spanish.
I would have never fallen madly in love with a good for nothing asshole who was abusive.
I would have graduated high school, and gone to college.
I would have been nicer to my grandparents.

I would...have a very different life than I do now.

at 15...
I would be surprised at the beauty of the women I'd be dating. And how bad my relationships would turn out.

I would be happy about my career growth, and money I've made, but shocked at how shallow it all feels.

I would be shocked at how much travel I would do, and how much I would enjoy it. That's something I did right.

And finally I would be happy I finally bought my dream car. But I would be sad that I don't really enjoy it much.

- life turned out much harder than I had hoped it would be. I wish I could have told my 15 year old self to have more confidence. It would have made some parts bearable.

And then after that, 15-year old self, keep your grades up and move to Silicon Valley. Stay in college just long enough to hook up with some software startup, and hang around for the stock offerings. Retire rich at 35.

I was 15 in 1996. The answer to what I'd do if I could go back in time is AAPL

there would be a trail of crying teenage girls

Not get married for the 2nd and 3rd time.

I would have never gone to the Gera Bar that one night.

I would have never met my (then future) wife.

I would not have returned to Saginaw - or Michigan for that matter.

I would have never gotten married (at least not to her).

So yeah; differently!

I would be happy.

I was homeless at 15. I just wish someone would have told me to stop feeling so angry.

/Was lucky enough to find comfort at school then and now, and am currently working on an M.A.

So if I woke up at 15 with my knowledge now... (baring lottery numbers and stock investments, yes obviously we'd all do that.)

But just waking up and knowing what's in front of you...

Probably would've had the 1000 yd stare knowing how damn hard the next 15yrs would be.

Work your ass off in school and sports. Graduate, finally manage to land a good job for good pay and get married, officially, to my high school sweetheart...only to watch the economy implode and have both of us lose our jobs. Spend the next couple years working your ass off just to try to keep food on the table while listening to jackass GOP members gripe on how we "just don't have enough skin in the game", or "jobs are out there if you're willing to work hard." and other crap that can only come from someone who's been born with "silver spoon in hand".

/what we've done is probably the best road we could've ever taken, given the circumstances...
//grateful.

Create a Geocities site/Usenet posting that would predict, in detail, the events of Sept. 11 -- created early enough that I couldn't possibly have anything to do with it. Still be brought in for questioning, but let go. Use my supposed psychic ability to make millions; parlay that into billions through stock market foreknowledge for as long as I can until my own actions alter the timeline. Then, finally, I might actually have a chance to have sex.

I would have had SO much more sex... why was I so picky? What was I thinking?!

Killed Sarah Connor.



/too early for John
//my lawn. Geht Owt.

Less partying and goofing off, more working and higher standards in relationships

I certainly wouldn't have gotten so into Third Eye Blind!