Dear 16-Year-Old Me

Dear 16-yr-old-Me,

Remember that party after the football game, when things got out of control? Too bad my camera got thrown in the pool and we don’t have any pictures! Dear 16-yr-old-Me, that will not happen in the future. You will not be the only one with a camera. Phones will take pictures. Yes, they will. Trust me. Little devices called iPod Touches that play music will also take pictures. Sounds alien to you, I know, but you better listen. I’m trying to save you from yourself and future embarrassment.

You may not want to hear it, probably because you hear it too often from Mom, Dad, and just about any adult, but you do need to think before you act. Your actions, words, and images are forever immortalized in the digital graveyard called the Internet. In this day and age with the internet and social media giving a permanence to your every thought and action like never before – Stop. Think. Think again, before you act. Someone will be capturing your actions – digitally. Before you know it, those pics will be posted, tweeted, shared and uploaded on the internet. And the next thing you know, you’ve gone viral on You Tube. And there is no antibiotic you can take to get rid of that! You might want to run for Class President in college; be a lawyer, a politician, join the clergy; whatever your calling might be – every picture, tweet, or post will be scrutinized and drudged up at the most inopportune moment. You might think it will be funny to relive your glory days, but you won’t when you see it on the 6 o’clock news.

You won’t listen to Mom, or Dad, or your teachers, but maybe, just maybe, you will listen to me – who is actually you – with 25 years of experience and knowledge. Remember to stop. Think. And think again: Before posting, tweeting, sharing or acting in such a manner you might regret later. You are 16 years old with a devil-may-care attitude but never before has it been so important to understand the future impact your actions will have on your life. You just never know. It’s an old saying, but true, “Better be safe, than sorry.”

And that perm you’re going to get? and those shoulder pads? They won’t look as good as you think they will. 🙂

– Gina Miller