- Actively pursue friendship with people who don't seem to share your interests. This includes people who you consider "dumb", "ditzy", "sheep", or whatever elitist term you prefer. You'll not only be surprised by their secret hobbies, but you'll most likely learn something handy and a diverse group of friends is always more entertaining than four technosexuals watching anime on a Saturday. Your life will become a Persona game, if you need a comparison more like what you're used to.

- On bleak, gray-skied winter mornings, take your dog, other pet of preference or, in lack of one, younger sibling (or elderly relative) out for a walk. Talk to whoever it is you're walking with. Pay special attention to puddles, the sky's color, and do this somewhere relatively quiet, like a park if you live in the inner city.

- Pick a style in clothes and stick to it. As long as the style isn't Steampunk Cowboy or 1930's Hearse-Driver, you don't have to constantly change, at the mercy of fashion. Develop a look of your own and complement it with articles of clothing that you find appealing. Avoid overdressing.

- Every respectable person regardless of age, gender and degree of responsibility in the household should know how to cook a good meal. Buy cook books, look recipes up on the Internet, and develop an enjoyment of your own for cooking. Cooking is not a chore, it is a relaxing, rewarding and potentially social activity. You must see it like this.

- Keep a small notebook and keep it hidden well. Whenever you think you have an interesting thought, an idea for a novel, or something that you'll want to remember years from now, write it down. Read it through entirely at the end of every year or so.

- If you're only starting college, do not study something like Psychology or Publicity, regardless of potential merits. They are specializations. Study Law, Administration, Engineering, or Medicine. These four are solid bases to catapult you in whatever related direction you wish to go. Even if you want to study Psychology, studying Administration will help, because it's an extremely complete career that gives you life skills more than anything, and you'll always have it as a safety net.

- Do not develop excessive sentimental bonds to inanimate objects. Keep a small cluster of things that you value sentimentally. "Nostalgiabombing" may seem fun to you but it is a troublesome and cyclical vice.

- Coming home from classes/work initiates an obvious temptation to watch TV, get online, play a video game or sleep. Don't. Veg out for a few minutes by fiddling with your keys, making yourself some coffee, whatever menial chores, then start any homework/work you need to do. You'll enjoy the TV/Internet/video games much more if you know you don't have to do anything later. Trust me on this one.

- Do not do drugs more often than a couple times a month. No, not even weed. This has nothing to do with the drugs' actual effects on your body. Rather, becoming a dedicated consumer will slip you into an "I am different" mentality that will not help you in the future.

- Do not ever begin to develop a mentality where you think of yourself as overly special, unique or distinguished. Always consider this: Every "original" thought you've ever had has been considered, developed, analyzed, refuted and reconstructed by better thinkers than you. Every time you try to stay on the "edge", the conscious effort makes you fall closer to the dull center. Most importantly, do not let this sadden you. It's okay to be human.

- Begin to analyze facial and body gestures. No, I'm not trying to tell you to become the Mentalist or Hitch or anything in between. The mission is much less pretentious and vapid: you will gain a greater appreciation for human movement and beauty. If you want to see why this is important through a counter-example, begin to imagine all the people on billboard ads as clusters of organs bagged up in skin.

- Try to foster greater physical comfort between you and your friends, regardless of gender. This is of course easier depending on the culture, but it is much more satisfying (in a way completely unrelated to sex) to have friends who you can hug, hold, pull, or punch. It's part of a humanization process that takes a lifetime.

- Learn to hold your alcohol. One of the best ways to train yourself to be good at conversation and courting (which also makes you good at oratory, debate and poker) is to challenge yourself by setting up situations where your tongue may slip, and succeeding in not doing it. Begin to use the floodgates to your thoughts and emotions. Eventually you will even become conscious of your distinctive, potentially awkward mannerisms which you may have never noticed before.

- Never stop being a student. Whether it's Osamu Tezuka's work, lacrosse, playing Ico for the first time or watching videos on how to put on scarves on YouTube, welcome learning. Become a sponge. This knowledge will not be nearly as useful to you as it will be to whoever you choose to impart it.

- Stressed out? Don't underestimate the power of green tea. Freshly brewed, it contains chemicals that allow you to shed excess nervous energy and help focus.

- You know that annoying person in front of you in the shopping line that has two billion coupons? That person is saving money. Collect coupons and don't be embarrassed to use them. Often times, large sellers like Wal-Mart allow you to double up on coupons, getting a lot of things for free.

- If you're suffering from depression, your solution could be right there. Taking Fish Oil Tablets is often overlooked as a cure for depression. You can't overdose on it and for most people, it only takes one or two days to take effect, If it doesn't work, try Flax Seed or Krill Oil. All of this can be purchased at Wal-Mart or a pharmacy.

- If a Police Officer ever asks to see inside your car or house and doesn't have a warrant, refuse. Regardless of how innocent you are, the police officer's job isn't to protect you but protect the law. He is not there to prove you innocent but to prove you guilty. This isn't tinfoil hatting, it's simply the truth. At any time, if you feel a police officer is stalling (he may be requesting a K9 unit to sniff your car to get probable cause to open it), ask him if he's detaining you. The answer should be no (if not, seek legal action afterwords but do not badmouth the officer). Then ask if you can leave. While doing this, always remember to refer to him/her as "Officer". Not "you", "sir/madam" or anything of the sort. And never rub it in his face that you know your rights. If you get snippy, he will find a reason to detain you or make your life miserable.

- When you call a business or helpdesk and are greeted by a "Press button 1 to..." menu tree, repeatedly making the wrong choices (like pressing "9" when there is no choice 9) will often get you straight to an operator. Just waiting can do the trick too, since it may mean your phone has no buttons and you can't make choices with it. If you face a voice-operated menu tree, say "operator".


That's all I've got for now. Hopefully it was helpful. =3=