I decided to do my own version of Baz Luhrman's "Sunscreen," and start to give advice based on things I've learned from others and from my own experiences. Almost every piece of advice is something I aspire to, but I have carried out very few successfully thus far.
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Stretch when you wake up every day. Lean forward, slowly. Imagine your head is a weight that is slowly being pulled down to the ground, allow your arms to dangle. Bend your knees a little, stay there. Sway your arms back and forth, feel the stretch in your back. Slowly rise up, imagine you’re leaving space in between each vertebra and you’re stacking one on top of another. Allow your neck to follow, and finally lift your head. Inhale. Exhale.
Leave ten minutes earlier than you normally would when you’re walking to a destination. Walk slowly and look around; take in and enjoy everything that is around you. You’ll notice something new on your walk every day.
Always arrive early. It is better to wait for someone than to have someone wait for you.
When you see a penny heads up on the street, pick it up. When you see a penny heads down on the street, turn it over for the next person.
Hold hands.
Give people options when you're planning something, especially if they're not planners and they have an "I don't care what we do" mentality. Instead of saying "what do you want to do?," come up with some ideas, and name a place and time. Simplicity is key in planning.
Put your iPod on Shuffle once in a while. You may find a new song that you really love, or an old one that you really missed.
Go back and visit your teachers. They do not stop teaching you.
Drive with the windows down. Once you go over a certain speed it will get more expensive and cause the car to drag. Pay the extra few bucks to let the warm breeze whip your face and make your hair dance.
Use Sunday as the day of rest. Or any day of the week. Take that day to relax, reflect, and to recharge. Otherwise, might pass you by way too quickly.
Drink lots of water.
Living in the moment is unrealistic, you will always be thinking about tomorrow, or what you could have done better yesterday. It’s ok to not live in the moment; just try not to obsess over what you cannot change, or what you cannot predict.
Using “like” in conversation is bad grammar, and will quickly annoy whoever you’re having a conversation with.
Go to a religious service because you want to, not because you have to.
Sing at the top of your lungs. Blast music so that your neighbors can hear it. Close your eyes and dance around the room. Then after all that, lay down, breathe the music in and let it fill you.
Hug.
Always give a firm handshake. It shows confidence and respect. It says “I am here, I have something to say or do, and I am genuinely interested in what you have to say or do.”
Take enough pictures so that you can savor the memories, but don’t take too many so that you miss out on what’s in front of your eyes at the present time.
Remember those who have helped you. Be there for them in return.
Always set your alarm for the time you want to wake up the next morning before you go to a party.
If you are uncomfortable with someone simply because they are different than you, have a conversation with them. Try to understand why you’re uncomfortable with them.
Take time to look at old photographs and scrapbooks.
Try taking a different route every time you venture somewhere, especially if you’re in a city with blocks. You will find some of the most interesting people and places that you will every experience.
Watch old Disney movies with your friends.
Do not text while you’re driving. If you make one mistake because you were looking down at your phone instead of at the road, the burden will hang on your head for a lifetime. All because of a text.
If you need to text while you’re having a face to face conversation with someone, say “excuse me.”
Call people if you want to say something, don’t text them. Cell phone texting is a technology that is allowing humans to distance themselves from one another. It also puts a delay in time and can cause huge unnecessary miscommunication. For God’s sake, pick up the phone.
Swim.
That whole “sticks and stones will break my bones but words will never hurt me” is bullshit sometimes. When you can, be the better person and walk away from the situation; don’t give your antagonist the attention they want. When you can’t, stick up for yourself and say something right back to put them in their place.
Introduce your friends to one another when it’s necessary; don’t just let them stand there. If your friend is like me, they will introduce themselves and you’ll feel like an idiot. If not, both friends will stand there awkwardly.
Life is not a movie. Life is not a movie. Life is not a movie. This is one of the hardest things I will ever have to learn, and I may never fully learn it.
Movies, books, art works, television shows, greeting cards, plays, and songs derive from life’s occurrences. Their content must therefore not be disregarded as nonsense and feeble attempts at perfection, but understood as a heightened sense of reality that allows humans to see reflections of themselves in characters and situations. These media act as common denominators and enable us to connect with one another, providing a forum for dialogue and commentary of society.
Smile, even if it’s a little white lie. You never know when it may brighten someone’s day.
Carry around a little notepad or sketchbook with you, wherever you go. Write, draw, create, imagine.
If you’re a freshman in college, or at a new job, and you have a physical door, keep it open. Some of the closest friends I have today were made because I left my door opened and they just wandered in.
Listen.
