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What Questions Would You Ask Your 18-Year-Old Or Older Self?

ARI SHAPIRO, HOST:

Yesterday on the program, I spoke with a man who videotaped himself at age 18 posing questions to his future self. He answered those questions this year at age 56 and called the project "Later That Same Life." So last night, I tweeted, if you could talk to your 18-year-old self or ask your older self questions, what would you say? And we got some interesting responses. Here's Alyssa Ross White of Newark, N.J.

ALYSSA ROSS WHITE: Misbehave. Go to protests. Kiss women. Write harder, and forget plan B. Being a good girl has nothing in common with being a force for good.

VALERIE DAY: My name's Valerie Day (ph), and I'm from Portland, Ore. I'd ask my older self what I should pay attention to that I'm somehow missing about this time period.

HEIDI JACKSON: Hi. I'm Heidi Jackson (ph) from New York City. And I would tell my 18-year-old self to just chill out; it turns out OK.

SHAPIRO: Diane Manning of Chesapeake, Va., tweeted, (reading) I would tell my younger self to stop and take in certain moments in time and to not be in such a bleeping hurry all the time.

CYRUS WINTERS: This Cyrus Winters West Des Moines, Iowa. I would tell my younger self to be less certain that my views are correct and to question everything.

SHAPIRO: Sarah Maurer in Watertown, N.Y., wrote, (reading) money doesn't matter. Stop worrying, and just love.

Some very specific words of wisdom from Melinda Grimsley-Smith of Bowling Green, Ky. Her advice to her younger self was, there is nothing special about buying that pack of cigarettes, nor smoking them. Cut it out. There were other cautions - go to college, avoid prison. But we'll end on a different note - a note about love and loss.

SIMA MATTHES: This is Sima Matthes from Rockville Centre, N.Y. I would tell my 18-year-old self that someday you'll be someone's one who got away, and there will also be someone by whom you will be glad to be caught. Transcript provided by NPR, Copyright NPR.