In this episode, Skye hosts several teens from all over metro Atlanta to talk about that one piece of advice they wish they had listened to. Syncere, Joselyn, William, Reign, Rhegan, Eden, Marsellis, India, Gabriel, and Amishi get real about school stress, fake friends, staying humble, stepping up as leaders, and figuring out what’s next after high school. Whether it’s about keeping your grades up or learning when to say “nah” to doing too much, this episode is full of hard-earned lessons and relatable moments for anybody trying to figure things out.
TRANSCRIPT
(edited for clarity)
Skye: Hey everyone, this is Skye for VOX ATL. This past spring break, teens from all over metro Atlanta learned about the basics of podcasting. We asked them, what is one piece of advice they wish they took, but didn’t.
Syncere: Hello, I’m Syncere. I’m 13, and one piece of advice I wish I took with me but didn’t is that caring about your appearance more than your education isn’t going to take you anywhere.
Sure, your appearance may look good, but does your grades?
I should have listened to my mom a couple of years ago, before my grades started dropping, because my mind wasn’t where it should have been.
Joselyn: Hi guys, my name is Joselyn, and I’m 15 years old. A piece of advice that [I didn’t take but wish I had] was to always watch your friend group and who you choose as your friends. Some friends can snake you and [pretend to] have your back, but at the end of the day, they turn out not to be your friends. So always make sure you choose the right friends and those you hang around.
William: Hi, my name is William. I’m 15 years old, and one piece of advice I wish I had taken with me, but I didn’t, was to be more accepting, because if I had now, I wouldn’t be in the situations I’m in now, and if I would’ve listened, then I probably would’ve still been with my mom.
Reign: Hi, my name is Reign, and I’m 13 years old. Some advice that I didn’t really take when I was younger was to be a leader and not a follower. I was very social when I was younger, and I had a lot of friends. I always thought that following my friends would be the best option for me.
By doing that, I sometimes followed bad examples and made many mistakes along the way. So, I’ve learned to be more independent and not depend on my friends and their choices and how they impact my choices.
Rhegan: Hi, my name is Rhegan. I’m 14 years old, and a piece of advice that my parents gave me was not to be prideful. And when they said this to me, I didn’t think much of it because I didn’t know what pride was. But now, later in my life, I’m Christian, so when I’m reading the Bible, I apply it to my life. And, I actually wanted to share this with y’all. Proverbs 11:2 says, “When pride comes, then comes disgrace. But with humility comes wisdom.”
And really, that correlates to so much in your life.
For example, when you’re so prideful about taking this test, you’re like, “Oh, it’s so easy. Oh, I’m acing this. I’m acing this.” And then you get it back — mind you, you didn’t study. You just thought you was so smart — you get it back and you get a 50.
It might be easier to be prideful because you want to be accepted into society and just be like everyone else. But that’s not how you’re supposed to be. You’re not supposed to conform to the ways of the world. You’re supposed to be humble and be able to use your wisdom wisely, and when you are humble, you’re able to be susceptible to wisdom.
Eden: Hi, my name is Eden. I am 13 years old, and one piece of advice that was given to me, but I didn’t really think through it, was not to tell everybody about your future plans because you don’t really know the outcome. For example, maybe you’re, like she said, taking a test and you think you’re going to get a good grade, and you tell everybody, “Oh, this test is easy.”
But you get back your grade, and you didn’t get a good one. Not telling everybody what you think is going to happen will lead you to more success.
Marsalis: My name is Marsalis. I’m 15. One piece of advice that I wish I took but didn’t take was to avoid overextending myself. Overextending yourself leads to burnout and allows you to get angry. You just get so frustrated when you overextend yourself, and you burn out, and people want more from you. And I just wish I had took that advice, and I plan on taking it in the grades to come.
India: My name is India. I’m 15. I have a couple, but one of them was that no amount of guilt can solve the past, and no amount of anxiety can change the future.
And that really hurt. That really got me there because, as much as you cry and as much as you wish that you could change the past, you can’t. And you can’t go back, and you can’t just stay in the past, because if you do, it will consume you even more. But you can’t just get anxiety and start overstimulating yourself for the future.
You have to wait and see and ride it out.
Gabriel: Alright. My name is Gabriel Jackson, and I’m 14. My advice is not to chase after anybody, don’t waste your money, and just treat yourself right. You’ll have a better life.
Amishi: My name is Amishi. I’m 16, and a piece of advice I wish I had taken but didn’t was to keep going with things, even if they get really difficult.
That happened when I ended up leaving piano, but I returned after a couple of years because I realized that I really do like it. And so I wish I had taken that piece of advice so that ultimately I didn’t feel. Sort of the loss of not having it with me for two years, but one thing to consider is I was actually passionate about it.
If I wasn’t, I probably wouldn’t have missed it and gone back.
