What are the things that mattered to you as a teen that surprises you now as still relevant?

Gettin’ ladies. Lol.

How to keep intact my sense of self and not be brought down by perceived rejections.

Staying in shape. As a teen, I shed a lot of pounds and got fit. As an adult, I continue to be careful about putting on the pounds, so I keep fit by swimming and doing weights. I swim every other day and do weights 3 times a week.

I still love and listen to the bands I loved as a teen. If I can catch a reunion concert, I’m very happy.

How to live a genuine, confident life while feeling like a freak.

Body hair. For totally opposite reasons.

@tom_g That sounds original. Care to qualify?

I’m afraid that my concerns as a teen are mainly the concerns I have now and I’m not surprised by that at all. I was a human being back then. I still am, despite several departures in between.

Bicycling, sex. Maybe just the cycling is surprising.

@mazingerz88 – I have always felt like a complete freak, or an alien of some kind. My teenage years were filled with some experimentation and exploration in an attempt to find “the real me”, with the hope that the “real me” would find that earth and my fellow humans were not so alienating after all.

That struggle continues – albeit a bit more focused and closer to finding that “real me” (if it even exists), and slightly less alienated some times.

Holding in my stomach.

Having awesome hair.

My complexion, looking polished overall.

Neither surprise me as I still have a burning passion for music and making sure there was a little spending money in my wallet.

Comic books.

I was keenly interested in social justice issues as a teen and I still am.

Good for you @tranquilsea

Standing straight and not slouching. As I age, I see friends bent over as they walk or sit. It’s like they’ve given in to gravity. I find I have to think about it and I didn’t expect to, but I still do my best to hold myself erect.

Racism. I had a teacher who taught us about Apartheid when I was about 16 and the injustice and stupidity of it mattered greatly to me. I feel as strongly about it today as I did then.

My hair. Always been a bit freaky about it.

Still like pretty much the same music, just a lot more of it.

Films. Loved films then and still do.

Absolutely nothing.

I still value honesty, hard work, and a certain amount of prudishness (now I know it’s called playing hard-to-get).

Being self-sufficient.