what the hell is wrong with me

[surfsc77]

Think about number 1 ......focus on YOU....

Do 18 year olds do anything else?

hey thats not fair, i spend a lot of time volunteering and what not. thanks everyone for the helpful comments, really made me feel better.

[buckthis]

most kids spend all their lives through gradeschool trying to make their parents happy( playing footbal for dad) teachers happy, by getting good grades, girlfreinds happy (forget this one, can't be done)
like many have said here, find something you can get lost in, i really liked music in the late 90's, but when i was 18 it was riding my motorcycle, no matter what crap was going on in my life, when i was on my bike, life was great!

[pacey]

like everyone says, life can be as simple as you make it, so find the things you enjoy, do them as much as you can. Be honest about who you are and who you want to be, and realise that you change your own world through the way you think and react.

everything else is other people's fears manifesting - help where you can, but never be put down by negativity or lack of vision!

this is how i try to be.

Basically, chill out. It's all good!

[Real Pol]

p.s .. dance man ! .. i dont give a sheet if your bouncing around in a one man mosh or busting a cheezee lil'move to a hiphop track .. its real good for the soul bro

Thats great advice!!!

I started dancing in clubs and places when I was 16!

14 years on the musics changed (no, I don't attend tea dances), but the passion is still there!

My only regret? My breakdancing sucks!

[PapaW]

" I just gotta dance! "

[keef]

Hi, I hope you read this.

I guess there is an underlying problem of very low self esteem.

You are a perfectionist, and will no way except second best.

You have very high standards, and can't tolerate yourself or others not living up to those high expectations.

You judge people on first meeting, and shun them if they don't live up to your high standards.

You don't think that you are any better than the next person, or try to live up to your own expect tations, but you feel that certain people are beneath you.

and you can't tolerate their low standards.

am I right
??????????

[surfsc77]

Hi, I hope you read this.

I guess there is an underlying problem of very low self esteem.

You are a perfectionist, and will no way except second best.

You have very high standards, and can't tolerate yourself or others not living up to those high expectations.

You judge people on first meeting, and shun them if they don't live up to your high standards.

You don't think that you are any better than the next person, or try to live up to your own expect tations, but you feel that certain people are beneath you.

and you can't tolerate their low standards.

am I right
??????????

from my flawed introspective viewpoint i would say that you are wrong on all accounts. i dont think anyone is beneath me, i allow people to set their own standards for how they want to live, and i accept people for how they are.

[Otter]

Listen to the song "I'm 18" by Alice Cooper. You'll soon discover you're not so different from most other teens. It's a tough time of life. Hang in there, get stoked as often as you can, you'll get through it.

[pacey]

tough time of life? LOL. It's an awesome time of life! Not that it gets really bad all of a sudden, but you have a lot of free time, loads of mates around you, low bills (ok and low income) - you have a lot of freedom at 18 to do and be what you want, and make the choices that can change your entire life for the better. Make the most of it!

[keef]

okay, but you did say that you have low self esteem.

However, you have the motivation and vocabulary to shoot me down in flames, so I guess you could be happy with that. (Please take that comment lightly as its intended that way)

As others have said it is a difficult time of life, which I can just about remember, being nearly 40.

As Bob Dylan said in All Along The Watchtower, Life is but a joke. I certainly treat my very sorry existence as one, and it makes it all the more enjoyable.

Don't take this hilarious existance of ours too seriously, and things will seem much better.

[RJD]

Its not a difficult time of life IMO, it is in some ways, your still figuring out whats what & who you are.

But no mortgage, wife, kids, pension, career etc. Plenty of Me time & fun to be had.

[surfsc77]

i think things are getting better, i just have depressed periods every now and then, like the one that lead to my first post. i didnt know there were so many nice people on this forum

[Otter]

The uncertainty of being 18 is what I meant by a tough time. Everything else is paid for, taken care of or given to you. What's tough about that?

[Jimi]

Just wait till you hit 24. Then you'll look back and wish you could re-live it all over again. Ups, downs and everything along the way.

In my misspent youth I seemed to have pretty similar feelings, but I felt like everyone expected more from me than i could give. Parents, girlfriends etc...

Took me till 2nd year uni to realise that I needed to stop living according to what I though other people expected of me. Turns out the people who care about you just want you to be happy (I mean mates and family).

Also, if you're having trouble deciding if you like some other girl more than your gf, don't worry. It's natural to feel like that. I'm guessing since you've been with your GF for a while, you haven't been with any other girls for a while, and don't really know what you like/want to improve in your relationship. You might just need to play the field a little bit, to know for sure what you're looking for in a partner.

BUT as a warning, before splitting with your gf, weigh up whether you think you'll be any happier with the next.

EDIT: Grammar