this is all really good advice...i gotta agree with all of it. i think he hit on most of the points i'd want to say, but i wanna add this...
...making mistakes is part of life, not even necessarily being young (though it happens the most often then, becuase of inexperiance), but the point is...no mistake is unrepareable. That's the great thing about life...it's ongoing..you mess up, you fix it, sure it might be harder to fix, but if you learn from it...you might be better off having made that mistake after all. So, my overall point is, don't worry MEL! It seems big now, but once it's past, it won't be that big of a deal.
In the words of dory from finding nemo, "just keep swimmin', just keep swimmin'"
oh, and what dan said about talking to people who are smarter then you....that's priceless. Sounds like you already really appreciate your parents advice...thats great
you know...between the two of us...sooo many things about growing up...like (this is REALLY important, i never realized how much until lately)
try and CONNECT with people emotionally WHENEVER you can. Don't think "oh, I can't have a conversation with that person". Your friends, householders, friend's parents - it doesn't matter. When you understand where a person is coming from, what they're about, who they want to be - not just "what music do you like", you can really say you KNOW that person. i have friends i've hung out with for years, and i don't really KNOW. For field service, when you really try to connect with people, REALLY care about their opinions and their lives, at EVERY door - people can tell. that will be part of your personality. and people will be drawn to that.
*(i am currently working on this.)
WOW this was so sweet and SO true! Thats one thing i've learned, always "learn" about others, really care and take into consideration what they're about.
I'm working on this also. I devoloped some real relationships in service simply by asking how did you come into the truth? or What obstacles did you have to overcome in your service to Jehovah?