如果能回到过去，你想对自己说什么？ What would you tell yourself if you could go back in time?

过完年，不少人又长了一岁。连春联里都写：“天增岁月人增寿，春满乾坤福满门”。岁月可能是渐渐流逝的，但人却不一定是慢慢长大的。人通常是在某个瞬间意识到自己与年少时不同了。回望才发现，原来自己变了这么多。

社交媒体Reddit上有网友感慨了一句：

You officially become an adult when you realize that the smallest size at an ice cream shop is more than enough.
买冰淇淋意识到最小的那一支就够够的了的时候，你就正式迈入成年人行列了。

类似的可能还有，小时候恨不得能天天吃汉堡炸鸡，现在工资/零花钱能买全家桶却不再馋了。

So I ask for the smallest or kids’ size. I have to convince them that I really only want one scoop. Yes, just one. Ok, you can stop now. I understand it’s the same price. But I really like the cone and would rather not have to throw out a bunch of ice cream to get to the cone.
所以我就点最小的或者儿童款的冰淇淋。我还得跟店员解释我真的只要㧟一勺，对，就一勺，好了，可以了，停吧。我知道价格一样。但我真的很喜欢吃那个锥形壳儿，而且我不想为了吃壳儿而不得不丢掉大块冰淇淋。

围绕吃喝，Reddit网友发现，年龄增长会伴随着饮料喜好的变化——牛奶、苏打水、咖啡、酒类都不想喝了，你只想喝水。

When you discover that the best adult drink is no longer just milk; It is no longer soda; You are no longer at the age where it is coffee; And then you are past the age where it is no longer alcohol; Here, you are now old enough to understand that water is the best and most ideal adult drink there is. And I was telling my friends that you know you’ve aged when you order a hot drink with your fast food meal!
渐渐你就发觉最棒的成人饮料其实不是牛奶；接着也不是苏打水；然后你慢慢也会不想喝咖啡了；再就是渐渐地你也不爱酒精了；这时候，你的年纪可能就到了慢慢理解白水是最棒最理想的成人饮品了。而且我还跟我朋友们说，当你吃快餐都点热饮的时候你就知道自己上年纪了。

就餐时喝热饮对中国人来说不是稀罕事，热奶茶不说，广东人吃早茶不也得佐热茶吗。这种饮料里的年岁增长应该体现在保温杯里泡枸杞(goji)。

成年人的饮食喜好变换还被网友附着了一层成年人的苦恼——节食减肥以示活得很好。

You become an adult when you forego buying ice cream to buy leafy greens to make a salad, because you want to go back to wearing size 30 jeans to prove to your ex (because he/she was a fool, dumping you for someone else) that you still got it.
成年后，你弃了冰淇淋，买绿叶子菜做沙拉，因为你想瘦到可以穿回30码的牛仔裤，以此证明给前任看（因为他/她蠢到甩了你找了别人）你还是能回春。

至此，不难看出，一个冰淇淋串联起了成年人的体重、恋爱、收入和烦恼。

长大后才明白的道理实在是太多。列举几个常见的：

▌Work, sleep, eat, repeat.
上班、睡觉、吃饭，循环。

▌The inevitable break up.
分手根本不可避免

▌Having the courage to apologize.
鼓足勇气道歉

▌Not all friendships last forever, and that's okay.
不是所有友情都会地久天长，没关系。

▌Most adults are clueless and are figuring out life just like everybody else.
大多数成年人也毫无头绪，和其他人一样在努力找寻生命意义。

▌It feels like things move so slow and life will be endless when you were a kid. But life speeds by horribly fast now.
小时候觉得时间过得好慢，生命好像无穷尽。但是现在长大了发现，生命如白驹过隙。

归根结底，小孩子可能很少思考钱和人生——钱有爸妈给，人生太远太长不必想。但成年人不行。

Life is EXPENSIVE.
生活好花钱！

As soon as I started working full time and having to pay monthly bills (rent, groceries, insurance, etc.), let me tell you - my restaurant eating much came to a 100% stop. Life is pricey...
我开始全职工作后，每月有各项支出（房租、食品杂货、保险等等），我跟你说——我下馆子的习惯完全停掉了。生活本身就很花钱了......

You have very little freedom in your life if you choose to go down the conventional route.
如果你选择走传统路线生活，那你就不太会有很多自由空间了。

For example, you get a job, you think you need a promotion. You get a house, you think you need to get a bigger house. You have kids, you decide those kids should be doing expensive sports or going to private school. And suddenly all your money is gone, you have no spare time, and you feel like the more stuff you own, the more it starts to own you. —— doobeedoo3
比方说，你找到工作，就会想擢升。买了房子就会想买个更大的。有了小孩就会想要给小孩上贵族运动或者送去私立学校。就突然一下你所有的钱就消失了，你也失去了空余时间，感觉像是你拥有的东西越多，这些东西也就越吞噬你。

最近穿越题材电影《你好，李焕英》被贾玲拍得让不少人泪目。如果能穿越，或者写一封给过去自己的信，人们会想说什么？

北京邮电大学的学生何世杰（@老师好我叫何同学）在视频里对3年前的自己说：

“2017年对你来说将是很重要的一年，要加油呀！哦对了，最重要的，你那年的理综答案是：BDCCD, BABDB ......”

你有哪些长大后才明白的道理想要写信告诉以前的自己呢？留言分享吧。

Notes

cone [kəʊn] n 锥形蛋卷筒
forego [fɔːˈɡəʊ] v 放弃；弃绝（想做的事或想得之物）
clueless [ˈkluːləs] adj （对某事）不懂的，无能的；很愚蠢的

编辑：李雪晴
实习生：刘小榕
Source: Quora Reddit Buzzfeed等