The act of starting to love, appreciate and take care of oneself it's a very powerful life changer that can save and avoid you a lot of problems. From physic and mental health, to social relationships and to career/work and much more.
I feel and think life is much more enjoyable if you lookout for yourself and for others.
I wish I would have came out of the closet immediately instead of being in two marriages that really sucked because I was confused about what I wanted and I didn’t want to ostracize myself from my family and peers.
Got back on ADHD meds that my parents took me off as a 10yo as they didn't like the side effects.
Exercised.
Study, get the certification I ended up getting eventually (that i was repeatedly recommended to do but was too perpetually exhausted to study for), and breaking into IT as a career sooner.
Not waste years 18-22 in a shitty grocery store/fast food job. To this day I can't stand to look at a rotisserie chicken cooker.
Worry less about grades and academic performance, met my actual therapist back then so I could understand more about myself through exploration of my own self.
Hug my dad more if I knew he would be gone in a few years. Miss him everyday.
For a long time, I'd say accept that nothing was going to happen with this girl I fell for at the time, and focus on my writing (what I was in college for at the time, with an eye to getting into a great program at the uni down the road for slighty less total cost than just going there).
I've since learned it's important not to focus on what you could've done differently in the past. It's done, and it lead to wherever you are today. But boy, did that person - more accurately, the situation I found myself in re: that person - cause a series of events that included some pretty dark times.
But who's to say life right now would be better for it?
Regardless of this being a comment about your LGBT+ identity, this is good advice for anyone young.
All you out there 25 or younger, stop fighting who you are. Stop trying to fulfill other people's expectations of who you need to be. Focus on yourself and who you want to be and who you are.
To a degree. If people are telling you "don't pursue that career in art, go get a normal job that at least buys you some sanity in the evenings", then maybe it might help to listen to them a little. You can still pursue art in your free time.
That's advice on what to do, rather than who you are. I agree that it's great to choose a career path that allows for financial security, but you can do that and decide that you're an artist. They don't have to be exclusive of each other.