Save money, travel more, and break up with THAT guy: Women over age 40 share the advice they'd give to their 20-something selves

  • Nyasha Junior, a religions professor at Temple University in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, asked her followers online to post advice 
  • More than a thousand comments flooded in encouraging women to be themselves, save more, dump bad boyfriends, and travel
  • 'You don't have to give up any of yourself for the right person,' one woman wrote
  • Another woman, who is now 62, revealed life gets better the older she gets  

By Danielle Zoellner For Dailymail.com

Published: 15:54 EDT, 16 October 2018 | Updated: 15:59 EDT, 16 October 2018

Women over the age of 40 have shared the valuable advice they wish they could impart to their 20-something selves.

Nyasha Junior, a religions professor at Temple University in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, started the inspirational thread after she asked her followers to offer up some wisdom they wish they had known in their 20s.

'If you are a 40+ woman, what one piece of advice would you give to your 20-something self?' Nyasha wrote last month on Twitter, and she has since received more than 1,000 responses from women with their advice. 

Advice: One Twitter thread received a lot of responses after a woman asked other women to reveal advice they wish they'd received in their 20s

Advice: One Twitter thread received a lot of responses after a woman asked other women to reveal advice they wish they'd received in their 20s

Important: Nyasha Junior, a religions professor at Temple University in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, started the thread on Twitter

Important: Nyasha Junior, a religions professor at Temple University in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, started the thread on Twitter

Empowering: Women were quick to offer their words of advice, including to travel more

Empowering: Women were quick to offer their words of advice, including to travel more

Fair: Past relationships were a source of advice for a lot of women, who admitted the 'bad boys' were not worth it 

Fair: Past relationships were a source of advice for a lot of women, who admitted the 'bad boys' were not worth it 

True: One woman said the first lie was enough to leave a significant other

True: One woman said the first lie was enough to leave a significant other

Responses flooded in with advice - including ditching bad boyfriends, saving whenever possible, and traveling to more places.

One woman wrote: 'Save more, travel more, say NO more, say what you feel AT THE TIME YOU FEEL IT more.' 

There were a number of women who focused their advice around what they learned from their prior relationships.

'Leave after the first lie,' one woman wrote while, another said: '"Bad boys" are not fun or sexy. They're actually bad people and will hurt you in some way, shape or form.'

The advice only became more inspirational as people expressed the importance of women figuring out their own success while in their 20s. 

'Define success for yourself,' one woman wrote. 'Define what you care about. Don't substitute the judgement of others for your own. You are the expert at you.'  

Girl power: One post encouraged women to find ways to define their own success 

Girl power: One post encouraged women to find ways to define their own success 

Listing it out: Some women went as far as to list out different pieces of advice 

Listing it out: Some women went as far as to list out different pieces of advice 

Priorities: Each of the women who offered up advice said it was on topics they wish they had focused on when they were in their 20s 

Priorities: Each of the women who offered up advice said it was on topics they wish they had focused on when they were in their 20s 

Some people took the task at the hand very seriously by submitting lists of advice and lessons they wish they could share with their younger selves.

'Take more chances,' the first list began. 'Be a little less "practical and take that trip. Lose the toxic friends sooner rather than later. Keep the good ones closer. 

'Compliment yourself more, like you would a friend. Words hurt so remember that when fighting. Love happens more than once.' 

Other advice was to 'be less afraid to work for your own happiness', 'go on vacation and take cute pictures', and 'go ahead and try, the worst they can say is no.'

Aging gracefully: One woman, who is now 62, admitted everything has gotten better as she aged

Aging gracefully: One woman, who is now 62, admitted everything has gotten better as she aged

Positive: Most of the advice focused on women staying true to themselves and prioritizing important relationships 

Positive: Most of the advice focused on women staying true to themselves and prioritizing important relationships 

Smart: Another person said it was important to save money for the future 

Smart: Another person said it was important to save money for the future 

Preach: One of the most prominent pieces of advice given was that you don't have to give up any part of yourself for the right person 

Preach: One of the most prominent pieces of advice given was that you don't have to give up any part of yourself for the right person 

One woman who shared her own age wanted her younger self to know that her life only stood to improve. 

'I’m 62 and I’d tell her things get better with age,' she wrote.  'I feel like my most productive and creative right now. And I’ve got no more f***s to give. Aging is everything.'

But the one piece advice people seemed to appreciate the most was about being true to oneself instead of changing for others.

The advice read: 'You don't have to give up any of yourself for the right person.' 

Since Nyasha posted the thread last month, it has been shared more than 3,300 with others encouraging women to learn from the advice offered.  

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Women share advice they'd give to themselves while in their 20s in empowering Twitter thread

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