“You don’t feel as old as you actually are,” says a senior woman at the weekly Thursday morning wood carving class at the Stoughton Senior Center. “You never do.”
From old souls to new souls, most advice given is a heart to heart moment that is cherished for a lifetime. High school seniors graduating this year have their entire lives ahead of them while seniors in retirement have walked the path their lives set them on, with pockets spilling over with advice. Here are some little pieces of advice from seniors taking said wood carving class Thursday mornings.

“I still don’t know what I want to be when I grow up and I’m 76.” — Mike

“Don’t ever let a day go by without doing a good deed for someone else. It could be as simple as being nice to someone or saying ‘hi’.” — Bill
“Take it one day at a time. The biggest worry kids have [is that] they’re always worried about tomorrow. Live for today, one day at a time, and don’t worry about tomorrow. [It’s] so much easier.” — Mike

“Don’t get stressed out over everything. Try not to. I remember stressing out a lot in school, in college, in the military, and in life in general. None of the things I was stressed about ever turned out to be anything. [Stress] robs you of your energy, and it takes you away from what you really want to be doing, which is enjoying life.” — Mike

“Try to be satisfied with what you have. Be thankful for what you have. You’re young, you have a lot going for you. Don’t always worry about what you don’t have. The older you get the more you realize that all the things you have don’t mean anything. When it comes down to it, what’s important is your family, your friends, your faith. These are the things that will mean something to you when you get to be our age.” — Mike (76)

“Follow your passion and don’t expect to find that passion immediately out of high school. It might take a few years. It takes a while but eventually you find what it is you are meant to do or want to do. There are some things that you like and some things you don’t and it’s easier to find what you like to do after high school rather than having to try them out when you’re supposed to be studying. The teen years and the early twenties are really hard because you’re just trying to find yourself and there’s all these hormones running around in you. I think life for teens, especially in this day and age, has so much stress. It’s almost like there’s too many choices [for your future].” — Jean

“Surround yourself with positive people. If somebody’s really pulling you down, really negative in general, or if they’re cutting down other people or things that are important to you, don’t waste your time [with them].” — Sherry