Time is the cruelest teacher, first she gives the test, then teaches the lesson
When I was younger, people who were older than me often tried to warn me against certain actions or decisions. It always feels like the right thing to do at that age, and sometimes I think the other person just doesn't wish us well. At one point they ignored me with my act until time showed me the vanity of all my decisions and actions.
Time and school teaches us differently. Schools first teach the lessons then give the test, but time gives the test then teaches the lesson. One danger about time's lesson is that it comes with regret. Worse, when the lesson comes too late and one can't make amends of his wrongs. Time's test often comes with obedience and our willingness to learn. We keep making the same mistakes until we are willing to learn. Whatever we experience in the test period, becomes the lesson it teaches. This means, we can fasten our learning process or delay it.
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All we need to beat time's test is to learn from those who are ahead of us in age. There's an African adage that says "What an old man will see while sitting, even if a child climbs a tree he can't see it". This proverb doesn't just speak of an old man's wisdom, but his encounter with time that a teenager is yet to experience. To move ahead of one's pace, then such a person must be ready to learn from those who were ahead of them. Starting from the creche is a wrong bargain when dealing with Time - because it waits for no one.