Hi all,
This post is a response to the challenge of @lymepoet.
If I could go back in time and tell my younger self 10 things about life in general knowing what I know today, I would give myself the following advice:
1) Don't eat animals, they do feel pain.
This is something I never questioned when I was younger. I was convinced that I was an animal lover, but I was still OK with eating pork, beef and chicken. So I would tell myself the following_ "What the hell are you thinking? If you wouldn't eat your dog or cat you stupid idiot, then why the hell would you eat a cow? Use your f****g brain, kiddo!"
2) Study harder and be more ambitious!
I was the type of girl that would get decent grades without much effort, and I was used to this dynamic. Hence, I never pushed myself. Now I wish I had been a little more ambitious. So my message to my younger self would be "Get the fuck off your lazy ass, and study! Think about what you want to do with your life!"
3) Stop hanging out with losers!
For some reason, I always liked hanging out with the bad crowd. The ones that were up to no good, stealing stuff, taking drugs, and getting into trouble. The ones that had bad grades and got expelled from school for disrespecting their teacher. I was a bit of a chameleon, because I hung out with the bad crowd, but still got decent grades, so I was untouchable. I would tell myself the following: " Screw the losers, they are just holding you back! You could do so much more than just hang around these idiots and smoke weed. Hang out with the geeks instead!".
4) Things will get better once you get older.
Most of my childhood and teenage years in my home were not so rosy. Sometimes I felt like running away and leaving everything behind. I felt helpless and as if there was no light at the end of the tunnel. Today, I would tell myself "don't worry, your mom will eventually leave that Mofo and you will all be happy thereafter. She will meet a great man that you will call "dad", and who will treat you like his daughter. Just sit tight".
5) Keep playing the piano!
As a kid, my mom made me take piano lessons. I was very talented and learned it quickly. However, being a kid I did not appreciate classical music very much- Unfortunately, my piano teacher did not offer me any alternatives, and I pressured my mom to quit. My piano teacher called my house several times to convince my mom not to stop my lessons. Today, I regret not continuing. I still have a keyboard that I stare at every day, thinking about how I should not have given up piano lessons. If I could go back in time I would tell myself "just keep practicing you stupid little brat, you don't know what you're missing!"
6) Don't follow the big kid into the bathroom!
When I was 9 and going to music school, an older kid was hanging around campus, and used to play with us during our breaks. He was 16, and took a particular interest in me. As a child, I was very flattered that one of the "older kids" would want to play with me. Little did I know that he had very bad intentions. If I could tell my 9-year old self something today, it would be "you dumb ass bitch, what did your mom tell you? Don't follow strangers"! Unfortunately he wasn't a stranger, so that advice would have been hard to follow anyway...
7) Don't sell that car!
My first car was a 1968 yellow Volkswagen beetle, which I had paid for with a summer job at the bank my mom was working at, at the age of 17. I had to wait until I was 18 to be able to drive it. I was extremely proud because nobody had an old-timer like mine, and because it was original, flashy and just perfect for me. I loved that old car. Unfortunately after I went to college, I sold it for peanuts to some asshole because I needed the money. That was one big mistake.
8) Train Jiujitsu !
When I moved to New York, I tried to find a good Taekwondo academy. Since I didn't find anything I liked (they were all very commercial and just tried to sell their uniforms), I decided against training. Back then, I didn't know about BJJ and decided to run on a boring treadmill instead. If I could go back in time, I would tell myself to go sign up for Brazilian Jiujitsu classes, and I would have been a black belt by now.
9) Don't let people get to you.
How many times did I allow idiots influence my mood, or raise my Adrenalin levels. They weren't worth the anger they provoked in me, and I should not have let other people's behavior get to me. If I could go back in time, I would tell myself to get into less fights and just relax. They weren't worth it.
10) Buying things will not make you happy!
Once upon a time, not so long ago, I was leading a lifestyle which I despised. I worked 12 hours per day in an investment bank, and I hated it. On Monday morning I wished it was Friday already, and once the weekend came, I numbed my anxiety through shopping. I realize now that buying things was my way to get a quick "happy fix", but it did not solve my problem of hating my life. Quitting my job did the trick. If I could go back in time, I would tell myself "why the hell are you wasting your time in this shit hole? Don't listen to people who tell you this is a job others would kill for, and listen to your inner voice."
This challenge came right on time, because I often fantasize about this particular topic. I imagine what I would do if I could travel to the past, in very particular situations, but having the knowledge I have today. There are many more things I would have told myself, like not going to the gym on a particular day so that my apartment wouldn't get broken into, or slightly more painful memories.
On the bright side, all these things made me the person I am today, so preventing these situations from happening would probably have completely altered my personality. I'm satisfied with who I am today, so maybe warning myself about these life lessons would not be very wise.
I don't know....what do you think?
I tag @el-cr, @raj808, @fruitarianism, @moonunit and @arcabuxz to participate in this challenge.
