Hey there. I know you never imagined being half a century old, but it happened. And it happened rather quickly. Looking back, I offer this bit of advise to you, my younger self…
Why do you worry? You are a kid. Stop taking things so seriously. Stop being afraid of life.
Write in a daily journal. Record everything, record nothing. Random thoughts, crazy feelings, far away dreams, pie-in-the-sky goals, embarrassing failures, family traditions… You’ll thank me later when you decide to write a book.
Keep reading. The answer to life’s questions can always be found between the pages of a good book.
You have wit and insight. Trust yourself and don’t worry about what other people think or say or do. You are in charge of you.
Listen to yourself and hear what you have to say. It’s okay to put yourself first on occasion. Making your own needs and aspirations a priority will allow you to better care for others.
Challenge yourself. The road less traveled is scenic and quiet and provides more time to think.
Take more accounting classes. Debits and credits will be useful.
You.Are.Not.Fat. Not by a long shot. Why do you count calories?
That luscious, good-enough-to-slurp coconut oil may smell heavenly, but it is ruining your skin. You will never be tan like your best friends Becky and Norma, so stop wasting your time. The things that make you different and unique make you special.
Get to know your Daddy. He isn’t what he seems, and you won’t have him very long.
Learn to make Aunt Virgie’s pie crust. If you don’t, by age fifty your pie crusts will still be hit and miss…
You will meet many people throughout your life, but take a look at these childhood classmates, the smelly boys, the giggly girls. These friends you have now will be life-long friends. This is rare.
Someday you will regret that groovy spiral perm. But go ahead and get it. Looking back and laughing at yourself is a good thing. Looking back and laughing at that horrible perm will make age fifty more tolerable.
And one final thing…buy Wal-Mart stock. Trust me on this.
talya
p.s. I will check back with you in a few years to make sure you finished that book…
Musical Pairing:
written at Hemingway-Pfeiffer Educational Center, Piggott, Arkansas
 |
| Hemingway-Pfeiffer |
What a great blog to yourself and your many admirers. Maybe it would be nice to go back and change some things but it seems as though you have done well and I think you have a great future as a writer.
“Why do you worry? You are a kid. Stop taking things so seriously. Stop being afraid of life.” Great advice for a younger me. Excellent as always, Talya.
Thank you Mark!
Awesome! Awesome! Awesome! You and I could have been fraternal twins and you are definitely the prettier one, always was…always will be!=) If I could go back in time, I’d give myself the same type pep talk, but I’d probably scare the crap out of younger self, so on second thought, maybe I should just write myself a letter since e-mailing myself is out of the question.=) But the thing of it is, is that we grew up the best we could; getting knocked down and jumping back up well is always what is important no matter our age. And speaking of age, I heard that instead of ’50’ being the ‘new 30,’ age researchers in Germany are now saying that ’72’ is the ‘new 30.’ Go figure. So, you and I are really around 8 years old, and married with children…what is this world coming to?…haha
hahaha you crack me up!
ditto to the kiddo…haha
Oh Talya, I love this! It sure makes me think about my younger self and what I would have told me! Love the stock tip! Great post!
Thanks Danni! Not sure if I would really change anything, but I would buy that stock:))
Loved this! and the picture 🙂
you can thank me for photo-shopping you out:))
I’d like to know how you’ll deliver it.
http://joycelansky.blogspot.com
Joyce, I’ll probably wait until we are allowed to time travel:)
I actually wrote a letter to my older self, once. Our high school guidance counselor had us all write letters at age 18 to be delivered to our 23-year-old selves.
That was interesting. It’s interesting how some goals change and others never do.
this be my favorite blog ever (so far!)
Really? Thanks!
Every blog is my favorite! Where did the idea to write to your younger self come from? I didn’t hear it spoken in the general meeting. Love it. Am loving this new computer better since I found out how to get to my gmail.
I have been thinking about this for a while and decided I would write it at H-P. I put it in the anthology. I was going to read it aloud at the end, but we ran out of time… Glad you like your new computer!!
I loved this.
I still love this!