What I Would say to a Younger Version of Myself

Now that I am twenty-six years old, I have the best advice to solve my younger-self's problems! Do I regret my younger-self's mistakes? No, not really. I believe everything happens for a reason. Besides, holding on to regrets about the past won't get me anywhere. However, if I did have the ability to pass on some advice to my younger self, these things would have made my life easier. And while it might be to late to tell younger-me the secrets to success, present-me can still benefit from this knowledge. Below are a few things I would say to a younger version of myself.

Be Yourself

Younger-me thought I was a weirdo and was very embarrassed by that. However, present-me knows I am a weirdo and is very proud of that fact. I am fully aware that I am socially awkward and that some things I do don't make sense to other people. I would say that now I just embrace it. If I was provided the opportunity to contact my younger-self in some way, I would say something like "what are you afraid of? Is suppressing who you are making you happy? No! Of course not! So just let you be your awkward little self. It's when you allow yourself to be you that people tend to like you more anyway. And if they don't? Who cares?"

If you Want Something, Just Ask

My biggest fear when I was younger? Other humans. I'm being for real. People would actually ask me if I could talk because I rarely spoke a word. Present-me is still pretty quiet but that is more so due to the fact that I just don't have much to say. So, because I was scared of people and didn't talk, so I would just never ask for anything I wanted or needed. I learned to survive without those things as it was more important to my survival to not interact with other humans. Now that I am a (somewhat) mature adult, I have learned that other humans are actually quite nice (most of the time). I also learned how to talk and verbalize what I want and need. It's made things a lot less complicated actually. If I am curious about something, I just ask and I get the answer instantly. No more waiting around hoping that what I want to know will just come out on its own or that someone else might ask.

Make new Friends

This one is actually kind of funny because I don't have any friends and don't really feel the need to have friends either. However, I do think that it would be beneficial to my wellbeing in some ways to have friends. Maybe I will have time for something like that after I graduate or when I retire. If I could tell younger-me something about having friends, I would have said to be friends with whoever a friendship came naturally. If you have to force a friendship or are avoiding friendships for some form of social reasoning, then it probably isn't that great of a friendship. Another thing to consider is what that might say about me as a person. I remember sitting with a girl at lunch one day in high school who had down-syndrome. She was also sitting there with some kind of special education teacher. This memory has stuck with me because that girl just seemed so happy. I don't remember what we talked about but she was very nice and was happy to be sitting with and having a conversation with me. Often, I wonder to myself what things would have been like if I just sat with that girl everyday, worrying more about being nice and happy rather than what people thought of me.

What would you say to a younger version of yourself?

• Be yourself
• If you want something, just ask
• Make new friends
• Other

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