The 16 Year Old Me

On the radio on my way into work Wednesday, they were discussing what they would tell their 16 year old selves if given the chance to talk to them today and it got me thinking.

Then I saw this pin on Pinterest:

 

And it dawned on me that I would definitely tell the 16 year old me exactly that and to not be in such a hurry to grow up.

When I was 16, I swore I would never be one of those adults that wished I was 16 again because, lets face it, being 16 was hard... but now that I am an adult, man what I wouldn't do to be 16 again. I was care free, no bills, no responsibilities. It was fantastic.

Sadly, when you are 16 you think you know everything and no matter who says it, you wont believe how great those teenage years are.

Even though I am positive my 16 year old self wouldn't listen to my 33 year old self, here are some things I would tell her:

1. Don't be in such a hurry to grow up and enjoy these years. As difficult as they may seem now, these are valuable lessons you are learning.
2. Listen to the adults. They know what they are talking about and are just trying to prepare you for life ahead. 
3. Learn discipline at a young age... It will help later in life with more things than you know. 
4. Go to college right away. Don't take "time off" after high school because it makes it harder to go back.
5. Love and respect your parents. They just want what's best for you and one day, you will look back and realize that they were right.

For the most part, I don't live my life with regrets and I don't regret my youth. It has made me who I am today. I do think that if I had it to do over again, knowing what I know now, I probably would do some things a little different. Maybe that's the same thing as regret, but for me, I associate regret with resentment or a negative feeling. I don't resent my past decisions... I am at peace with them. That's why I believe I don't live with regret.

It's too bad my 16 year old self was such a know it all. Perhaps if she wasn't, things today would come a little easier.

What would you say to your 16 year old self?

Blog Schmog

A few years back, I blogged on Myspace about blogging. I didn't get it. I'm still not sure I get it now. Really? I am going to put my thoughts out there into cyber space for complete strangers to read? Who's going to read it? My friends and family get bored when I talk to them... and now I want them (and strangers) to read what goes on in my world?

I don't really know about this whole blogging thing, but.... 

My sister has a blog she started after her son was born (http://oliverchronicles.blogspot.com/).  I loved reading her blogs about being a new mom and things her son was doing as he grew up. But let's keep in mind that my sister went to school for journalism, so her writing skills are pretty phenomenal. 

Then while she was pregnant with her second child, she started a cooking blog that I also enjoyed (http://denisemadethis.blogspot.com/). We talked about sharing that blog. She was much further along in her chef-ing experience than I was, so we thought it might be a good idea for the experienced chef and the new chef to share recipes, successes, and failures. That never happened. I was still skeptical about this whole blogging thing... and let's be real, my writing skills would never compare to hers. I was not willing to face the self created sibling rivalry of not only cooking skills, but writing skills too.Thankfully, that second child, a beautiful baby girl, arrived and she hasn't blogged since, so the pressure is gone... for now. 

Along came the movie Julie & Julia. This was the first time that I felt truly inspired to blog. It proved to me that random people just might find an interest in what I have to say. And if the right random people find it interesting, maybe I will make it big and someone will make a movie about my blog. YES! I just might have to do this. 

The inspiration was gone as fast as it arrived. Who really wants a movie made about their life anyway? I know I wouldn't. 

Sure, I have had the occasional fleeting thought about starting a blog, but I always end up back where I start. Who's really going to want to read it? 

Well, I still dont have the answer to that question, but... I have recently found the ever so addicting website www.pinterest.com which inspires creativity and with a couple of clicks usually takes me to external blogs that I read and enjoy. In addition to Pinterest, two of my friends, Ms. Rink & Teenah (names and identities have been changed to protect the innocent), have recently started blogs. Teenah's is about DIY Projects (or do it her way or else projects LOL). Ms. Rink's is about Fashion and Shopping (bows and leopard to be exact). Ms. Rink has encouraged me for months to get a blog because she loves all my random thoughts and thinks I should share them with more than just her. I am positive she's the only one that feels this way.

So there it is. Peer pressure. That's what has finally got me to try out a blog. I have a lot to say... some of it meaningful, some of it not so meaningful, and everything in between. So I'll give it a try. I guess if I have at least one loyal reader it will make it worth my time. 

When I asked Ms. Rink every time she encouraged me to blog, "Who's going to read them?" Her response was always, "I will!" So I guess I will have that one loyal reader that will make it worth my time. :o)