If you could go back in time and talk to your younger self...

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DeafCaroline

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If you could go back in time and talk to your younger self, what advice would you give them?

I would tell myself to go to Gaulladet and major in business.
 
Can I copy and paste my original answer from the other thread?

I would also tell myself to understand that no decision is final...just wait and see where life directs you to go and be prepared to make changes.
 
jillio said:
Can I copy and paste my original answer from the other thread?

I would also tell myself to understand that no decision is final...just wait and see where life directs you to go and be prepared to make changes.
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Go for it!
 
Here it is:

As an adult, I would tell my 12 year old self that what often appears to be injustice evens itself out on down the road. The battles that need to be fought will make themselves evident, and there is no productive end to fighting battles that don't need to be fought. If one is able to perceive oneself from a position of confidence and high self worth, society's perception has far less ability to damage and oppress.
 
DeafCaroline said:
If you could go back in time and talk to your younger self, what advice would you give them?

I would tell myself to go to Gaulladet and major in business.
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Not to pry, but what is stopping you from doing that now?

My mom went back to college when she was 50 and got her second degree.
 
Steinhauer said:
Not to pry, but what is stopping you from doing that now?

My mom went back to college when she was 50 and got her second degree.
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Off topic. This is related to the preparing children for transition thread. That is why it was stated "12 year old".

BTW, I don't think anything stops DeafCaroline from doing what she wants to do.
 
My mother went back to university at age 46 and got her second degree. I have other plans for my future. I'm very much into advocacy for wildlife and the environment and I want to volunteer in outreach programs for the deaf in South Africa and in Cambodia.

I had been staying in Quebec for the past 20 years so my kids would grow up with their father in the same city. It was really important to me that my children has us both around growing up. My ex and I separated when they were very young.

Quebec is french and although I can read and write French, I can't speak nor understand it and it's mandatory to be bilingual to work in Quebec.

So, I've been waiting a long time to do what I want to do for myself. Having my own company kept me afloat but it's not what I want to do forever.

Just have to wait until my boys are grown up and off to college. My youngest will be 18 next year. So, in one year from now, I will be able to go away for long periods of time and I'm looking forward to it. I have a lot of dreams waiting to come true.
 
DeafCaroline said:
My mother went back to university at age 46 and got her second degree. I have other plans for my future. I'm very much into advocacy for wildlife and the environment and I want to volunteer in outreach programs for the deaf in South Africa and in Cambodia.

I had been staying in Quebec for the past 20 years so my kids would grow up with their father in the same city. It was really important to me that my children has us both around growing up. My ex and I separated when they were very young.

Quebec is french and although I can read and write French, I can't speak nor understand it and it's mandatory to be bilingual to work in Quebec.

So, I've been waiting a long time to do what I want to do for myself. Having my own company kept me afloat but it's not what I want to do forever.

Just have to wait until my boys are grown up and off to college. My youngest will be 18 next year. So, in one year from now, I will be able to go away for long periods of time and I'm looking forward to it. I have a lot of dreams waiting to come true.
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That is all wonderful and admirable. But could you have told yourself anything at the age of 12 that would have made the journey to where you are, and where you plan to go, easier?
 
The only thing I can really think of that I would tell myself would be to go to community college for two years after high school and then transfer to UC Berkeley instead of going to Chico State after graduating HS. The freshman dorm experience at Chico was a complete waste of my time and money. I eventually found a good niche at Chico, and I love the city, but I think I would have liked Berkeley a lot more, and I would have saved money and had a lot more opportunities. Oh well.
 
TheWriteAlex said:
The only thing I can really think of that I would tell myself would be to go to community college for two years after high school and then transfer to UC Berkeley instead of going to Chico State after graduating HS. The freshman dorm experience at Chico was a complete waste of my time and money. I eventually found a good niche at Chico, and I love the city, but I think I would have liked Berkeley a lot more, and I would have saved money and had a lot more opportunities. Oh well.
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But, the road chosen was the one that has led to your current place in life. That's why I don't think I would have changed any of my experiences...even the negative. I would have just given my 12 year old self knowledge about life that would have made perception of some of those experiences a bit different at the time. Saved me learning along the way, so to speak.
 
DeafCaroline said:
If you could go back in time and talk to your younger self, what advice would you give them?

I would tell myself to go to Gaulladet and major in business.
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I would tell myself - "damn... I've traveled back in time to see what an awesome asshole I've become. the prophecy was true after all."

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jillio said:
That is all wonderful and admirable. But could you have told yourself anything at the age of 12 that would have made the journey to where you are, and where you plan to go, easier?
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I wouldn't have exactly wanted to end up where I did. I was a single mother since the age of 20. I got pregnant for stupid reasons and don't get me wrong, I cherish my boys but it was truly trying at times raising them on my own with very little money and people too busy with their lives to drop by and socialize. It was a very lonely life. My ex was supposed to have them every weekend but he always ended up being too busy so it was rare I got a break. He eventually had 50% custody when they got a bit older and that gave me a chance to go back to school and study graphic design so I could get a skill and freelance if I didn't get employed.

The reason I would have told myself at age 12 to go to Gaulladet and major in Business is because I would not have chosen this difficult life had I known then what I know now. I would have told myself to not put men ahead of my own needs and I would have told myself to be practical and take charge of my future, to learn ASL immediately and get a degree in business so I could be my own boss and have my own company.

But I did choose this life that I've lived and it's led me to where I am today and hence I have chosen a different future.
 
My first inclination is that I would want to tell my 12 year old self not to worry, things will work out, you'll be able to go to college, your life will work out fine.

My dad died when I was 7, which changed our financial picture considerably, with four kids in the family. I worried about how I would have enough money to get to college.

However, because I knew I'd have to foot a lot of the bill myself, I started working summers from the time I was 16, which turned out to give me a lot of good experiences. I kept my grades up and studied a lot (which was my natural inclination anyway), and that got me enough scholarships to pay for college.

Things have a way of working out. Don't worry. Follow your interests. Work hard, but not so hard you don't have time for fun.

I don't think I would have changed much about my life, honestly. For the most part, the decisions I made about the things I actually had any control over worked out all right.
 
DeafCaroline said:
I wouldn't have exactly wanted to end up where I did. I was a single mother since the age of 20. I got pregnant for stupid reasons and don't get me wrong, I cherish my boys but it was truly trying at times raising them on my own with very little money and people too busy with their lives to drop by and socialize. It was a very lonely life. My ex was supposed to have them every weekend but he always ended up being too busy so it was rare I got a break. He eventually had 50% custody when they got a bit older and that gave me a chance to go back to school and study graphic design so I could get a skill and freelance if I didn't get employed.

The reason I would have told myself at age 12 to go to Gaulladet and major in Business is because I would not have chosen this difficult life had I known then what I know now. I would have told myself to not put men ahead of my own needs and I would have told myself to be practical and take charge of my future, to learn ASL immediately and get a degree in business so I could be my own boss and have my own company.

But I did choose this life that I've lived and it's led me to where I am today and hence I have chosen a different future.
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Gotcha. And while your life was incredibly hard (I also was a single parent following the death of my husband), think of all the strengths you have now that you may not have had without those experiences. And think of the things that you now have a greater appreciation for than you may have had otherwise. For instance, perhaps you would not have valued education the way you do, or perhaps you would not have had the motivation to make changes in your life at an older age.
 
I can't think of much I would change.....out of stuff I can control. My advice would be never lend money to friends..... Ever.
 
True. If I'm going to help out a friend or family member, it's a gift, not a loan. If they need the money and I have it to give, I'm grateful to be in a position to be able to help. I don't expect and don't want to get it back.
 
I guess I'd go back in time and tell my younger self to always put in extra effort in doing schoolwork.

Apart from that, I can't think of anything I'd want to change.
 
Perhaps I would have told myself...."gear up...you've got a long and hard way to go." My childhood was quite pitiful (sorry to say that)...I grew up very fast.
 
rockin'robin said:
Perhaps I would have told myself...."gear up...you've got a long and hard way to go." My childhood was quite pitiful (sorry to say that)...I grew up very fast.
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Me too..... I was a business owner at 12.... :lol: 20 yards to mow. I was loaning money to my parents by the time I was 14.... I look back at that as a positive though.
 
If I could go back in time to my younger self, I would tell myself to buy the friggin copyright on the dang time machine.
 
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