So, I was just catching up on a few older posts on my lovely friend Andrea’s blog, and this one really struck me. Read it, then read on.

For me, it wasn’t that I had glasses, I have my father’s eyes and don’t need them, unlike my siblings. That being said, I was the kid who should have had glasses – and all the rest, for that matter. For some reason, impressions of me were often characterized by stereotypical nerditry (not a word, but possibly should be), sometimes followed by the occasional confused look when people realised that I didn’t actually have them. I had some phantom appearance that I don’t think really went anywhere until probably early high-school, when I suddenly went from counting my friends on one hand to socially trying to understand the varying degrees of friendship that comes from having dozens of them.

I think her comments about her younger self ring very true to me, and I periodically wonder what I would tell myself if I was given the opportunity to go back in time. I think letting myself know that the bullies will (for the most part) grow up, that growing pains are temporary and that I will make amazing connections with people around the world who truly see and love me for who I am would probably be what I would say. I know I will never be able to return to those times and say these things, and that if I did I would possibly grow up to be a different person. My experiences, good and bad, shaped me into who I am through the lessons that I’ve learned.

At the very least, I look at it this way: that desire to inform your younger self is part of being a parent. Thinking like this gives me a new perspective on my own parents, and what they must have been thinking as they tried their best to raise me. I wonder, will I try to pass these lessons on to my own children? Will they listen?

What do you think?