I’d tell my younger self to always be true to herself. There is no need for anyone to rescue her and that post-menopause will be even better than she could have imagined. All the executive functioning issues will either disappear or make her stronger when those hormones go away!
Mar 2, 2023Liked by Margit Detweiler, Liz Thompson
This got me seriously teary. I've only *just* started giving my teenage self a break for not being stronger/smarter/more circumspect - she was doing the best she could with what she had!
We did the best we could with what we had -- so true, Lisa -- all that we've gone through led us to where we are today and some habits are real hard to break (I still still sleep with a light on) but, like Cherisse, I'd reassure my teenage self that it all works out. Thank you for sharing, Lisa.❤️
Mar 2, 2023Liked by Margit Detweiler, Liz Thompson
I’d tell my teenage self that her thinking wasn’t crazy or weird: yes, there will be a life beyond high school, these people, and this town. The world is bigger and this is just a moment in time.
Mar 2, 2023Liked by Margit Detweiler, Liz Thompson
This is one of those takes that frustrates me to no end. I have always found it so hard to understand how dismissive people are of teenagers. Teenage me was absolutely 100% right to feel everything she felt. I wouldn’t tell her to relax; I’d tell her to be bigger, louder, and break more “rules.” Graduate early. Go train hopping. Trust herself. Always. She was brilliant and dynamic and was able to see so far ahead. I wouldn’t lie and tell her it gets better. But at the very least, it’s still interesting enough to want to know what happens next.
You make a great point! Personally, I would've wanted to be you as a teenager. I felt very unseen and yet way more comfortable flying under everyone's radar. But it did get better for me. I'm bigger and louder now but it took me longer to get there. Still not done. I'm excited to know what happens next. Thanks for the reminder, Monapily.
If I’d have been able to figure out how to fly under the radar, rather than stick out in all the “wrong” ways, I would have. I tried for more than half my life to do that and failed. Now, I’m picking up where my adolescent self left off and reconnecting with impulse and infusing with pragmatism. I’m giving my adolescent self the encouragement she needed to thrive.
I would advise my teenage self to go be less afraid, do more, more, more. (While the knees don't hurt!) Don't be so afraid of your creativity and weird-o-ness. It's a gift. Wait I might tell midlife me that too....
Mar 2, 2023Liked by Margit Detweiler, Liz Thompson
I'd tell my teenaged self: you have something called "trauma", and long before you learn to deal with it, your body is going to start shutting you down. What people see as your talent, boldness, & brilliance will give way to chronic illness. By the way, you really do have bipolar disorder as well, and it is nowhere near as romantic as some biography of a famous dead poet might have one think. But hey, at least you're having a really, really good time! Enjoy those friends & travels & all that education!
Mar 2, 2023Liked by Margit Detweiler, Liz Thompson
Hell yeah to "ending toxic patterns that haunt her family". I'm connecting with a great aunt I never really got to know and we are doing our part to heal generations of trauma by hanging alllll the dirty laundry out to air
YES! I was so focused on getting out of St. Louis, highlighting all the ways I didn’t fit, that I didn’t make the best of what was there for me. Not sorry at all that I left, though!
I’d tell my younger self to always be true to herself. There is no need for anyone to rescue her and that post-menopause will be even better than she could have imagined. All the executive functioning issues will either disappear or make her stronger when those hormones go away!
"... no need for anyone to rescue her..." truth! That soooo resonates with my younger self, too. Thank you for sharing, Ruth.
Don't be scared, it all works out.
❤️
THIS
This got me seriously teary. I've only *just* started giving my teenage self a break for not being stronger/smarter/more circumspect - she was doing the best she could with what she had!
We did the best we could with what we had -- so true, Lisa -- all that we've gone through led us to where we are today and some habits are real hard to break (I still still sleep with a light on) but, like Cherisse, I'd reassure my teenage self that it all works out. Thank you for sharing, Lisa.❤️
I’d tell my teenage self that her thinking wasn’t crazy or weird: yes, there will be a life beyond high school, these people, and this town. The world is bigger and this is just a moment in time.
This is one of those takes that frustrates me to no end. I have always found it so hard to understand how dismissive people are of teenagers. Teenage me was absolutely 100% right to feel everything she felt. I wouldn’t tell her to relax; I’d tell her to be bigger, louder, and break more “rules.” Graduate early. Go train hopping. Trust herself. Always. She was brilliant and dynamic and was able to see so far ahead. I wouldn’t lie and tell her it gets better. But at the very least, it’s still interesting enough to want to know what happens next.
You make a great point! Personally, I would've wanted to be you as a teenager. I felt very unseen and yet way more comfortable flying under everyone's radar. But it did get better for me. I'm bigger and louder now but it took me longer to get there. Still not done. I'm excited to know what happens next. Thanks for the reminder, Monapily.
If I’d have been able to figure out how to fly under the radar, rather than stick out in all the “wrong” ways, I would have. I tried for more than half my life to do that and failed. Now, I’m picking up where my adolescent self left off and reconnecting with impulse and infusing with pragmatism. I’m giving my adolescent self the encouragement she needed to thrive.
🙌
I would advise my teenage self to go be less afraid, do more, more, more. (While the knees don't hurt!) Don't be so afraid of your creativity and weird-o-ness. It's a gift. Wait I might tell midlife me that too....
Midlife mantras, FTW!
I'd tell my teenaged self: you have something called "trauma", and long before you learn to deal with it, your body is going to start shutting you down. What people see as your talent, boldness, & brilliance will give way to chronic illness. By the way, you really do have bipolar disorder as well, and it is nowhere near as romantic as some biography of a famous dead poet might have one think. But hey, at least you're having a really, really good time! Enjoy those friends & travels & all that education!
Stop comparing yourself to other people and start trusting your instincts. Also, your weight is fine.
Also, like Margit's comment to her teen self - this could be a midlife mantra, as well.
Hell yeah to "ending toxic patterns that haunt her family". I'm connecting with a great aunt I never really got to know and we are doing our part to heal generations of trauma by hanging alllll the dirty laundry out to air
That’s awesome, Laura!
I wouldn't tell her anything. She probably wouldn't listen. And even if she did, she wouldn't understand. I'd just give her a hug.
Have more fun. You’ll get where you wanted to.
YES! I was so focused on getting out of St. Louis, highlighting all the ways I didn’t fit, that I didn’t make the best of what was there for me. Not sorry at all that I left, though!