Enjoy The Perky Boops!

Daily writing prompt

What advice would you give to your teenage self?

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Dear young one,

It’s me, your older – much older – self and that’s good news because as of today, you will at least live to be 60. So stay in shape, you have a long road ahead of you.

Don’t worry, I will not tell you to stop smoking (Yes, I know about the hidden cigarettes in school) and I will not give you the lottery numbers or other news that might help you on your way either. Let’s not alter the future; I watched enough movies to know, that this could backfire.

I went to a concert just a while back and made a fool of myself. Danced and cheered like I would be 14 again, laughed a lot, and didn’t worry about the people around me. Who cares that I can’t sing? Who cares that I am too tall? Finally, I decided to let go and it felt great. I jumped around for an hour looking like a crazy person and it felt great. Our husband was beside me, and he did the same. Yes, close your mouth, you get married, but it’s not David.

There is a difference between you and me now. You would go to a concert, but you would still worry about what others around you would think. It will take a few more years (decades actually) until you will realize people will still like you – and even love you – if you show them who you really are.

Right now you wish grandma would lift the curfew and you could go out in the evenings. You wish for the American Levi’s jeans and the expensive tennis shoes a girl wore in school. You secretly hope David Cassidy falls out of the poster you have in your bedroom and that you two would fall head over heels in love. I assume it won’t help if I tell you that he is not the one.

At your age, it feels like nobody understands you and you think grandma is too tough on you. You can’t know it, but one day you will miss her dearly and not a week will go by without you thinking of her. Later on, you will understand and treasure what she taught you.

One day you will wish for one more day with her, or one more portion of her sour chicken or her buttercream torte (write down both recipes). Listen to the stories of her life, listen carefully.

I know you love the little village up there in the Alps between Italy and Austria, but I also know you wonder if you might have to spend all your life on the farm. I won’t give you the answer. Just enjoy your surroundings, and breathe in the crisp mountain air. You might want to save money to buy a camera, so you can take some pictures. Don’t worry about the future too much, don’t worry about where you might live. It’s not about where you live, it’s about how you live and with whom. You will understand that later.

You will move and you will travel. You will cry and you will laugh. You will be poor and you will be wealthy. You will have it all, and you will lose it all.

Child, enjoy life and be kind. That’s the only advice I will give you.

Live your life, and live it well. Don’t worry too much about what others think. Continue to study Latin and old Greek, but consider dropping French and learning English instead. Something tells me it might come in handy one day.

Have fun! Be brave! Be you! Make your mistakes and try to remember there will always be a concert to go to and you will enjoy it with the right people beside you.

Everything you are looking for, everything you supposedly lack, you have it in you. Don’t look so much to the right and left, you won’t find anything. Everything you need to become, you already carry within you.

Too philosophical? No! Had I known this at the time (and listened to myself, which I very much doubt), how much time and tears I would have saved. On the other hand, making mistakes is of course part of our journey.

YOUR LIFE WILL BE WONDERFUL

What else would I say? Good old Oscar Wilde comes to mind, “Everything will be fine in the end.”

Yes, it will be! Today I know that.

Have a little patience and trust in your own judgment, I would whisper to my younger self. It’s worth the wait. It’s also worth saying “NO” if something doesn’t fit (whether it’s friends or jobs). You’ll notice on your own when everything fits, and if it doesn’t fit (anymore), have the courage to change it. Even if it hurts.

In the meantime, enjoy the perky boobs now, you will miss those later 🙂

Love,
The older one