Ah, the gold ole days. The days where my biggest worry was having my dad bring back box tops from work so I can take me to my P.E teacher to get more magnets for my fridge and oh yeah, I didn’t have to worry about making my mortgage payment. Life was so simple back then and yet, I imagined life would be easy too. 

I wanted to write an article to see if I could figure out why I am the way I am now, and what caused me to be the cool kid I am now. (basically, I want to find out where I went wrong) Here are a few things I remember from when I was younger…

I Wanted To Move Away When At 18 When I Was 17

This one sort of went the other way. When I was 18 I wanted to go out and study in a dorm like most of the white kids on Disney Channel. My family lost our home the summer I graduated. My parents moved away for a short while the beginning of my freshman year in college. My first experience at living without my parents was rough, but I learned that I took so much for granted that I wouldn’t trade it for the world. Life seemed so easy and I don’t think my 8 year old self recognized how tough it was to be my mother. That’s when I heard my parents the most in my head. “Wear a seatbelt, save money, and study.” Lesson learned. 

I Thought I Was In Love At 16

To be fair, I thought we were boyfriend and girlfriend after our first date automatically. I thought I found the perfect girl for myself. I would be her Cory and she would be my Topanga and we’d move away right after graduation. I wanted my first girlfriend to be my only girlfriend so bad. I thought I knew everything and then it happened. I woke up one day and realized that I truly knew nothing. What was some snotty 16 year old going to know about love? Maybe few others understand at that age, I can say I didn’t. Come to think of it, I guess I still don’t know a thing. 

I Wanted To Be Rich When I Was 12

When I was younger, when people asked me what I wanted to be when I grew up I would always respond and say, “rich” so automatically I would want to be a lawyer or something. As a kid I came from a family that really didn’t make much money, yet my parents always spoiled me and got me practically whatever I wanted. I was growing up in a materialistic society and my parents had no clue how it would impact me. Fortunately for my younger self I realized money isn’t the most important thing. I might die tomorrow and I’m sure as heck not taking it with me. 

I Wanted To Be Married By 25 At Age 10

I’m 24 now, so unless something crazy happens like, Selena Gomez finally opens her fan mail and finds my marriage proposal and she says yes (actually, that’s not too crazy right?) I won’t be married by age 25. I’m totally okay with that. When I was younger I wanted the white picket fence life, the good wife who helped me raise some cool children all by age 25. I look back sometimes and honestly, I’ve always been a hopeless romantic, and will probably continue to be, but my 8 year old self would probably slap me silly if I told him I wanted to work on myself first. Besides, if I find the one while I find myself, it’ll be beautiful right? Then I’ll make money and make a movie about it. 

I Thought The World Revolved Around Me At Age 8

In fact, I believed that the world revolved around me so much that I thought people in Heaven were watching me from a giant television set. I would do something and I’d almost get to the point where I’d wave just in case the camera was there, watching me. I thought I was designated to make a change in the world. Somehow I thought I would have to be the helping hand for people that Sint have equal opportunities. I knew from a young age I had to help people somehow. I would proudly say I wanted world peace in the 4th grade without any trace of embarrassment. Difference between now and then is that when I say that now, I sincerely can’t get a confident look or even a positive response. Props to you, younger Christian.

Looking Back…

Looking back at it now, I wasn’t that crazy of a kid. In fact, if I look back hard enough I think there’s some things I can learn from my past. I think time has a funny way of speaking to you and if I browse the last enough I may be better prepared for my future.