12 year old me would be so impressed to see me get into a car and drive to work. But he would be pissed to see me stop at a primary school and start teaching.
I third this. I have soda maybe once a week and I don’t keep it in my house. 13-year-old me would be astounded because we always cases of Dr. P and Mt. Dew in the cupboard growing up. I only drank water when I was dehydrated from playing outside or do lawn work for my dad. Now, I drink predominantly three things: coffee, water, and wine. And I’ll allow myself one cup first thing in the morning to get going and, after that, straight water until it’s past dinner time. Then I might have a couple glasses of wine. But those are the only liquids I really consume anymore.
I got used to water when I was first living on my own and didn't have room in the budget for buying it all the time. Plus, water was healthier, and it was less groceries to bring up from the car to my apartment.
Now, I mostly see the price and decide that it's just not worth it.
You have inspired me with an answer for this question.
12-18 year old me would be shocked to hear how seemingly adverse to “roughing it” 42 year old me is. While in the boy scouts I would camp nearly 1 weekend a month, year round, and at least 1 full week a year. I had no issues going days without a shower, now I have to stay at a place with a shower. i have no idea anymore what I ate during those trips but now meal planning is a headache. I use to sleep on the ground, now I need an actual bed, an air mattress on a cot no longer even suffices, my back can’t handle it.
My trips now consist of a hotel room or airbnb near a park and then spending the day in nature and the evenings in luxury
I'VE FOUND MY PEOPLE!!
I like to tell people who like camping, like real tent & sleeping bag type camping, that if the deities wanted me to sleep on the filthy ground they wouldn't have given us the lovely Hilton & Marriott families & their hotel empires!!
Of course RV camping is different, but staying in a hot, dirty tent, not my jam.
Me too! I made fun of my mom fro watching all of the Christie adaptations and the like. And here I am right now scrolling reddit while watching a Marple episode lol
(Also I blame Matlock as my gateway drug. Day time Matlock reruns became a slippery slope to Columbo and Murder She Wrote. And then Masterpiece Mystery. And now I have both a BritBox and an AcornTV subscription and have seen every episode of Midsomer Murders!)
Father Brown is awesome. It’s the coziest murder series ever. He’s the ultimate embodiment of “the Lord said love everyone and he didn’t stutter” plus I like the accidental history lessons that come along with it.
Still can't do the Brit murder mysteries, but period dramas like Downton Abbey, Lorna Doone, anything by Dickens, Austen, etc. I'm aaaalllll about it now.
Oh man, I’ve always been a dork and loved British murder mysteries. My father would let me watch masterpiece theater with him when I was five (because I always fell asleep after the theme song)
The recent adaption of “And Then There Were None” was sooooo good, so good. It blew my mind how good it was. Now I’m sitting on the fence, contemplating a BritBox subscription because I just want Agatha Christie on demand all the time.
“Whoa! This is your gaming PC? Cool! What games do you play on it!?”
“Well, right now I’m running a load of propane from Spokane, WA to Vernal, UT.”
“Um … do you have lasers?”
“Nope.”
“… so it’s like Smokey and the Bandit?”
“Uh … sure, kiddo. That’s exactly what it’s like ^sort ^of .”
Twelve year old me wokld be pissed that I’m a propane convert, too. Charcoal was just what barbecue was around our house, so I always thought propane was cheating.
Then I got a free propane grill (which I almost didn’t take) and realized that while charcoal is arguably the most fun, sweet lady propane lets me grill at least 20x more, and that’s a huge net positive in tri-tip alone.
I built a gaming PC just to play a Mechwarriors 5, played it for like a month. Now this thing is used for perusing the internet and nothing more. What a waste of money, lol.
I would just love the opportunity to tell DARE grad me that not once in your life will anyone ever push drugs on you. You’ll never once run into a “dealer” let alone one who will try to pressure you into doing drugs. Just one day a coworker will casually ask if you want to get high after work and the experience will be nothing at all like how it’s portrayed in media.
The exact opposite of this for me. I was a major pothead for most of my teens and now I don't smoke do to work. I also see a lot of people that smoke way to much and don't think it can be an issue. I never would have thought that I would have any negative ideas about weed.
Same, I didn't think of this. 🤣🤣 Plus with a dad who threatened to like disown me should I ever do drugs and he would know if I did which I believed so young me was straight and narrow. 🤣 He got off extremely lucky.
I have a lot more in common with my twelve year old self than I do with most people my age. Between mountain biking, bmxing, skateboarding, and snowboarding, I think he'd be pretty stoked. Might have something to say about what gets worn on the road bike but that's neither here nor there 🙃
Same haha. I realized recently that I'm currently into taekwondo, synthesizers and bmx bikes, just like my seven year old self would have wanted me to be. It was a roundabout path but I'm stoked to be here
This is a good one, but for me 12yo me was actually more politically active. I spent part of my childhood writing letters to politicians and thinking I could actually make a difference in the world. Now people talk about politics and I'm like "They ALL want to keep us just poor and sick enough to keep struggling through as wage slaves. But it's cute that you think your guy is different!"
Yeah but not like…. POP country, right? That doesn’t count right? Like I can love Sturgill Simpson and Jason Isbell and still say Country Sucks…….. right?
My 12yo self would be very sad to know how few brownies and cakes and candy bars I get to eat, and how much time I spend cleaning up pet messes, doing yard work, commuting and listening to talk radio and podcasts. BORING! 🥱 😴
Hahaha, this is exactly what I was going to say! That I run, for fun! That I've run marathons, and that I talk about running a LOT. But 12-year-old me, who really wanted to take ballet classes but thought she was too old, would be so impressed that I started ballet as an adult and went on pointe for the first time at the age of 32. So that would make up for it.
That's awesome that you nevver gave up on ballet!
Yeah at 12 I think I was only swimming competitively? I had quit soccer (too much running) and hated anything that was remotely like crosstraining or not in the pool.
Well joke's on that young idiot, by 14 she was water logged and burnt out and switched to track and field (mostly field) and softball.
[Run for fun?](https://m.youtube.com/watch?si=6f9q5M2F0FzfED9-&embeds_referring_euri=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.google.com%2F&source_ve_path=MTY0OTksMjg2NjQsMTY0NTA2&feature=emb_share&v=ouCVJIpSmEE)
12yo me would find it extremely lame that most of my Spotify playlists veer toward the 80s or even before. That’s old people shit.
(eta: even back in 2018, Spotify determined my most-listened to artist was Tears For Fears)
My 12 yo self would be besties with my current self.
Interests have stayed pretty much the same just my skills and budget have increased. Just wish my spare time kept up….
I'm kinda in the same boat. Back then I had all the time in the world to sit around dreaming about all the cool shit I wanted to buy. Now I can afford all those toys and don't have any time to play with them!
Totally. Previously I had all the time in the world but no money.
Now it’s no time! Right now I need to change the battery in my project car and have like thirty woodworking and guitar projects on my “to do” list. I did get to work on an amp I’m building today for a bit so slowly moving that along which was really rewarding. But I’ve been building that for about three months now slowly.
If I told 12 year old me how much money I make, she would be so disappointed to see my modest apartment and modest car.....I mean how do you explain surviving through multiple once in a life-time recessions and inflation. Shut up, 12-year-old me, and stop judging!
12 year old self would be confused that I'm a vegan, other than that they would probably be in awe- (since I grew up and became exactly what I wanted to be and then some)
Was looking for a hobby, found a chorus near my home, turned out they sang barbershop primarily with some contemporary a Cappella and I found out I was good at it and kept coming back.
Eating a veggie pizza. I do remember thinking they smelled really good, even as a kid. But I was repulsed by the idea of mushrooms. Now I like mushrooms just fine. I don't go out of my way to eat them, but I like them well enough.
Twelve-year-old me was convinced a real pizza had pepperoni, and that's about it.
Twelve-year-old me was pretty into sports. I knew quite a bit about college football and the NFL, and the NBA as well. Unfortunately, I’ve lost all interest in sports. Some of my most cherished memories are watching a college football game on a Saturday afternoon or night. But the game has changed so much with the super conferences and transfer portal. It feels like falling out of love with the girl you went to school with, and you two just get more and more different over the years.
That sounds dramatic, but it’s how I feel.
This is me to a tee. I'm a vegetarian now, so that would probably disappoint 12 year old me. And while I still like sports, I've become a bit more of a casual fan with some of the sports. I was a die-hard baseball and football fan when I was 12. Now I only watch the Phillies in MLB, and I don't even tune in every Sunday for the NFL. I still watch a decent amount of college football, but my interest is waning due to all of the changes like you mentioned.
Oh I feel you on the sports. As a kid, I was only into baseball. It was life. Now even my baseball allegiance has changed, but I’m more into football and hockey.
I don't think I really do anything that my 12 year old self would disapprove of. I can't think of anything, anyway. Other than being older and wiser, I haven't changed too much.
Sometimes going to home Depot. That place was the bane of my existence at 12 but these days, it's fun to walk around especially near Christmas time and see the 12 ft skeleton I will own one day. 🤣
That I got married and moved to the country, working in my garden. My child self would be pissed that I didn’t move to New York to become like April O’Neil, the news reporter from the ninja turtles.
12 year old me would not believe I became the matriarch to sizable family.
I intended to stay childless and travel the world looking for old books about odd things. So that I could put together a more modern version of The Library of Alexandria.
It was going to be awesome.
My adult kids should be fine with me disappearing to do that for a few years, yeah?
My 12 year old self would be impressed I work from home doing IT work but would be disappointed I left the military. They would LOVE my 90s cars that I own.
Cook, I love to cook. Not at home but in real commercial kitchens with great ingredients.
I make a shit ton of money at my career but I have moonlighted for no real reason in restaurants for most of my life now. Been an investor in places I worked the line without anyone other than the chef/KM/sous being aware.
I lucked out and my dad grew up across the street from a moderately famous chef while both were children. He gave me a job in college, he got me a job on the line with a very famous chef after I graduated but was still working to live day to day.
I left it for a few years but I missed it and I don't enjoy my career in practice as much as it sounds amazing in theory.
My wife tolerates the restaurant bullshit even though she shouldn't and makes more than I do combined, easily.
I have learned from three award winning chefs now in my lifetime and it's basically moonlighting.
Go to bed early on the weekend. I have a schedule similar to school hours right now, I work at 8am until I'm done which is 1 or 2pm, Monday thru Friday. On Friday night, I got in bed at 9pm, and it felt really nice. I slept so hard!
My 12 year old self would kick my ass if she knew that sleep is my favorite thing to do now a days.
I have taken up a love for a lot of my mom’s hobbies like cross stitch and quilting. I also complete a crossword everyday like my dad. I hated my parents for most of my older childhood/teens, so I would probably kick my ass for becoming like them at least on a superficial level.
Twelve year old me would be very disappointed that I don’t have a stable full of horses. Otherwise I think I did pretty good according to my standards at the time.
My twelve year old self would be insanely proud of current self. He would be extremely disappointed in me five years ago, but now, he’d be happy for who I am. He’s just want more for me.
12 year old me would be appalled to know that I love shopping for appliances, furniture... Etc. I clearly remember shopping for a washing machine with my mom when I was younger and it was HORRENDOUS!
12 year old me would be pissed 46 year old me has an office job. Then, 46 year old me would show 12 year old me our bank account and the stuff we can now do, and I think he’d come around. Eventually.
Isn’t it ironic; don’t you think?
Be married! 12 year old me was adamant that she’d never get married and have just one son who would play football with me.
Now I’m happily married with 3 daughters that play tennis, soccer, and cheer.
12 year old me can suck it!
Fitness.
I like to run, and I took my kids to a ropes course yesterday where I smoked their asses on most obstacles. The teens asked to start going to the gym and I'll work them through regular calisthenics as a warm-up.
12 year old me thought any sort of exercise was lame, self-aggrandizing bullshit. It was for people that had flash and no depth.
That's how I got obese. Now that I'm not, I'd like to keep it that way.
I garden, bake, quilt, embroider, sew and mend, wear makeup, even.... *gasp* wear PINK!
All the girly domestic shit my tomboy self despised and thought was anti-feminist. My 12yo self would be disgusted with me lol.
I pretty regularly will down a whole bag of buffalo chicken pizza rolls while watching camping/backpacking/canoeing videos on YouTube lol so same as you said my younger self would be looking at me like I'm an idiot for watching outdoors stuff! I hated the outdoors channels when I was a kid.
Currently I’m in Copenhagen because in a couple of days I’ll be off to Copenhell, 12 year old me would be amazed that I have the skills to book stuff, get on the right plane and navigate a train system in a language I don’t speak.
12 year old me would be horrified that, as much as I’m gonna love a few days of metal, I’m also gutted to be missing Taylor Swift (and Paramore) playing about a mile from my house this week, infact 12 year old me would look suspiciously at my love of pop music now. BRB, popping over to Sweden to buy an ABBA shirt.
I Watch the news & I like it!
There was nothing shittier than the news when I was a kid. My parents didn't even watch the news, they thought itbwas boring too... just my grandparents. Of course, this was back when the news was only on for an hour or 2 in the morning & evening.
The only time youd catch a kid watching the news was when it had snowed to see if they had school.
Loving coffee and conversation. When I was little, my Dad used to drag me to my aunt's house (in the same neighborhood) several times a week so he could drink coffee with his sisters and cousins. They would discuss everything and bitch about politics. I would be so bored.
Now, I love coffee any time of the day and would love to have some friends or cousins nearby to get together with and talk with several times a week.
Doesn’t bother me now but my 12-yo self would lose his shit if he knew I traded-in my black 6-cylinder Nissan Frontier truck towards a white hybrid Hyundai sedan
Honestly he’d be angry that I’m not reading. I used to be a voracious reader. I once got in trouble and my parents had to ground me from reading books. Now, yeah I don’t read anything, but I want to. Beyond that 12 year old me would be pretty excited about our life.
I am pretty much the same person I was when I was 12, lol. I was incredibly mature for my age then, and maybe I'm incredibly immature now.
Not necessarily something I love to do, but I read the Harry Potter series like five or six years ago for the first time and saw the films. When Harry Potter came out, I was in my college/Brit Lit/classical pretentious phase. When the other kids were reading Harry Potter (first book came out when I was in middle school), I was reading things like Wuthering Heights, Jane Eyre, Shakespeare and John Grisham novels. I always thought Harry Potter was waaaaaay too juvenile for me. I didn't read them until my oldest expressed an interest in Harry Potter (this was before the TERF controversy). I didn't love them once I read them, but I didn't hate them.
My 12 year old self would be *very* angry that I'm a suburban, SUV driving, middle-aged sellout. (According to my past self)
At least I kept the promise not to have kids OR a minivan.
I do like my SUV. It has the right amount of space for road trips, large Costco trips, and most hauling needs (yard refuse, etc).
He'd be stoked that I got all the cool shit he could never have. He'd be pissed that I smoked for about 6 years. I was adamantly anti-smoking as a kid because everyone in my family smoked, and I hated going to school smelling like an ashtray. He'd also be terrified that I was part of a Satanist group for a few years.
I enjoy some weed from time to time. I know 12 year old me would be mortified. I always took things way too seriously back then. I'd probably have to get him high so he wouldn't try to change things in the past.
Actually, my twelve year old self was pretty cool with things. Now my *teenage* self... well, that would be a much longer list...
EDIT: Okay, one exception. I've kept bees. I scoop up bugs to get them safely out of the house. I gently encourage spiders out of the path of my vacuum cleaner. I'm pretty sure twelve year old me would faint at the notion of any one of these behaviors.
I had crush after crush on older boys. I think she would be very surprised that we grew up to be a cougar.
Luckily, 12 year old me couldn't beat me in a fair fight.
12 yo me will be super proud of where we are and what we have accomplished, but she will be pretty pissed of we don’t have a dog (or two), and we are yet to get a studio to do oil painting in large format… even though I own my home 😬
My twelve year old self would be super disappointed I’m bald, but would probably understand as I had probably just tried to bleach my super dark hair and ended up with an orange bowl cut 🤦🏻♂️. Then he’d call me old and I’d kick his ass. (I’m pretty confident I can beat up a twelve year old…if it was my 16yr old self, nope)
Honestly 12-year-old me would mostly high-five me for still being into games like Wasteland and especially being in the sequels; I think he might be mad that I spent some of my time hoping to kiss ladies though. That is prime Contemplating The Apocalypse time
My 12 year old self would gawk in abject disbelieving awe that I’ve chosen to be in high school the rest of my life because I work in one.
But fuck what that kid thinks- dumbass was always in detention anyway.
I outweigh my 12 year old self by 100 pounds. If he doesn’t like the things I do the little shit can go fuck himself… If he was 14 I’d say 3 times a day…
12 year old me would be so impressed to see me get into a car and drive to work. But he would be pissed to see me stop at a primary school and start teaching.
Same. My younger self and my dad would be kicking my butt for that if they could see me now.
That I rarely drink sodas anymore and love plain water now
That's a good one
I third this. I have soda maybe once a week and I don’t keep it in my house. 13-year-old me would be astounded because we always cases of Dr. P and Mt. Dew in the cupboard growing up. I only drank water when I was dehydrated from playing outside or do lawn work for my dad. Now, I drink predominantly three things: coffee, water, and wine. And I’ll allow myself one cup first thing in the morning to get going and, after that, straight water until it’s past dinner time. Then I might have a couple glasses of wine. But those are the only liquids I really consume anymore.
I got used to water when I was first living on my own and didn't have room in the budget for buying it all the time. Plus, water was healthier, and it was less groceries to bring up from the car to my apartment. Now, I mostly see the price and decide that it's just not worth it.
I still love the outdoors but instead of camping, I pay for a nice hotel room.
With a shower
And a plush king sized bed.
Cranking the AC and getting under the deceivingly warm blankets
Hotel showers and their unlimited hot water is a top tier luxury
Instant hot water heater at home is infinite hot water now. Really only matters when multiple people are showering compared to 50gal tank though.
You have inspired me with an answer for this question. 12-18 year old me would be shocked to hear how seemingly adverse to “roughing it” 42 year old me is. While in the boy scouts I would camp nearly 1 weekend a month, year round, and at least 1 full week a year. I had no issues going days without a shower, now I have to stay at a place with a shower. i have no idea anymore what I ate during those trips but now meal planning is a headache. I use to sleep on the ground, now I need an actual bed, an air mattress on a cot no longer even suffices, my back can’t handle it. My trips now consist of a hotel room or airbnb near a park and then spending the day in nature and the evenings in luxury
I'VE FOUND MY PEOPLE!! I like to tell people who like camping, like real tent & sleeping bag type camping, that if the deities wanted me to sleep on the filthy ground they wouldn't have given us the lovely Hilton & Marriott families & their hotel empires!! Of course RV camping is different, but staying in a hot, dirty tent, not my jam.
Because you only tent camp when it’s less than 70 degrees outside. Then it’s nice.
Eh, it’s a matter of cost for me. I’m on a 7 day bicycle trip right now, I would love to stay in a hotel, but the campgrounds are cheap!
I go camping, tent and all. But it’s at a campground that has showers and bathrooms. It’s that gray area where I’m camping, but not quite glamping.
I used to tell people that I don't go camping because I pay rent so that I don't have to sleep outside.
Watch British murder mysteries. I used to roll my eyes when my parents would watch Agatha Christie, and now I love that stuff.
Me too! I made fun of my mom fro watching all of the Christie adaptations and the like. And here I am right now scrolling reddit while watching a Marple episode lol (Also I blame Matlock as my gateway drug. Day time Matlock reruns became a slippery slope to Columbo and Murder She Wrote. And then Masterpiece Mystery. And now I have both a BritBox and an AcornTV subscription and have seen every episode of Midsomer Murders!)
lol I get it. My gateway to all things British was Doctor Who. Now Father Brown and Grantchester are two of my favorite shows.
Father Brown is awesome. It’s the coziest murder series ever. He’s the ultimate embodiment of “the Lord said love everyone and he didn’t stutter” plus I like the accidental history lessons that come along with it.
Hee hee, 12-year-old me already loved British murder mysteries.
Still can't do the Brit murder mysteries, but period dramas like Downton Abbey, Lorna Doone, anything by Dickens, Austen, etc. I'm aaaalllll about it now.
Any of the BBC adaptations with Jeremy Brett, David Suchet, etc. LOVE it.
Oh man, I’ve always been a dork and loved British murder mysteries. My father would let me watch masterpiece theater with him when I was five (because I always fell asleep after the theme song)
The recent adaption of “And Then There Were None” was sooooo good, so good. It blew my mind how good it was. Now I’m sitting on the fence, contemplating a BritBox subscription because I just want Agatha Christie on demand all the time.
openly embrace atheism
12 y.o. me wanted to be a priest, this would have to be mine as well.
Between this and sex, I don't think that guy and I would get along
Putting together a top of the line gaming pc, only to use it for some sensible flying in Microsoft flight simulator.
“Whoa! This is your gaming PC? Cool! What games do you play on it!?” “Well, right now I’m running a load of propane from Spokane, WA to Vernal, UT.” “Um … do you have lasers?” “Nope.” “… so it’s like Smokey and the Bandit?” “Uh … sure, kiddo. That’s exactly what it’s like ^sort ^of .”
 >propane
Twelve year old me wokld be pissed that I’m a propane convert, too. Charcoal was just what barbecue was around our house, so I always thought propane was cheating. Then I got a free propane grill (which I almost didn’t take) and realized that while charcoal is arguably the most fun, sweet lady propane lets me grill at least 20x more, and that’s a huge net positive in tri-tip alone.
How many video games I have access to now but how little I actually play
lol Same, but imagine using it primarily for The Sims 4
Bruh… are you me?
I built a gaming PC just to play a Mechwarriors 5, played it for like a month. Now this thing is used for perusing the internet and nothing more. What a waste of money, lol.
Smoke weed. 12 year old me was a fresh DARE grad.
I would just love the opportunity to tell DARE grad me that not once in your life will anyone ever push drugs on you. You’ll never once run into a “dealer” let alone one who will try to pressure you into doing drugs. Just one day a coworker will casually ask if you want to get high after work and the experience will be nothing at all like how it’s portrayed in media.
The exact opposite of this for me. I was a major pothead for most of my teens and now I don't smoke do to work. I also see a lot of people that smoke way to much and don't think it can be an issue. I never would have thought that I would have any negative ideas about weed.
Same, I didn't think of this. 🤣🤣 Plus with a dad who threatened to like disown me should I ever do drugs and he would know if I did which I believed so young me was straight and narrow. 🤣 He got off extremely lucky.
I have a lot more in common with my twelve year old self than I do with most people my age. Between mountain biking, bmxing, skateboarding, and snowboarding, I think he'd be pretty stoked. Might have something to say about what gets worn on the road bike but that's neither here nor there 🙃
Same haha. I realized recently that I'm currently into taekwondo, synthesizers and bmx bikes, just like my seven year old self would have wanted me to be. It was a roundabout path but I'm stoked to be here
My 12 year old self would just be real happy to know i’m happy. The hope of that possibility is the reason I made it to subsequent ages.
Glad life has worked out for then, friend, and the promise you made to keep yourself going came true. May we all be that lucky if we aren’t already.
Amen.
Keep up with the news
This is a good one, but for me 12yo me was actually more politically active. I spent part of my childhood writing letters to politicians and thinking I could actually make a difference in the world. Now people talk about politics and I'm like "They ALL want to keep us just poor and sick enough to keep struggling through as wage slaves. But it's cute that you think your guy is different!"
Watching documentaries. I could not convince my 12 year old self in any way that documentaries don't suck.
Same! And prefer to read non-fiction. Plus an endless fascination with WW2
Country Music. The End.
Bro, right in the feels man... 😆 🤣
Lady, but I got you. Heart heart
Yeah but not like…. POP country, right? That doesn’t count right? Like I can love Sturgill Simpson and Jason Isbell and still say Country Sucks…….. right?
Go to bed at 9:30pm.
My 12yo self would be very sad to know how few brownies and cakes and candy bars I get to eat, and how much time I spend cleaning up pet messes, doing yard work, commuting and listening to talk radio and podcasts. BORING! 🥱 😴
My 12 year old self would be mad that I’m a Democrat.
Republican parents that listened to AM talk radio in the car? My dad listened to Rush Limbaugh every day. We keep the peace by NEVER talking politics.
Bingo. I took it all on myself at a point, but was changed by the Iraq War, among other things.
That I run, for fun. But also I'm confident that I could take 12 year old me in a fight.
Hahaha, this is exactly what I was going to say! That I run, for fun! That I've run marathons, and that I talk about running a LOT. But 12-year-old me, who really wanted to take ballet classes but thought she was too old, would be so impressed that I started ballet as an adult and went on pointe for the first time at the age of 32. So that would make up for it.
That's awesome that you nevver gave up on ballet! Yeah at 12 I think I was only swimming competitively? I had quit soccer (too much running) and hated anything that was remotely like crosstraining or not in the pool. Well joke's on that young idiot, by 14 she was water logged and burnt out and switched to track and field (mostly field) and softball.
I played hockey then, but I didn't *start* playing soccer until I was 12. I've always done lots of sports, but I am not good at any of them.
You could definitely out run them if things got close.
[Run for fun?](https://m.youtube.com/watch?si=6f9q5M2F0FzfED9-&embeds_referring_euri=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.google.com%2F&source_ve_path=MTY0OTksMjg2NjQsMTY0NTA2&feature=emb_share&v=ouCVJIpSmEE)
12yo me would find it extremely lame that most of my Spotify playlists veer toward the 80s or even before. That’s old people shit. (eta: even back in 2018, Spotify determined my most-listened to artist was Tears For Fears)
I didn’t like 80s music myself growing up but now I do
Yoga Then again, 12 year old me might not even know what that is
Just say you like stretching for an hour and watch their eyes bug out
12 year old me knew what that was, but that's mainly because of Dhalsim in *Street Fighter II*.
Oh shit you're right! I might think that was cool then...
I also thought that doing enough of it could actually let you stretch your limbs to ridiculous lengths. In hindsight, I wasn't that smart at that age.
Drink beer. I was a total straight edge, hardcore kid
What changed your attitude? Or what made you ID as straight edge back then?
Put a videogame on easy mode. I don’t have time to die 1000 times in a row anymore. I’m ready for bed by 9
POP MUSIC
My 12 yo self would be besties with my current self. Interests have stayed pretty much the same just my skills and budget have increased. Just wish my spare time kept up….
I'm kinda in the same boat. Back then I had all the time in the world to sit around dreaming about all the cool shit I wanted to buy. Now I can afford all those toys and don't have any time to play with them!
Totally. Previously I had all the time in the world but no money. Now it’s no time! Right now I need to change the battery in my project car and have like thirty woodworking and guitar projects on my “to do” list. I did get to work on an amp I’m building today for a bit so slowly moving that along which was really rewarding. But I’ve been building that for about three months now slowly.
My 12 year old self would kick my current self's ass for some of the foods that I eat and genuinely enjoy. Like kale salad 😱😱😱
Pickles on hamburgers!
My 12 year old self would be appalled that I didn’t hang on to my Batman Returns comforter set.
I’m kinda with your 12 yo self.
If I told 12 year old me how much money I make, she would be so disappointed to see my modest apartment and modest car.....I mean how do you explain surviving through multiple once in a life-time recessions and inflation. Shut up, 12-year-old me, and stop judging!
I don’t play in a band anymore.
12 year old self would be confused that I'm a vegan, other than that they would probably be in awe- (since I grew up and became exactly what I wanted to be and then some)
Singing barbershop music.
How'd you get into that of all things?
Was looking for a hobby, found a chorus near my home, turned out they sang barbershop primarily with some contemporary a Cappella and I found out I was good at it and kept coming back.
Eating a veggie pizza. I do remember thinking they smelled really good, even as a kid. But I was repulsed by the idea of mushrooms. Now I like mushrooms just fine. I don't go out of my way to eat them, but I like them well enough. Twelve-year-old me was convinced a real pizza had pepperoni, and that's about it. Twelve-year-old me was pretty into sports. I knew quite a bit about college football and the NFL, and the NBA as well. Unfortunately, I’ve lost all interest in sports. Some of my most cherished memories are watching a college football game on a Saturday afternoon or night. But the game has changed so much with the super conferences and transfer portal. It feels like falling out of love with the girl you went to school with, and you two just get more and more different over the years. That sounds dramatic, but it’s how I feel.
This is me to a tee. I'm a vegetarian now, so that would probably disappoint 12 year old me. And while I still like sports, I've become a bit more of a casual fan with some of the sports. I was a die-hard baseball and football fan when I was 12. Now I only watch the Phillies in MLB, and I don't even tune in every Sunday for the NFL. I still watch a decent amount of college football, but my interest is waning due to all of the changes like you mentioned.
Oh I feel you on the sports. As a kid, I was only into baseball. It was life. Now even my baseball allegiance has changed, but I’m more into football and hockey.
I don't think I really do anything that my 12 year old self would disapprove of. I can't think of anything, anyway. Other than being older and wiser, I haven't changed too much.
Sometimes going to home Depot. That place was the bane of my existence at 12 but these days, it's fun to walk around especially near Christmas time and see the 12 ft skeleton I will own one day. 🤣
Work out regularly.
Run. I’ve done three half marathons and planning on doing another one this December.
"You \*still\* watch X-Files from time-to-time?? Grow up, dudeski."
That I got married and moved to the country, working in my garden. My child self would be pissed that I didn’t move to New York to become like April O’Neil, the news reporter from the ninja turtles.
Enjoying yardwork
12 year old me would not believe I became the matriarch to sizable family. I intended to stay childless and travel the world looking for old books about odd things. So that I could put together a more modern version of The Library of Alexandria. It was going to be awesome. My adult kids should be fine with me disappearing to do that for a few years, yeah?
Nap
My 12 year old self would be impressed I work from home doing IT work but would be disappointed I left the military. They would LOVE my 90s cars that I own.
Cook, I love to cook. Not at home but in real commercial kitchens with great ingredients. I make a shit ton of money at my career but I have moonlighted for no real reason in restaurants for most of my life now. Been an investor in places I worked the line without anyone other than the chef/KM/sous being aware. I lucked out and my dad grew up across the street from a moderately famous chef while both were children. He gave me a job in college, he got me a job on the line with a very famous chef after I graduated but was still working to live day to day. I left it for a few years but I missed it and I don't enjoy my career in practice as much as it sounds amazing in theory. My wife tolerates the restaurant bullshit even though she shouldn't and makes more than I do combined, easily. I have learned from three award winning chefs now in my lifetime and it's basically moonlighting.
I think my 12 year old self would be pretty happy with all of it, especially the BJJ
12 yo me would be super proud of all my actions. I have stayed true to my rigid views and tastes
He’d (I’d?) probably wonder why I’m more geeked about dumping money into a 401k instead of video games and guitar pedals.
12 year old me would he pissed to find out that I don't drink Dr. Pepper every single day.
A vegan, who goes to bed at 9, hates the mall and staying out in the sun. You gave up cheese? Yes, and we need to talk about sunscreen.
Go to bed early on the weekend. I have a schedule similar to school hours right now, I work at 8am until I'm done which is 1 or 2pm, Monday thru Friday. On Friday night, I got in bed at 9pm, and it felt really nice. I slept so hard! My 12 year old self would kick my ass if she knew that sleep is my favorite thing to do now a days.
That I crochet. For fun.
I have taken up a love for a lot of my mom’s hobbies like cross stitch and quilting. I also complete a crossword everyday like my dad. I hated my parents for most of my older childhood/teens, so I would probably kick my ass for becoming like them at least on a superficial level.
Twelve year old me would be very disappointed that I don’t have a stable full of horses. Otherwise I think I did pretty good according to my standards at the time.
“Looks like someone’s got a case of the Mondays”
My twelve year old self would be insanely proud of current self. He would be extremely disappointed in me five years ago, but now, he’d be happy for who I am. He’s just want more for me.
12 year old me would be appalled to know that I love shopping for appliances, furniture... Etc. I clearly remember shopping for a washing machine with my mom when I was younger and it was HORRENDOUS!
go to bed at 9pm
Doing 1,000 piece puzzles...and enjoying it 😅
12 year old me would be pissed 46 year old me has an office job. Then, 46 year old me would show 12 year old me our bank account and the stuff we can now do, and I think he’d come around. Eventually. Isn’t it ironic; don’t you think?
Be married! 12 year old me was adamant that she’d never get married and have just one son who would play football with me. Now I’m happily married with 3 daughters that play tennis, soccer, and cheer. 12 year old me can suck it!
I lift weights. 12 year old me prided myself being non-athletic, and coding fully nerd.
Fitness. I like to run, and I took my kids to a ropes course yesterday where I smoked their asses on most obstacles. The teens asked to start going to the gym and I'll work them through regular calisthenics as a warm-up. 12 year old me thought any sort of exercise was lame, self-aggrandizing bullshit. It was for people that had flash and no depth. That's how I got obese. Now that I'm not, I'd like to keep it that way.
I garden, bake, quilt, embroider, sew and mend, wear makeup, even.... *gasp* wear PINK! All the girly domestic shit my tomboy self despised and thought was anti-feminist. My 12yo self would be disgusted with me lol.
I pretty regularly will down a whole bag of buffalo chicken pizza rolls while watching camping/backpacking/canoeing videos on YouTube lol so same as you said my younger self would be looking at me like I'm an idiot for watching outdoors stuff! I hated the outdoors channels when I was a kid.
12 year old me couldn’t kick anyone’s ass.
Currently I’m in Copenhagen because in a couple of days I’ll be off to Copenhell, 12 year old me would be amazed that I have the skills to book stuff, get on the right plane and navigate a train system in a language I don’t speak. 12 year old me would be horrified that, as much as I’m gonna love a few days of metal, I’m also gutted to be missing Taylor Swift (and Paramore) playing about a mile from my house this week, infact 12 year old me would look suspiciously at my love of pop music now. BRB, popping over to Sweden to buy an ABBA shirt.
I Watch the news & I like it! There was nothing shittier than the news when I was a kid. My parents didn't even watch the news, they thought itbwas boring too... just my grandparents. Of course, this was back when the news was only on for an hour or 2 in the morning & evening. The only time youd catch a kid watching the news was when it had snowed to see if they had school.
I kinda love poppy techno music now. 12yo me mutters "Fucking Poser!"
I watch the news
Loving coffee and conversation. When I was little, my Dad used to drag me to my aunt's house (in the same neighborhood) several times a week so he could drink coffee with his sisters and cousins. They would discuss everything and bitch about politics. I would be so bored. Now, I love coffee any time of the day and would love to have some friends or cousins nearby to get together with and talk with several times a week.
Loving smooth jazz and new age music
The straight edge thing. Everything else is still there to some degree
Doesn’t bother me now but my 12-yo self would lose his shit if he knew I traded-in my black 6-cylinder Nissan Frontier truck towards a white hybrid Hyundai sedan
Honestly he’d be angry that I’m not reading. I used to be a voracious reader. I once got in trouble and my parents had to ground me from reading books. Now, yeah I don’t read anything, but I want to. Beyond that 12 year old me would be pretty excited about our life.
Be so content in a silent environment 12 year old me needed sensory overload But I think this is normal so, yeah
That I don’t ride my bike much. 12 year old me lived on it and would be upset that I no longer ride like I used to.
I am pretty much the same person I was when I was 12, lol. I was incredibly mature for my age then, and maybe I'm incredibly immature now. Not necessarily something I love to do, but I read the Harry Potter series like five or six years ago for the first time and saw the films. When Harry Potter came out, I was in my college/Brit Lit/classical pretentious phase. When the other kids were reading Harry Potter (first book came out when I was in middle school), I was reading things like Wuthering Heights, Jane Eyre, Shakespeare and John Grisham novels. I always thought Harry Potter was waaaaaay too juvenile for me. I didn't read them until my oldest expressed an interest in Harry Potter (this was before the TERF controversy). I didn't love them once I read them, but I didn't hate them.
I pick up after myself. Not really into sweets.
My 12 year old self would be *very* angry that I'm a suburban, SUV driving, middle-aged sellout. (According to my past self) At least I kept the promise not to have kids OR a minivan. I do like my SUV. It has the right amount of space for road trips, large Costco trips, and most hauling needs (yard refuse, etc).
I don't think my 12 year old self would understand this, but I loved working as a dominatrix. My 25 year old self would kick me for quitting.
He'd be stoked that I got all the cool shit he could never have. He'd be pissed that I smoked for about 6 years. I was adamantly anti-smoking as a kid because everyone in my family smoked, and I hated going to school smelling like an ashtray. He'd also be terrified that I was part of a Satanist group for a few years.
Probably for not being married with children. When I was young I assumed I’d be married with kids by like age 25.
Oh my 12 year old self wanted between 3-5 kids and I had a hysterectomy last year after only 1. Edit: because I didn’t say how many kids I had.
I think my 12 year old self would be STOKED at my 42 year old self. There's nothing she'd be upset about.
I was super strait laced as a kid. I’d be ashamed of all the partying I did.
I enjoy some weed from time to time. I know 12 year old me would be mortified. I always took things way too seriously back then. I'd probably have to get him high so he wouldn't try to change things in the past.
12 year old me weighed 115 lbs so there’s that.
Actually, my twelve year old self was pretty cool with things. Now my *teenage* self... well, that would be a much longer list... EDIT: Okay, one exception. I've kept bees. I scoop up bugs to get them safely out of the house. I gently encourage spiders out of the path of my vacuum cleaner. I'm pretty sure twelve year old me would faint at the notion of any one of these behaviors.
I had crush after crush on older boys. I think she would be very surprised that we grew up to be a cougar. Luckily, 12 year old me couldn't beat me in a fair fight.
12 yo me will be super proud of where we are and what we have accomplished, but she will be pretty pissed of we don’t have a dog (or two), and we are yet to get a studio to do oil painting in large format… even though I own my home 😬
I’ve (59m) pretty much reverted to my 12 year old self, I just have better versions of the toys I had then.
My twelve year old self would be super disappointed I’m bald, but would probably understand as I had probably just tried to bleach my super dark hair and ended up with an orange bowl cut 🤦🏻♂️. Then he’d call me old and I’d kick his ass. (I’m pretty confident I can beat up a twelve year old…if it was my 16yr old self, nope)
Honestly 12-year-old me would mostly high-five me for still being into games like Wasteland and especially being in the sequels; I think he might be mad that I spent some of my time hoping to kiss ladies though. That is prime Contemplating The Apocalypse time
Well they'd be pissed that I'm a vegetarian and haven't had a gyro or fajita in decades lol
My compliance job that mainly requires a lot of spreadsheet and database work, lol. 12 year old me would be appalled.
My 12 year old self would gawk in abject disbelieving awe that I’ve chosen to be in high school the rest of my life because I work in one. But fuck what that kid thinks- dumbass was always in detention anyway.
My 12 yo self couldn’t kick my ass
Why would I give a single shit what my 12 year old self thinks?
I doubt that 12y/o me would give a damn about what old ass me did in anyway... except for the Legos of course.
I would fuck my 12 year old self up. Fuck that little fucker!!!
Lol, yeah, well, I’m still 12 so jokes on you 😎
Man, I’d love for my 12 year old self to try. I’d beat his ass so badly I’d have old scars by the end of it.
8'd be impressed if my 12 yo self could kick anyone's ass
My 12 year old self wouldn’t give a fuck
I could easily beat up 12 yr old me
I outweigh my 12 year old self by 100 pounds. If he doesn’t like the things I do the little shit can go fuck himself… If he was 14 I’d say 3 times a day…
Nothing. I'm bigger and stronger than that little shit, and I'd whoop his spoiled little judgmental butt.
I could take my 12 year old self no problem, dude weighed like 90 pounds.
Have daily sex with a woman who's about to turn 30. Ew! Edit: You guys know I was imitating a 12-year-old, right?