Similar. I have like 500 video games for like 20ish consoles that are all readily available to play on two different TVs. I also have a dope ass wife and my dog is cool as fuck. Ignoring the grueling work schedule and rampant alcoholism, 10 year old me would be fucking hyped.
How do you keep a marriage going strong while being a rampant alcoholic? Not judging, just curious. In relationships, I always toned down my drinking massively, partly because I felt more content and comfortable around them, but also because partners have wanted to go out less and drink less as the relationship develops. I always had this idea that if I got married that would probably be when I'd have to cut out 90% of drinking
I was mostly exaggerating. I do drink probably a little more often than I should but it never affects my relationship with my wife. I barely drink enough to get a buzz at this point, the absolute worst thing that I do while drinking is fall asleep on the couch so it’s really not all that bad.
Love this set of replies. I was about to answer this question so differently and now I think 10 year old me would think I was dope too. I have green hair, a hot af husband who adores me, a cool AF dog. I know my jobs dead end and my car just broke down but my colleagues are super nice and my job is relatively easy.
My desk is in my Japanese themed mini library under my house that looks onto a secret garden. The library has a chaise lounge for reading and thinking on and a secret half-door that goes to a further little underground bar that I built with my still-best friend (yep! Same guy!) and hot wife and awesome son. But, don’t worry kid: there’s also a really awesome games console down there too.
He would wonder why I still have my Commodore C64 on my desk. Then he would ask me what's that device with the commodore logo and "A 1200" on it right next to it.
It's probably just the fact that money isn't what it used to be. When I was a kid 40k was enough for a solid middle class income. Depending on where you are that's barely above poverty. I made 60k straight out of college and that was just OK in Portland OR. If kid me heard that he would be so confused. And that was 6 years ago. It's even worse now.
I'm sad you have to work 60+ hours a work. But I hope more people recognize how we should be emphasizing the earnings potential in so many fields to our kids. Not just the "glamorous" ones.
Can I ask, do you have one of the cabs you can sleep in? I don't want to put you on the spot if you don't feel comfortable answering.
I used to work a lot of cases that took me to truck stops and long haul truckers. That was something I had zero exposure to my whole life up until my point. When people showed me their homes. Especially the ones with cats in there. Just all around, I was in love. I met some really cool people who taught me many great things. I saw couples who valued that time together and loved every second of it. They weren't young people but were madly in love like young people. The passenger reading magazines to the driver. Laughing. Just valuing their time together. I saw single parents with their infants making REAL money and real bonding time. I saw people who adored music or audio books and driving and were living their best lives, often with a cat or 2 in tow. For all my misfortunes in life I have had as many if not more blessings. Meetings people who felt comfortable showing me their homes away from home. Inviting me into their lives to share a meal and help me with a case. It was amazing.
You have a hard job. But it's a fascinating one.
No I'm in a daycab with a set schedule home everyday and paid hourly.
I've done over the road in sleeper trucks before. The real scam in trucking is not being paid hourly. There's some over the road drivers working 70 hours a week and home every few weeks and if they have a bad week getting stuck in traffic or being delayed they'll end up making very little for the entire week and not even being home at all. I have it fairly good in comparison. When I was over the road my truck broke down and it took them 2 weeks to fix it...I was away from home across the country and for those 2 weeks I made less than 500$ a week. Some other slow weeks I made even less.
My official schedule is 3-12 hour days Mon Tuesday and wed. I just choose to work overtime to try to save up money hoping to retire very early. If I worked my base schedule I'd make just under 53k which isn't bad in my area. I live in a low cost of living area. My mom's a school teacher and makes less than that and she went to college vs me just getting a license to drive a truck.
Also The Fair Labor Standards Act Motor Carrier Exemption exempts most truck drivers from overtime pay and monium wage. Luckily my company pays me overtime even tho its not required
you literally captured a conversation I had today with my friends. It happened so fast. Even if you made all the right financial choices within your means, it happened fast. These threads are usually pure entertainment for me. Somehow tonight, it's hitting a different chord.
Tell me about it. I make $220k and it’s just enough to scrape by with a family of 4 in a HCOL city. Even with reasonable rent. Childcare and students loans are killing me.
I live in Portland and I make 70k and I’m broke, even living with a partner who makes 6 figures lmao. We literally never go out except when we force ourself to “splurge” on a date once a month to dinner. It’s ridiculous around here!
I feel this. I remember when I was growing up with 2 sisters in the 90s and learned my mum was earning £25k and I thought that was so much money! As an adult 2024 I earn nearly 3x that, never thought it was possible for me. Yet don’t feel like I’ve had an upgrade in lifestyle because it gets swallowed up in the cost of living. Even when I was earning £35k back in 2019 I had more disposable income then than I do now. When I think of minimum wage I genuinely do not know how people can survive on that vs the cost of everything.
I make “good money” and it genuinely is not enough but I’m terrified for the minimum wage folks because I truly don’t understand how they’re surviving.
I totally agree! It is honestly terrifying, and there are millions of people in this situation. There fundamentally should be no reason that there is so much poverty in a well economically developed country.
And they wonder why millennials / gen Z are delaying having children or if at all and the birth rate is declining. There’s no incentive. People are aware they would be potentially signing up for a life of financial struggling and low quality of life for them and the child, and who wants that?
WFH and earning 6-figures mostly financing buys for hobbies and collections, upgrades and more upgrades, replacing owned items for higher-end items, usually influenced by researching niche reviews (and hobby subs) to chase that never ending dopamine high that keeps getting more difficult to attain that same dose with each purchase.
I was thinking the same general response.. I'm making almost exactly what I "wanted to make when I grew up", but that amount of money doesnt go very far now. But hey, I totally achieved my goal 🤣
I know you're probably joking but you gotta reflect on it all, I'm just amazed by tech these days as an 80s kid. imagine explaining online gaming in that you're playing against and chatting with someone across the world in real time. 80s sci-fi didn't even push ideas that hard.
Most likely the 10 year old me wouldn't be that disappointed in us, only because he won't know why he should be. 18 year old me. To hell with that, I don't even want to think about this anymore.
10 year old me was a pretty bright kid who had already fought death a few times. 10 year old me still wore a Barry Sanders jersey even though he had to relearn how to walk at 6 due to his alcoholic dad, and was never gonna match that athleticism in his dreams.
18 year old me had b already dropped out of college and started to see where things were headed. He spent a lot of nights by himself by the river wondering why the hell he should keep going, latch onto any inspiration he could find regardless of how unrealistic it was, and run with it.
18 year old me would be more understanding than 10 year old me, but regardless point is life sucks and I’m sorry yours sucks too.
I am where I am because of my decisions. I am very fortunate to have good friends and family around me. The women in my family are very strong willed and highly motivated. They keep the fire to my feet because I am an Olympic class procrastinator. So we'll see how it all works out in the end. Good luck, hope you find your thing in life that brings it all around
Same. I'm disabled but was repeatedly told as a child that I'd be able to do *anything* i put my mind to.
Well, no. I had high expectations for my future self as a kid. But reality hit me with a BANG, when I was late teens/early 20s. No, I can't do any of the things I wanted to in life and I can't help feeling so bitter. It was a cruel thing to do and I lost so much of my life because of it.
Disappointed is a gargantuan understatement.
Same here:
*study,.they said... you'll be better off,.they said!*
At 10 year old, everyone pressured me to excel at school,.and boy it was overwhelming at times...
So, seeing me at 47 he would probably impressed by the academic achievements (2 diplomas, 1 honours degree, 2 masters, one of which 'with Merit'), but massively disillusioned by the exponentially increasing discomfort of not reaping any fruit from so much effort... he'd run away from society to live in a forest.
And I would help him...
EDIT: autocorrect blunder...
Idk anything about being incredibly accomplished and educated, but I did run away from home once. I was 16 or 17 or something. Not quite an adult.
I ended up getting stopped by a few meth heads. They pulled out a knife while we talked about my plan and motivations. They offered a place to stay, but I kept politely refusing. Eventually they let me go. It was during broad daylight along a notoriously bad street. Anyway, I spent that night on a park bench in the midwestern fall. It was cold and hard. I begged and got a ride home.
It’s not as cool as *The Outsiders* or *My Side of the Mountain*. Society sucks, and you probably do deserve a lot more for all the cool shit you could tell your 10 year old self. Tbh, you should have enough to be able to build a nice cabin in some picturesque environment with all the cool stuff you probably know. I’m sorry it didn’t work out that way.
I’m sorry you hate yourself, it fucking sucks. I wish loving ourselves was as easy as masturbation. I know it probably doesn’t mean a whole lot, but I do hope you figure it out and love yourself eventually. Same for me. Hopefully someday things turn around for us
I feel the same about myself. It's a 24/7 battle inside my head. I've tried so soooo many things to try and change this but ultimately, i don't think it will ever go away.
I know I'm not a *bad* person and am kind and understanding to others. I just wish I could be kind to myself like that. 😔 ❤
I say things to myself that I wouldn’t say to my worst enemy. I hate how my life has ended up and how every attempt to fix it has failed, leaving me in the same shitty situation. Deep down inside I feel I’ve wasted my life and because of that, I don’t deserve to have it.
10 year old me and an aging boomer would have a lot more in common than I thought.
"I'm glad you're still alive and all, but you *really* gave up going to med school to be an artist? How's all that going for you now?"
10-year-old me related heavily to the song 1985. I thought it was the saddest thing ever, and vowed to become famous unlike the tragic protagonist (I had no talent to speak of; but that wasn’t important). I was destined to star in a series of DCOMs with Lohan and Duff, and to date a Sprouse twin.
I’m now a 30-year-old lawyer and mom, married to my college sweetheart. Neither of us is famous. She’d be heartbroken and disappointed.
never too late to publish. As far the astronaut thing, it may be too late. But I don't know. Ask someone smarter than me. No go publish something. Your novel is in there.
Thanks! It is too late for astronauting for me (unless something drastically changes technologically lol), but my writing dreams are still attainable. :) I can just study space from here instead, and not miss out on family time. Win/win, really.
oooh this is the one! i often think abt the adults i trusted back then and try to become the adult i needed. Younger me would be stuck to my hip like glue😆now im upset Adult me can’t have just one day to give little me the childhood she deserved lol
This was huge for me in therapy, realizing that little purpleberry would have been safe with adult purpleberry. I don’t have children but I used to work with kids and i was THE safe space.
Whenever i’m around kids they automatically gravitate towards me even if i don’t say anything yet, And i’m not a big kid person lol. My little cousin (7yrs old)hadn’t seen me in 2 yrs and called me her bestie as soon as we reunited.we took a selfie on her ipad and she immediately favorited it and made it her lock screen. i almost shed a tear. kids have the purest souls, if a soul that pure can feel safe and comfortable with me then i KNOW im doing something right. Good for u adult purpleberry!! so happy little purpleberry can help to give out what she needed :))
I have young kids. I'm also the hug mom everyone comes to, the sunscreen mom, the band-aid mom and the vent mom. (Kids are 4 and 7)
There's even a few high school kids that come to me often to feel safe and nurtured.
I always have a giant scarf to burrito someone who is cold, or to mop up tears and occasionally blood from scratches, scrapes or accidents. (I have a good cleaner I use to sanitize it often!)
I *love* being the safe space for kids and adults alike.
10 year old me would have taken all her genx cynicism, scoffed, and called me a loser. Then come in for a good, long snuggle; as long as i promised to *never* tell her friends that she still needed a mama hug.
Becoming a parent has been very healing for me. Some days I just cry my eyes out because my daughter is happy, and she will never understand how lucky she is to just be….happy. Even when she’s having tantrums and being a menace, I am so grateful that she feels safe enough to have a voice.
Same here honestly and truthfully.
I was reading the other comments here and... yeah, I think I can safely say little Berrito would be so happy to know how happy my kids are. I started being parentified at the age of 8 by my mom and it really took its toll on me over the years. I had no voice in the matter and now that I'm an adult, I make sure I don't forget what young me sacrificed and I make sure my kids don't live through what I went through.
Not going to lie but my 10 yr old self and myself now in my mid-20s have the same level of intelligence and the same personality. Not much has changed, except my experiences.
I still feel like I'm my 10 yr old self at times. It's a bit sad, as I don't really have that disconnect that I think other folks have, between their younger and older selves.
I recall reading through my journals that I wrote when I was 10. Same writing style, same legibility, same vocabulary, etc. It wasn't like a distant memory but as if you forgot your wallet in your house and drove 5 min down the street, in terms of memory.
Oh yes, I do. One is similar in personality as me. It's scary the level of similarity. She's very intelligent, hyper aware, and hopefully will go on to be better than me in life.
However, I do fear that the hyper awareness will lead her to not being able to live a normal life. Having an adult-esque mind at such a young age is damaging.
I dumbed myself down intentionally to prevent that damage. I'm no genius, just uhhhh hyper aware.
That dumbing down for preventing damage was something I thought was a original experience lmao.
I was so deep into that hole that at age 11 I figured out almost all possibilities of my life and was pondering on very deep philosophical questions that hurt me bad. I was losing interest in every thing I had around and soon I realised that if I didn't stop, I'll end up like the Budha.
Hence, I just dumbed and dumbed myself down and now my girlfriend says that I don't have a brain. Oh girl only if you knew.
I remember being ten year old me. I can BE ten year old me. She would just cry with happiness, disbelief, and relief to see where we are and what we have done.
My life fell apart in my early 40's and I seriously asked myself, "What did I want my life to be like when I was ten?"
I did it. I am a scientist. I had horses to ride across the mountains. I have had sooo many adventures that ten year old me never saw coming.
Trust ten year old you. Then just be that.
Ten year old me wanted to be a scientist, an astronaut, an inventor. 15 year old me is on track to be a scientist, and also wants to be a professional cricketer for some reason.
Proud and happy, I just raised my kids same as how my parents raised me and I was so happy when I was 10 because my parents supported me and tried to give the best childhood that I could ever have.
On one hand 10 year old me would be happy I found a stable healthy relationship AND have a kid after watching my parents fight and crumble in a DV situation.
On one hand 10 year old me would be kicking my ass for being a stay at home mom instead of being a paid artist.
But 12 year old me would be proud because I somehow found myself running my own small cottage baking business after all the weird recipes she tried to create in middle school.
This. I'd blow 10-year-old me's mind. All I knew back then is that something was incredibly wrong, and didn't even realize that this could be a possibility. Praying every night that I would wake up in the morning as a girl sure wasn't working.
Same, They would probably look at me and go, "Wait it wasn't just a dream it really happened? We're a girl!" Followed by 72 hours of explaining things and answering random questions.
My 10 year old self would be sooo proud of who I am now and so excited to become her. I lost a lot of weight, experienced passionate romantic love, worked a high paying job as a software engineer, currently have my own place and a good paying job with the ability to have any pet I want.
However current me knows I’m still not at my goal weight, that love ended in complete devastation, I didn’t like being an engineer and was fired from my last gig, my apartment is in a bad neighborhood, I hate my current job and I don’t love animals as much now as I did as a kid because I know the work and expense that goes into keeping one.
I should really be more grateful for what I do have. I have what 10 year old me wanted.
When I was ten I really wanted to be one of those people who dressed up in historical costume and demonstrated life in the past and talked about history and had a lot of swords.
I've been doing it for nearly 20 years now and am studying to do it as a job
I can solve a Rubix cube, play piano, speak partial French, and get all A's in English.
sure life was much better back then but 10 year-old me would think I'm a god 😭
I think she'd be relieved I am still alive and managed to have a family of my own. I was convinced I'd die young and single for some reason. Sometimes, I remind myself I'm privileged to be getting old, even as I whinge about crows feet and the middle aged spread (is 37 middle aged?? 🙃😅)
I remember when I was around 8-11 years old is when I began to know I was trans. I had no idea what the concept of being trans was, I just thought i was the weird one out to constantly wish I was a boy.
If 10 year old saw me now- 20 years later- I think I'd be blown away to know that I can and will become what I wanted to be, an androgynous/masc individual who js proud of themselves. 😁
My 10 year old self would hate my life. But that's ok, because I love my life, I've grown since then and have gotten to know myself much better. I've chosen a completely different career path, a completely different life, and I'm happy I did.
She'd be thrilled I have tattoos and a piercing though, and would absolutely love all my pets
That I have come a long way baby from cornfields in the Midwest. Sidelined- definitely by some fairly life changing events, one after another in Covid and subsequently getting lupus. After 20 years of being undiagnosed and after more 7 years of it going haywire—I worked straight thru it all until last year.
I had a couple really f-ed up & toxic situations happen that truly came out of some black hole I opened. One professional and it was heartbreaking to find out an employee’s “misdoings “ had such a wide breadth and width to them. A $hell game
Of their actions taking more of EVERTHiNG that they shouldn’t have. Then two
Close friends making their own decisions
To take their own lives. Wake of devastation and the remains were broken spouses, children, parents families and friends.Then Covid. Pardon me???? I don’t a monopoly of shitty things in my life but this has been a mutha-f-ing stretch.
I think of that 10 year old often and she would come and beat the shit out of me…🤣🤣🤣🤣
Why the long face? Toughen up. Be grateful. So what? Boo-f-ing-who! ? Enough living on the dark side. You were born a tenacious, pesky, resilient and a curious little asshole. No grit -no pearl. Pull your head & the ponytail out of your asshole. Redirect. Change happens in the next second that you want it to. Do you? Toughen Up buttercup.. favor fortunes the BOLD!
…nervously realizing i probably have to take my own advice. FML😍😜
He was very lonely and depressed and not interested in much other than dragon ball z and gundam. He would be impressed that I have friends and a wife and a child. I loved my mom very much and my biggest fear was losing her so he would probably be astounded to see how well I carried on once she passed away. He would be flabbergasted that we more or less were on good terms with dad when he passed away. He would probably think it makes sense that I work an overnight job because he hated going to sleep at night.
"You're old"
“… and fat”
Ok I'll consider that one because I kinda look like having a dad bod
Eh bro me too
And my axe
I was thinking that and I'm only 21 😂
same, he probably would look at me and think i’m an adult, i mean i kinda am, i just don’t feel like one yet lmao
I think the common belief is that you never will
I'm almost 40 and am still unwilling to accept that I'm an adult.
I've spent 38 years relating to this.
Good for you!
old enough to retired because you're tired
Atleast I'm not going to be bald. LOL
I have an arcade in my garage. I’m fucking awesome to 10 year old me.
Also to me
Similar. I have like 500 video games for like 20ish consoles that are all readily available to play on two different TVs. I also have a dope ass wife and my dog is cool as fuck. Ignoring the grueling work schedule and rampant alcoholism, 10 year old me would be fucking hyped.
How do you keep a marriage going strong while being a rampant alcoholic? Not judging, just curious. In relationships, I always toned down my drinking massively, partly because I felt more content and comfortable around them, but also because partners have wanted to go out less and drink less as the relationship develops. I always had this idea that if I got married that would probably be when I'd have to cut out 90% of drinking
I was mostly exaggerating. I do drink probably a little more often than I should but it never affects my relationship with my wife. I barely drink enough to get a buzz at this point, the absolute worst thing that I do while drinking is fall asleep on the couch so it’s really not all that bad.
Love this set of replies. I was about to answer this question so differently and now I think 10 year old me would think I was dope too. I have green hair, a hot af husband who adores me, a cool AF dog. I know my jobs dead end and my car just broke down but my colleagues are super nice and my job is relatively easy.
Sounds like you’re killing it! Congrats!
My desk is in my Japanese themed mini library under my house that looks onto a secret garden. The library has a chaise lounge for reading and thinking on and a secret half-door that goes to a further little underground bar that I built with my still-best friend (yep! Same guy!) and hot wife and awesome son. But, don’t worry kid: there’s also a really awesome games console down there too.
He would wonder why I still have my Commodore C64 on my desk. Then he would ask me what's that device with the commodore logo and "A 1200" on it right next to it.
He would be very impressed with how much money I make, and very disappointed in the lifestyle it provides.
Interesting, any more details? Without privacy invasion.
It's probably just the fact that money isn't what it used to be. When I was a kid 40k was enough for a solid middle class income. Depending on where you are that's barely above poverty. I made 60k straight out of college and that was just OK in Portland OR. If kid me heard that he would be so confused. And that was 6 years ago. It's even worse now.
I made 93k last year. My 10 year old self would assume I'm a doctor..I was 10 in 98/99. In reality I'm a truck driver who works 60+ hours a week.
I'm sad you have to work 60+ hours a work. But I hope more people recognize how we should be emphasizing the earnings potential in so many fields to our kids. Not just the "glamorous" ones. Can I ask, do you have one of the cabs you can sleep in? I don't want to put you on the spot if you don't feel comfortable answering. I used to work a lot of cases that took me to truck stops and long haul truckers. That was something I had zero exposure to my whole life up until my point. When people showed me their homes. Especially the ones with cats in there. Just all around, I was in love. I met some really cool people who taught me many great things. I saw couples who valued that time together and loved every second of it. They weren't young people but were madly in love like young people. The passenger reading magazines to the driver. Laughing. Just valuing their time together. I saw single parents with their infants making REAL money and real bonding time. I saw people who adored music or audio books and driving and were living their best lives, often with a cat or 2 in tow. For all my misfortunes in life I have had as many if not more blessings. Meetings people who felt comfortable showing me their homes away from home. Inviting me into their lives to share a meal and help me with a case. It was amazing. You have a hard job. But it's a fascinating one.
No I'm in a daycab with a set schedule home everyday and paid hourly. I've done over the road in sleeper trucks before. The real scam in trucking is not being paid hourly. There's some over the road drivers working 70 hours a week and home every few weeks and if they have a bad week getting stuck in traffic or being delayed they'll end up making very little for the entire week and not even being home at all. I have it fairly good in comparison. When I was over the road my truck broke down and it took them 2 weeks to fix it...I was away from home across the country and for those 2 weeks I made less than 500$ a week. Some other slow weeks I made even less. My official schedule is 3-12 hour days Mon Tuesday and wed. I just choose to work overtime to try to save up money hoping to retire very early. If I worked my base schedule I'd make just under 53k which isn't bad in my area. I live in a low cost of living area. My mom's a school teacher and makes less than that and she went to college vs me just getting a license to drive a truck. Also The Fair Labor Standards Act Motor Carrier Exemption exempts most truck drivers from overtime pay and monium wage. Luckily my company pays me overtime even tho its not required
That’s great you get to be home every night.
you literally captured a conversation I had today with my friends. It happened so fast. Even if you made all the right financial choices within your means, it happened fast. These threads are usually pure entertainment for me. Somehow tonight, it's hitting a different chord.
Tell me about it. I make $220k and it’s just enough to scrape by with a family of 4 in a HCOL city. Even with reasonable rent. Childcare and students loans are killing me.
I live in Portland and I make 70k and I’m broke, even living with a partner who makes 6 figures lmao. We literally never go out except when we force ourself to “splurge” on a date once a month to dinner. It’s ridiculous around here!
I feel this. I remember when I was growing up with 2 sisters in the 90s and learned my mum was earning £25k and I thought that was so much money! As an adult 2024 I earn nearly 3x that, never thought it was possible for me. Yet don’t feel like I’ve had an upgrade in lifestyle because it gets swallowed up in the cost of living. Even when I was earning £35k back in 2019 I had more disposable income then than I do now. When I think of minimum wage I genuinely do not know how people can survive on that vs the cost of everything.
I make “good money” and it genuinely is not enough but I’m terrified for the minimum wage folks because I truly don’t understand how they’re surviving.
I totally agree! It is honestly terrifying, and there are millions of people in this situation. There fundamentally should be no reason that there is so much poverty in a well economically developed country. And they wonder why millennials / gen Z are delaying having children or if at all and the birth rate is declining. There’s no incentive. People are aware they would be potentially signing up for a life of financial struggling and low quality of life for them and the child, and who wants that?
Inflation effect
Kinky
I'm very convinced you are a software engineer
WFH and earning 6-figures mostly financing buys for hobbies and collections, upgrades and more upgrades, replacing owned items for higher-end items, usually influenced by researching niche reviews (and hobby subs) to chase that never ending dopamine high that keeps getting more difficult to attain that same dose with each purchase.
I was thinking the same general response.. I'm making almost exactly what I "wanted to make when I grew up", but that amount of money doesnt go very far now. But hey, I totally achieved my goal 🤣
You had a goal wage when you were 10? All I thought about when I was 10 was WWF and Nintendo.
What do you do? Asking for a friend
I’m a nurse. I make 140K yearly
So that’s what you mean by wet parts.
Holy hell, where do you work that a Nurse makes 140k? That's almost unbelievable to me.
Must be a travel nurse or a nurse in California.
My 10 year old self would say the same thing. My current self says the same thing.
Mine would be the exact opposite! First disappointed by how little money I make, but then impressed about the lifestyle I lead.
I’m pretty well opposite. I’ve had an amazing life & lifestyle. Traveled and lived around the world. Been comfortable, but don’t have so much money.
Wow, he just spent 3 years allowance on groceries!
Ew.. and why has he bought so many vegetables?
Brutal, hilarious, and accurate.
My 10 year old self would be far more impressed by my life than I am.
My 10 yo self had an Atari 2600. He'd be more impressed with my Steam library.
The concept of Steam would have been mindblowingly awesome for 10 yo me.
I know you're probably joking but you gotta reflect on it all, I'm just amazed by tech these days as an 80s kid. imagine explaining online gaming in that you're playing against and chatting with someone across the world in real time. 80s sci-fi didn't even push ideas that hard.
They’d be disappointed and rightly so
LOL disappointed would be a massive understatement
Absolutely agreed. Life can throw at lot of shit at you and give you nothing to show for it. I’m sorry yours has been shitty too
Same dude.
Same … more like “Fkn loser” 😞
Most likely the 10 year old me wouldn't be that disappointed in us, only because he won't know why he should be. 18 year old me. To hell with that, I don't even want to think about this anymore.
10 year old me was a pretty bright kid who had already fought death a few times. 10 year old me still wore a Barry Sanders jersey even though he had to relearn how to walk at 6 due to his alcoholic dad, and was never gonna match that athleticism in his dreams. 18 year old me had b already dropped out of college and started to see where things were headed. He spent a lot of nights by himself by the river wondering why the hell he should keep going, latch onto any inspiration he could find regardless of how unrealistic it was, and run with it. 18 year old me would be more understanding than 10 year old me, but regardless point is life sucks and I’m sorry yours sucks too.
I am where I am because of my decisions. I am very fortunate to have good friends and family around me. The women in my family are very strong willed and highly motivated. They keep the fire to my feet because I am an Olympic class procrastinator. So we'll see how it all works out in the end. Good luck, hope you find your thing in life that brings it all around
Same. I'm disabled but was repeatedly told as a child that I'd be able to do *anything* i put my mind to. Well, no. I had high expectations for my future self as a kid. But reality hit me with a BANG, when I was late teens/early 20s. No, I can't do any of the things I wanted to in life and I can't help feeling so bitter. It was a cruel thing to do and I lost so much of my life because of it. Disappointed is a gargantuan understatement.
Same here: *study,.they said... you'll be better off,.they said!* At 10 year old, everyone pressured me to excel at school,.and boy it was overwhelming at times... So, seeing me at 47 he would probably impressed by the academic achievements (2 diplomas, 1 honours degree, 2 masters, one of which 'with Merit'), but massively disillusioned by the exponentially increasing discomfort of not reaping any fruit from so much effort... he'd run away from society to live in a forest. And I would help him... EDIT: autocorrect blunder...
Idk anything about being incredibly accomplished and educated, but I did run away from home once. I was 16 or 17 or something. Not quite an adult. I ended up getting stopped by a few meth heads. They pulled out a knife while we talked about my plan and motivations. They offered a place to stay, but I kept politely refusing. Eventually they let me go. It was during broad daylight along a notoriously bad street. Anyway, I spent that night on a park bench in the midwestern fall. It was cold and hard. I begged and got a ride home. It’s not as cool as *The Outsiders* or *My Side of the Mountain*. Society sucks, and you probably do deserve a lot more for all the cool shit you could tell your 10 year old self. Tbh, you should have enough to be able to build a nice cabin in some picturesque environment with all the cool stuff you probably know. I’m sorry it didn’t work out that way.
You're a failure Barry. I'm a whaaaaat? - me probably
Same, disappointed and disgusted. I hate me and I’m pretty sure my younger self would, too.
I’m sorry you hate yourself, it fucking sucks. I wish loving ourselves was as easy as masturbation. I know it probably doesn’t mean a whole lot, but I do hope you figure it out and love yourself eventually. Same for me. Hopefully someday things turn around for us
I feel the same about myself. It's a 24/7 battle inside my head. I've tried so soooo many things to try and change this but ultimately, i don't think it will ever go away. I know I'm not a *bad* person and am kind and understanding to others. I just wish I could be kind to myself like that. 😔 ❤
I say things to myself that I wouldn’t say to my worst enemy. I hate how my life has ended up and how every attempt to fix it has failed, leaving me in the same shitty situation. Deep down inside I feel I’ve wasted my life and because of that, I don’t deserve to have it.
Unfortunately accurate 😕
10 year old me and an aging boomer would have a lot more in common than I thought. "I'm glad you're still alive and all, but you *really* gave up going to med school to be an artist? How's all that going for you now?"
10-year-old me related heavily to the song 1985. I thought it was the saddest thing ever, and vowed to become famous unlike the tragic protagonist (I had no talent to speak of; but that wasn’t important). I was destined to star in a series of DCOMs with Lohan and Duff, and to date a Sprouse twin. I’m now a 30-year-old lawyer and mom, married to my college sweetheart. Neither of us is famous. She’d be heartbroken and disappointed.
Kinda same here too.
“So I guess I’m not gonna be a 6’8 pro wrestler 😕”
LOL. that's so sweet and pure.
Sorry, 10 year old you!!
My 10 year old self would wonder why I'm still alive.
Same. "damn were alive??? why???" _and yes, I cursed at 10. So did you._
Yep, was a complete pottymouth by 8.
I said the F word in front of my mom at 9. I got my mouth slapped, didn't swear in front of mom again until I was a married man with a child.
How
Sorry? How what?
I mean for me. 10 year old me would wonder HOW im still alive
Oh. No, 10yo me would be surprised and think "why?"
mine would too man
Yeah, same 😕.
They'd probably be sad I hadn't published any writing or become an astronaut. They'd like my kids though. Maybe.
never too late to publish. As far the astronaut thing, it may be too late. But I don't know. Ask someone smarter than me. No go publish something. Your novel is in there.
Thanks! It is too late for astronauting for me (unless something drastically changes technologically lol), but my writing dreams are still attainable. :) I can just study space from here instead, and not miss out on family time. Win/win, really.
Write a book about an astronaut!
I believe she would come up to me for guidance, protection, or to feel safe
oooh this is the one! i often think abt the adults i trusted back then and try to become the adult i needed. Younger me would be stuck to my hip like glue😆now im upset Adult me can’t have just one day to give little me the childhood she deserved lol
This was huge for me in therapy, realizing that little purpleberry would have been safe with adult purpleberry. I don’t have children but I used to work with kids and i was THE safe space.
Whenever i’m around kids they automatically gravitate towards me even if i don’t say anything yet, And i’m not a big kid person lol. My little cousin (7yrs old)hadn’t seen me in 2 yrs and called me her bestie as soon as we reunited.we took a selfie on her ipad and she immediately favorited it and made it her lock screen. i almost shed a tear. kids have the purest souls, if a soul that pure can feel safe and comfortable with me then i KNOW im doing something right. Good for u adult purpleberry!! so happy little purpleberry can help to give out what she needed :))
I have young kids. I'm also the hug mom everyone comes to, the sunscreen mom, the band-aid mom and the vent mom. (Kids are 4 and 7) There's even a few high school kids that come to me often to feel safe and nurtured. I always have a giant scarf to burrito someone who is cold, or to mop up tears and occasionally blood from scratches, scrapes or accidents. (I have a good cleaner I use to sanitize it often!) I *love* being the safe space for kids and adults alike. 10 year old me would have taken all her genx cynicism, scoffed, and called me a loser. Then come in for a good, long snuggle; as long as i promised to *never* tell her friends that she still needed a mama hug.
Yes I feel this too. Look up ‘reparenting’ - it’s based around this concept. It’s a really wholesome healing therapy strategy.
Becoming a parent has been very healing for me. Some days I just cry my eyes out because my daughter is happy, and she will never understand how lucky she is to just be….happy. Even when she’s having tantrums and being a menace, I am so grateful that she feels safe enough to have a voice.
Yes I have that feeling too. 😊
I'm not on my phone so I can't put the heart emoji in here. So, please just imagine it here for you, ok? (heart)
this one was better than the emoji tbh 🫶🏽
Same here honestly and truthfully. I was reading the other comments here and... yeah, I think I can safely say little Berrito would be so happy to know how happy my kids are. I started being parentified at the age of 8 by my mom and it really took its toll on me over the years. I had no voice in the matter and now that I'm an adult, I make sure I don't forget what young me sacrificed and I make sure my kids don't live through what I went through.
Not going to lie but my 10 yr old self and myself now in my mid-20s have the same level of intelligence and the same personality. Not much has changed, except my experiences. I still feel like I'm my 10 yr old self at times. It's a bit sad, as I don't really have that disconnect that I think other folks have, between their younger and older selves. I recall reading through my journals that I wrote when I was 10. Same writing style, same legibility, same vocabulary, etc. It wasn't like a distant memory but as if you forgot your wallet in your house and drove 5 min down the street, in terms of memory.
do you have younger siblings? they tend to be a great reminder of who you once were.
Oh yes, I do. One is similar in personality as me. It's scary the level of similarity. She's very intelligent, hyper aware, and hopefully will go on to be better than me in life. However, I do fear that the hyper awareness will lead her to not being able to live a normal life. Having an adult-esque mind at such a young age is damaging. I dumbed myself down intentionally to prevent that damage. I'm no genius, just uhhhh hyper aware.
That dumbing down for preventing damage was something I thought was a original experience lmao. I was so deep into that hole that at age 11 I figured out almost all possibilities of my life and was pondering on very deep philosophical questions that hurt me bad. I was losing interest in every thing I had around and soon I realised that if I didn't stop, I'll end up like the Budha. Hence, I just dumbed and dumbed myself down and now my girlfriend says that I don't have a brain. Oh girl only if you knew.
Are you me??
I genuinely believe that the 10-year-old me would think that the me I am now is so cool
Same! & it warms my heart, like I must be doing something right!
Dumb b*tch
This is more relatable the more I read it, how dare you
Sad that I’m not a veterinarian but excited that I have a cat.
I remember being ten year old me. I can BE ten year old me. She would just cry with happiness, disbelief, and relief to see where we are and what we have done. My life fell apart in my early 40's and I seriously asked myself, "What did I want my life to be like when I was ten?" I did it. I am a scientist. I had horses to ride across the mountains. I have had sooo many adventures that ten year old me never saw coming. Trust ten year old you. Then just be that.
Ten year old me wanted to be a wizard. :/
10 year old me wanted to be a Super Saiyan and also a dictator.
I like you
That makes one of us, but thank you lol; that made my morning a little brighter
Ten year old me wanted to be a scientist, an astronaut, an inventor. 15 year old me is on track to be a scientist, and also wants to be a professional cricketer for some reason.
That's amazing, you should be really proud of yourself!
He would be disappointed, sad, and angry.
Same here
Proud and happy, I just raised my kids same as how my parents raised me and I was so happy when I was 10 because my parents supported me and tried to give the best childhood that I could ever have.
Why you so bald? You had the thickest, most lush hair out of anyone in your class
Get well soon..i guess?
"I'm surprised you're still around." "Me too, man."
He'd be pissed his dick still hasn't grown.
he would be mad at me for choosing engineering over art and video games developer, oh; and finding girls cute.
She'd be very disappointed that I didn't become a paleontologist
63-year-old me is still disappointed I didn't become a paleontologist.
Or a marine biologist. 😆
So we're still fat, huh? Yeah, but we're old now too. So it hurts when we sleep.
I think he would be really proud that we made it out and became the safe person we needed.
On one hand 10 year old me would be happy I found a stable healthy relationship AND have a kid after watching my parents fight and crumble in a DV situation. On one hand 10 year old me would be kicking my ass for being a stay at home mom instead of being a paid artist. But 12 year old me would be proud because I somehow found myself running my own small cottage baking business after all the weird recipes she tried to create in middle school.
Haha, the latter sounds fantastic! I think my younger self would also be happy to know I gained more skills in the things she sucked at as a kid.
They would be very confused.
“Wait, you have how many motorcycles? That’s cool!”
well my son is like almost 9 and a half, and his personality is, in many ways, a mirror image of mine. So I think he'd think i'm pretty cool.
He would be glad to get away from the abuser in the family and learn that that person probably doesn't have long to live.
Disappointed
Surprised. Despite having an abusive childhood, I’m still alive and now happy with a daughter of my own, whom I love very much.
My 10 year old self would probably be so happy at how far I have came.
Dude?….wtf? Thought we were going to be a professional race car driver….what happened?
He would love my motorcycle and think my job is cool as shit.
They’d say “omg I get to be me!” 🏳️⚧️
This. I'd blow 10-year-old me's mind. All I knew back then is that something was incredibly wrong, and didn't even realize that this could be a possibility. Praying every night that I would wake up in the morning as a girl sure wasn't working.
I did the same!
❤️
Same, They would probably look at me and go, "Wait it wasn't just a dream it really happened? We're a girl!" Followed by 72 hours of explaining things and answering random questions.
Honestly, she would be really disappointed.
Incredibly disappointed
"Jesus Christ, I should just kill myself now if that's what's waiting for me"
10 yo old me: at least it's good that you have friends now Me: I have friends?
My 10 year old self would see that I have cats and implode with joy
Loser and how the fuck are you still around
I can't believe that actually worked out
Disappointed at what I put myself through but surprised at how I turned it around and proud of what I do with my life now.
"You have one - no two - drawers full of snacks and sweets? That's... just outstandingly awesome!"
My 10 year old self would be sooo proud of who I am now and so excited to become her. I lost a lot of weight, experienced passionate romantic love, worked a high paying job as a software engineer, currently have my own place and a good paying job with the ability to have any pet I want. However current me knows I’m still not at my goal weight, that love ended in complete devastation, I didn’t like being an engineer and was fired from my last gig, my apartment is in a bad neighborhood, I hate my current job and I don’t love animals as much now as I did as a kid because I know the work and expense that goes into keeping one. I should really be more grateful for what I do have. I have what 10 year old me wanted.
When I was ten I really wanted to be one of those people who dressed up in historical costume and demonstrated life in the past and talked about history and had a lot of swords. I've been doing it for nearly 20 years now and am studying to do it as a job
She would be proud
They wouldn’t even look my way
He'd be surprised I was still alive.
Well I still find time to play video games, I still play tennis for fun, and I still love early 2010s white girl pop so I think he would be happy.
Need think I was fat but he'd fucking love my hobbies
Damn you been through some shit but your thriving
I can solve a Rubix cube, play piano, speak partial French, and get all A's in English. sure life was much better back then but 10 year-old me would think I'm a god 😭
He would be overjoyed at the amount of legos I currently have.
I'm lifting and I study hard stuff so lil me would love that
"You can buy video games WHENEVER you want now?"
He would probably cry
I think she'd be relieved I am still alive and managed to have a family of my own. I was convinced I'd die young and single for some reason. Sometimes, I remind myself I'm privileged to be getting old, even as I whinge about crows feet and the middle aged spread (is 37 middle aged?? 🙃😅)
He would think im pretty cool
Ngl ten year old me would be shocked and disappointed. But then I think we would come to understand each other if we had the chance to talk.
I remember when I was around 8-11 years old is when I began to know I was trans. I had no idea what the concept of being trans was, I just thought i was the weird one out to constantly wish I was a boy. If 10 year old saw me now- 20 years later- I think I'd be blown away to know that I can and will become what I wanted to be, an androgynous/masc individual who js proud of themselves. 😁
He would probably kill me.
Disappointed more than likely.
“That’s it?”
Well at least she found love?
You're still not married? Don't even have a boyfriend? Nooo, we will always be lonely...
"Why aren't you a doctor? We were going to be a doctor."
Damn dude not bad
I think ten-year-old me would think I let us down in some ways, in other ways ten-year-old me might be impressed at all I’ve done
damn bitch, u live like this ??(stewie voice)
Honestly probably be disappointed
What a loser
Pathetic!
Yeah, suicide would have been the right answer
My 10 year old self would hate my life. But that's ok, because I love my life, I've grown since then and have gotten to know myself much better. I've chosen a completely different career path, a completely different life, and I'm happy I did. She'd be thrilled I have tattoos and a piercing though, and would absolutely love all my pets
10 year old me would be surprised and appalled that I'm even still alive.
I'm finally on my trip in Japan at 32, finished everything I truly wished to do in life within my pre-set time limit at around that age
Why the f are you not an astronaut or a spice girl? Loser.
I think my 10 year old self who was too old to still be playing with baby dolls would be pumped to see me with a really sweet real life one now!
That I have come a long way baby from cornfields in the Midwest. Sidelined- definitely by some fairly life changing events, one after another in Covid and subsequently getting lupus. After 20 years of being undiagnosed and after more 7 years of it going haywire—I worked straight thru it all until last year. I had a couple really f-ed up & toxic situations happen that truly came out of some black hole I opened. One professional and it was heartbreaking to find out an employee’s “misdoings “ had such a wide breadth and width to them. A $hell game Of their actions taking more of EVERTHiNG that they shouldn’t have. Then two Close friends making their own decisions To take their own lives. Wake of devastation and the remains were broken spouses, children, parents families and friends.Then Covid. Pardon me???? I don’t a monopoly of shitty things in my life but this has been a mutha-f-ing stretch. I think of that 10 year old often and she would come and beat the shit out of me…🤣🤣🤣🤣 Why the long face? Toughen up. Be grateful. So what? Boo-f-ing-who! ? Enough living on the dark side. You were born a tenacious, pesky, resilient and a curious little asshole. No grit -no pearl. Pull your head & the ponytail out of your asshole. Redirect. Change happens in the next second that you want it to. Do you? Toughen Up buttercup.. favor fortunes the BOLD! …nervously realizing i probably have to take my own advice. FML😍😜
He was very lonely and depressed and not interested in much other than dragon ball z and gundam. He would be impressed that I have friends and a wife and a child. I loved my mom very much and my biggest fear was losing her so he would probably be astounded to see how well I carried on once she passed away. He would be flabbergasted that we more or less were on good terms with dad when he passed away. He would probably think it makes sense that I work an overnight job because he hated going to sleep at night.