hello! yoshi

Surfing my usual blogs, I ran across Breigh’s site. She posted about her younger years, and Back when she knew everything. So true. As you can see, I’ve included a picture of me when I was 15. Wow, it’s been oh so many years since that photo was taken.

When that picture was taken, I was quite invincible. I never thought I could ever get hurt, or if I could ever die, or if I could ever have anything happen to me. I really miss those days. Not a care in the world. No worries about taxes, or about the law, or about anything. The biggest worry in my mind at the time was where I was going to eat lunch, and if I could possibly talk to that one girl that I oh so had a crush on. Youth is so fleeting.

When I moved to the states at 15, we spent a few weeks driving across the United States. This was probably one of the worst/best experiences in my life. I was still a teenager, and teenagers, as Breigh says, know everything. And nothing my family or my parents did could ever be right. But during the trip, I just recall seeing so many things, and not truly appreciating them as much as I could have. I really wish I was a bit more knowledgeable at the time, but hell, I was 15! I already knew everything!

We traveled from San Francisco, up to Mountain Home, Idaho (friends lived there), and from there we drove to Oklahoma City to see my dad’s family, then drove from there to New Hampshire. A trip like that to me now would marvel me! I would love to make a road trip of such proportions! For those of you who are long time readers, you might recall I’ve done this a few times already. I’ll be doing it again soon, when my parents move from NJ to WA. I’m really looking forward to it this time. And I won’t be the stubborn teenager who can’t do anything with my parents either.

Breigh had also mentioned meeting her teen self. Wow. What would my reaction be if I were to meet my teen self? I speculate that I would scoff and laugh at myself, being older. There would probably be a bit of advice giving, as my older self would try to tell my younger self what he should do. Then of course my younger self would laugh and say, “Whatever old man!” and walk away. But yeah, that’s how I would expect myself to act if I were to meet myself. (This paragraph is becoming a bit too schizophrenic for me.)

How would you react if you met your younger self?

Dana started Memory Monday to honor her Grandfather, who suffered from Dementia/Alzheimer’s. This is cool. Feel free to participate. This is my way of not forgetting some of the life changing (and not so life changing) events in my life.