My 20 year old self would be pleased to see that I still go out to gigs at the age of 37, but would be a bit dismayed by the fact that I’m either standing at the back or sitting up the top, rather than at the front of the stage.
My 23-year old self would be surprised I had a kid, but would otherwise be impressed that I had a job. She would be shocked at my weight gain, but not anymore, because I’ve lost over 55 pounds.
She would wonder how on earth I could have left my then boyfriend, but be relieved he still is a good friend.
She would absolutely LOVE my house.
My 10-year-old self would be puzzled as to why I’m not living in a space station with a pack of cyborg leopards. And a pool, with a slide from my bedroom window. Come on, man, we had the plans!!
My teenage self would be shocked beyond belief that I was married, and had an active social life with people that I actually see. In real life! I was fully expecting to spend my life behind a computer screen in a dank basement.
My pre-17-year-old self would be shocked at how much I enjoy drinking.
My 14 year old self (Youth for Nixon volunteer, serious Goldwater fan) would be shocked to find what a lefty I’ve become in my advancing years. Hell, my selves up to about age 40 would have been surprised, even if I was more of a centrist through my 20s and 30s.
My 16-17 year old self would be kinda disappointed that I’m not real blatant about the Jesus stuff these days, though he’s be glad to find out the fire still burns inside.
Pretty much all my selves from my teens through 30s would be surprised that I didn’t have a kid until I was in my mid-50s. Sometimes that’s how life works out - but late is way better than never. :):)
I think pretty much all my past selves from about 16 on would be completely unsurprised to find that I’ve managed to get to a situation in life where I’m comfortably well off, don’t have to work too hard to bring home the bacon, and that money and its trappings don’t really matter much to me. They wouldn’t be surprised that I still like doing a lot of outdoorsy stuff in my spare time, and that I still read a lot - although a lot more of that reading is online than it used to be.
I think my pre-40 past selves would be surprised that I’ve turned into a pretty decent home handyman and craftsman.
But on the whole, I find a lot of truth to the Paul Simon lyric:
*
After changes upon changes, we are more or less the same,
after changes we are more or less the same.*
My 18-21 year old college self would be amazed that, after all that weed smoking (nothing could possibly be funnier than the Gong Show after a few bong hits), LSD/mushroom taking (not a lot, probably less than 15 total times) and occasional coke snorting that my 45 year old self was a supervisor of a narcotics squad and court-recognized expert in the field. I did major in criminology though, so maybe not that amazed.
At 16, I was a devout Catholic, conservative tomboy who was going to grow up to be the next Einstein. So my 16 year old self would be shocked that at 26 I am basically atheist, liberal, pro-choice, sexually active and occasionally wear skirts. She would be disappointed that I’m not effortlessly brilliant and am contemplating leaving science. She would be pleasantly surprised with the amount of attention I get from men, though unpleasantly surprised that I’m still single.
Something like this. “You mean you’re not President of the Universe yet, with a Jetsons-type flying car? Get to it, slacker!” Also, I was really Jesusy, and now that is completely gone. That would have surprised and disappointed me. Then-me would be praying for my soul.
18 year old me would be surprised and disappointed in my current taste in music. Back then, I was too cool to listen to anything that came on the radio. Music was only good if it was angry, and nobody had ever heard of it. I’ve since expanded my taste (i.e. I knocked off the college freshman music snobbery shtick), and no longer tack on the word “guilty” to my pleasures.
I really am pretty much the same person I’ve always been. I’ve grown up just a little, but not much.
Any from more than 3 years ago. And then I assume that, after a bit, it would vary directly with age, as the further back you go, the more time there is for such a radical change.
I’m pretty certain the teenage me would be shocked and devastated to discover that the 31 year old me
-I took out all my piercings, let my hair go back to its natural colour (well, before it went white and I had to dye it black-brown anyway)
-Am on super good terms with the parents who used to annoy me at that age
-Willingly went back to school for a second graduate degree in a quantitative field
-Am unmarried and not terribly concerned about it
-Okay dating Indian boys and no longer doing that stupid 2nd generational ethnic identy crisis thing
Not much else, I guess. I was always expected to be a professional, so that wasn’t a shock and my parents encouraged me and my sister to live all over the place away from them. Maybe I’d be a little shocked about gradually going back to religion after kind of falling away from it during the teenage years but I wasn’t that much of a heretic even back then.
21 year old self would be annoyed I hadn’t published anything and that I’ve gained weight again. She’d probably lecture me about that (I’d lost a lot, gained, lost, gained - I’m currently on a downswing but it’s taking a while). She would also be surprised (and probably yell at me) to find out I’m on my second marriage.
But she would be inordinately pleased with my husband, my degrees, my life.
The me from my early - late 20s would be shocked beyond belief that I came out of my depression and found life worth living. If you take that a step or 10 further and look at the things that make me enjoy life, rather than just survive it—the me from those years could never have imagined.
My early twenty-something self would be utterly gobsmacked that not only am I divorced with no children, but I’ve also come out and am living very happily with my girlfriend.
The only thing that would be even slightly surprising to any previous version of myself is how attractive my wife is - as an overweight and shy teenager I never thought I could land a hot chick. Everything else is going exactly according to plan. EXACTLY.
I always liked breads. Wanted one when I was 14 (still had some peach fuzz).
Had an adult beard for 20 years. Got tired of the constant grooming. Still had to shave around it every three days. A few gray hairs told me it was time for a change. Amazing how losing a beard takes off 5 to 10 years from your face.
My 14 year old self wouldn’t recognize clean shaven me.
Addendum: my teenage self who listened exclusively to punk rock and speed metal and only dated weirdo goth chicks would be shocked at my adult self going to Bob Dylan concerts and dating normal, adjusted women.
My elementary, middle, and maybe even high school self would be shocked at how much make up I wear now and that I pay attention to current fashions.
My high school self would definitely be shocked and appalled that I exercise. Voluntarily. For fun!
My high school self would jump through time and kick my ass if she knew:
- I dye my hair
- I’m a lesbian
- I moved back in with the folks after graduating college.
I think she’d be really impressed that I’m a pilot though.