If You Could Change One Thing About Your Life...

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Permalink Reply by Alex Moyler on November 6, 2008 at 2:50am

To be financially secure, but to be honest in this climate that's unlikely! I'll be satisfied with losing a few pounds in weight.

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Permalink Reply by Andy on November 6, 2008 at 3:19pm

If I could change one thing about my life... that's both complicated and simple. My entire life I've dealt with mental illnesses (both my own and of family members), so I would change that for many years I've had extremely bad depression and obsessive compulsive disorder, so bad that I have developed agoraphobia, don't go outside, and am on disability because of it. If I could I'd not have mental illnesses I truly believe that my entire life would be drastically differently. In a much broader thinking kind of way, I'd like for mental illnesses of all kinds to end - instead of doctors pushing pills that they pharmacutical companies tell them to push, they should be working on ways to cure mental illnesess instead of just treating them. It would also be nice for the doctors that treat the mentally ill to actually care about the people they're treating and not just want money (that's how it's pretty much always been in my experience).

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Permalink Reply by Alex V. on November 6, 2008 at 4:02pm

I would like to get rid of my social anxiety.

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Permalink Reply by J.J on November 6, 2008 at 4:32pm

I will stop doing my job and start focusing on doing things i love to. I will also love to have a lot of money but not because of the things i can buy, just because I'll be able to perform all the activities i like without thinking i don't have enough.

I will also like to make a big company sort of google or Microsoft (but cooler). And I've realized i can achieve any of those if i try hard enough. So i guess I'll do it!

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Permalink Reply by 9swords on November 8, 2008 at 10:13pm

" Quit that smoking & chain smoking with coffee "

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Permalink Reply by Fabian on November 9, 2008 at 4:03am

This isn't the first time I have been presented with this question...but in light of my recent experiences in which I understand the world it is an interesting question to think about. I feel its part of human nature to debate in our minds what "the road less traveled by" could be had we been given the chance to revisit our past decisions. I for one sometimes wonder what person I would be had I gone to university A versus University B. What kind of different friends would I have made? Would I have a better education or better job opportunities? Would my status in the social hierarchy of society be any different than it is now? What if I left the country and became a missionary? What about becoming a Monk with the hopes of attaining super powers?! For me the questions stop there, quite honestly, given the opportunity, I could sit here and second-guess my whole life.

Once upon a time yours truly over here wished to change nothing more than what his piers thought of him, I wanted their acceptance I was looking for approval to be me...I think all of us require acceptance to a degree. It helps provide that sense of belonging that I believe is part of our human nature. We all cling to our social standing within our social definitions (i.e. Race, Age, Gender, name, occupation) some of us define ourselves through our parents or families heritage. I feel like its a point of orientation in which we can begin to understand the world around us. In the end however, I believe that in our society we have a driving need to supersede those definitions and become known for our individuality, personality and capacity.

The truth is, "Acceptance" for me growing up was always hard to come by. Back in my middle school if you busted your ass studying, always participated in class, and pretty much did whatever you needed to do to get that "A", you were labeled a "geek" or some sort of "social degenerate" unfit to share a lunch table with much less dream of befriending one of these "elite socialites". "Nothing like childhood trauma to build character!"-that quote from Cartoon Network's Ed Edd and Eddy show always made me laugh. But seriously being crucified socially for really trying to excel in school was rough for a kid with low self-esteem. I started to refrain from answering questions I knew the answer to so I could start "flying under the radar" so to speak to even stand a chance of being remotely reclassified as "cool enough to talk to!" (Sounds kinda sad doesn't it?) That whole experience brought up a whole new meaning to the phrase "growing pains"...that Sh*t was Freakin' brutal! In retrospect I was doing whatever I felt I needed to do survive socially to the point I was disregarding my true nature (even if it can be eccentric at times :D).

It wasn't till I got to high school that I figured out how to "fit in". I went to an art school where everyone tried to Fit themselves the hell out and try to be as different as possible, just for the sake of being different. Ironic isn't it. I met a whole ton of kids that busted their asses in scholastics, a hell of a lot more than me, so much so that even sitting next to some of them made me feel psychologically inferior IT WAS HILARIOUS! But damn it at least I didn't feel like I had some bazaar male extremity growing out of my forehead anymore. These new piers made it socially acceptable to me to love anime, manga and video games and made me feel it was ok to get my geek on and play every damn rpg that came out. It wasn't until that moment I realized that what I had been doing up until that time was such an error in my judgment. I feel that some of us can let that longing for acceptance get the better of us. In extreme cases people are capable of some wicked atrocities and acts of violence against other people in the name of "belonging" to a group or a cause completely losing touch with right and wrong. In some very sad cases some kids have died trying to become socially accepted by their "friends". But in my case I was losing touch with the person that I am. I began playing a game of charades acting like someone that I really wasn't. Trying to please everyone but myself and in the middle of all these psychological games I missed out on a lot of opportunities I had to just enjoy my childhood. The truth is there is nothing wrong with "fitting in" just make sure its a crowd WORTH fitting in, in other words a group that is line with your values and morals. It can be a sad lonely place if you have 5 million acquaintances that can have 5 million expectations and no "real" friends that won't expect anything other than you being yourself inspiring you to become the best person YOU can be.

So after a very long winded response to answer the question, through all those experiences I wouldn't bother trying to change the past since its my experiences that help define me as who I am now. Is it cliché to answer a question by denying it? I still wonder about becoming a Monk to get those super powers though...walk on walls? Super strength? (lol I'm buggin' out) As said in a couple of previous posts "everything happens for a reason" sometimes those reasons are out of your control but sometimes those things happened because you made it happen.

ONE LAST QUOTE! "Yesterday is history, tomorrow is a mystery, but today is a gift. That is why it is called the present." Tell me how that damn line from Kung Fu Panda stuck all the way with me till today! SUPER DUPER GEEK MODE ON! lmao

Much thanks to anyone that actually sat through and read my whole long assed Chronicle spanning many many chapters. :)

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Permalink Reply by Yanaaboo on November 10, 2008 at 4:25am

If I could change one thing in my life, it would to do more performing arts activities than sports. As much as I loved doing sports and how much it helped me pay for college (partially), I always missed doing musicals and dance recitals as well as doing more photography and making videos. High School was my time to do it all and I ended up dropping most of those things and just do track because I felt it was the only thing I was good at. Then I come to college and I'm not as good as I thought I was. Now I am going after my video/film production dream but I feel that I could have developed my creative skills better sooner. I don't regret my decisions I only wish I did more. But I believe it's never to late. I just have to stay motivated and do them. I do miss my childhood though. :-)

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