Tag: reality

If I Could Change My Past, Would I?

What advice would you give to your teenage self?

Over the past few weeks, I’ve been wondering about what I would do if I had a time machine and could go back in time. It’s quite an interesting question to give yourself. Would you tell yourself what’s coming? Would you not tell yourself, knowing that what’s coming could be good or bad? Would you go back at all?

I’m 31, and while I’m not exactly old, I’ve lived a bit. I’ve done things I’m proud of, I’ve done things I’m not proud of. I’ve done things I’d love to relive, I’ve done things I’d wish to forget. I’ve had my regrets. I’ve overcome those regrets. I’ve lived my life, and I’ve played it safe.

So, if I had a time machine, would I go back in time? The short answer: yes.

What advice would I give myself? That’s a hard question to answer. I don’t think there’s any one answer to that question. I wouldn’t tell myself everything to come. That would ruin the fun. But if I could say only one thing, it would be this, “While life may be difficult and it might suck, it will always get better. The rough times don’t last, and the good memories will always outweigh the bad.”

I wouldn’t change my past or try to warn myself of what’s to come. The reason I am who I am is because of the life I’ve lived. And as much as I’d like to live a different life, I don’t think I ever could. To live a different life would mean that I’m no longer me. I’d be a variation of me.

I’m proud of who I am and what I’ve done to get here. Life isn’t always rainbows and sunshine. As long as we make the best of the time we have, that’s something to be proud of. Nothing will ever be truly perfect, but we can make moments perfect for a short time.

Snapping Back to Reality

At the beginning of January, I went to Colorado for a week with two of my friends and one of my brothers. It was an amazing week. I’ve gone there every year for the past five years except 2021 because of Covid. I didn’t know what Colorado looked like at the time, and I didn’t want to risk getting sick. To make up for it, we went to Wisconsin instead.

The trip to Colorado was broken up into two parts. The first half of the week we spend on the mountain at Winter Park. While I can’t compare it to other ski resorts in Colorado because I haven’t been to any, I can say that I really do enjoy going there. It’s not super crowded and we’ve been there enough to know our way around pretty well. It feels familiar.

We skied for 3 days, which is the usual, and then we headed down to Colorado Springs, a place none of us have been to before. While it wasn’t all that exciting, we did go to the Garden of the Gods. It is beautiful there. What made it better was the fact that it was sunny out as well. Colorado truly holds some of the most amazing views in all of the United States.

I can go into more detail on the trip, but that would take way too long to do. Instead, watch this video if you’re interested: Colorado 2022. I basically made a whole video about the trip including some footage from on the mountain while skiing. There’s a part in it where I fall into a big pile of snow. It’s great!

What I really want to say is that Colorado this year was different. It was harder to come home. Covid had us locked up for so long, we forgot what it was like to be free; to do what we want. We went to Colorado and started 2022 off the best way possible.

I’ve been home over a month and I keep thinking about that trip. The fun we had. Living life without worry. Waking up knowing the next day would be filled with fun and excitement. Now, every day is the same. I wake up, do some stuff, go to work, then go to sleep, and do it again the next day. On my days off, I’ll play some video games or do some other random tasks. But I’m not truly free. I’m free to do what I want in a very confined space.

It’s not that I don’t like playing games or my job. I love the life I have, but to be able to just travel, see new places, do fun things all day every day, it’s not a luxury I have. Humans weren’t put on this planet to work all the time. We aren’t here to be miserable. We should be allowed to go out and have fun too. We should be able to enjoy the things this planet has to offer before it’s too late.

In September I’m supposed to go to Germany for a week. That trip will be absolutely amazing, but I already know it’ll be so hard to come home. I’ve never left the United States. The farthest I ever traveled was to Hawaii almost 20 years ago.

Germany will be a completely different experience that I can’t wait for. The things I experience there will most likely change how I view things. And while I’m excited to go, I’m afraid it’ll change my mentally. Not necessarily for the worst, but change it in a way that’ll make me want more. I’ll want to see more. I’ll want to travel more. I won’t be happy just sitting at home and and going to work.

In the meantime, I can only remember the fun times and enjoy the present. We all need a break from reality every once in awhile. My next break won’t be until April at the earliest, maybe July. It seems far away, but it really isn’t. Life is meant to be enjoyed for the short amount of time we’re here. We should all take advantage of that when we get the chance to.