I wish I knew then what I know now...

Dear reader,

There comes a point in a person's life when a new thought pattern develops; they start wishing for things they've never wished for before. They start imagining how great life could have been. If only I did this instead of that. If only I could do it over. If only I knew then what I know now. As children, thoughts like these never occurred to us. We never wished to go back to a certain period of time, we never pined for that particular day when we had so much fun at the beach...or finger-painting...or playing tag with our friends. If we had such a good time doing something, we'd go out the next day and do it again. We looked forward to every new day instead of recoiling in horror at the approach of another day of classes, or another day at the office. We've lost our childlike wonder. We've grown out of it; that quality of looking at the world through young eyes. Everything was magical and new and wonderful. Wonderful...full of wonder. Wouldn't it be awesome if the world were full of wonder again?

Here's a list of some of the things that I know now, and wish I knew then:

1. Do your homework. Study consistently. Don't be lazy. Don't procrastinate...and all that jazz.
2. Ask questions. Do it before the moment has passed; you'll never get that moment back again.
3. Read labels carefully before partaking of any processed foods/beverages. Or else suffer the consequences of drinking what you naively thought was ginger tea--perfect for your sore throat--which turned out to be Detox ginger tea instead. So now, not only are you coughing incessantly, you also have diarrhoea.
4. Don't let anyone intimidate you or undermine you into doing something you don't want to do. Stay true to your convictions, even if it costs you the approval of other people.
5. Walking on a cement curb requires balance. Heavy backpacks decrease balance incrementally. Therefore, do not walk on cement curbs while carrying heavy backpacks.
6. Mountain-climbing is fun...on the way up. On the way down, it stops being 'fun' and starts being 'excruciatingly painful'.
7. Speak up; people will listen. And they're kinder than you give them credit for.
8. Never, ever stretch your fonts. Ever. And please, for the love of God, do not use Comic Sans.
9. Some sentiments can only be truly expressed through profanity. Just don't swear in front of your parents.
10. Learn how to take criticism gracefully. Even if you hate being told what to do (like me) use the advice given to you...or at least pretend that you're considering it. This shows respect and that you're not too proud to learn from others.
11. Cut your folks some slack. They might be incorrigible nags, but that's just because they want you to know the things they know now, but wished they knew then. Hmm...yeah.
12. Cultivate a culture of excellence. Nothing is quite as satisfying as proving to someone that they wrong for underestimating you.
13. Welcome new responsibilities, embrace challenges; they expand your capacity. Even if you feel abominably reluctant and awkward at the prospect of holding any type of leadership role (like me).

And so. There you have it. 19 years summed up in 13 points. I wonder if I should add 6 more, just for the sake of unity or coherence or something. Nah. 13 is quite enough. In fact, dear reader, I'd be impressed if you managed to read the entire list without simply skipping to the end.

Hmm, number 1...2...3...this is getting boring. What's the last one? 13? Ahhh. Okay, done.

See, I know how you think. It's almost scary the way I just typed out your thoughts, isn't it? Didn't you know, my unsuspecting reader? I'm psychic.

Pfft...psychic. Psycho's more like it.


There! I did it again! Hey...don't be mean.


Alright, alright. I'll stop now. It's getting boring anyway. Oh, before I sign off...how about you? What's the one thing you know now and wish you knew then? Is is something funny? Something embarrassing? Or is it just something that would've saved you a lot of time and effort if you'd known beforehand?


Okay, so this officially marks the end of today's blog post. I guess I'll be seeing you. Til next time, dear reader, I remain...








Yours,



Figgy the Detoxified