Category: Uncategorized

So I came across the term “Listicles” as I was reading Life Ever Since. And I’ve got to be honest–I’m not sure I can say that without giggling. Yes, I am a teenager.

But it turns out that’s actually relevant, because this week’s Listicle is “10 Ways I’m the Same As (Or Different From) My Younger Self.” And since I feel like reflection comes up a lot in my blogging, it seems like a natural fit. So here goes:

1) Same: I have a really boring wardrobe. It’s not very large, and it’s almost all solids. And twinsets. In high school I wore button-down shirts and jeans. My school didn’t have a uniform, but apparently I did.

2) Same: I almost never wear makeup. My mother would send me back to add blush, not wipe it off. And she didn’t wear much makeup herself.

3) Different: I used to try really hard to have curly hair. I used to set my hair with hot rollers before bed and again in the morning. I have no idea why I did this before bed. Later, I got a series of bad perms. Now I pretty much let my hair do what it does.

4) Same: I read every chance I get. During my freshman year of high school, I went to the school library three times a day. And my iTouch and Kindle app mean that I can carry a dozen books around and not feel the weight.

5) Different: I’ve figured out that I’m happier staying at home the vast majority of evenings. I used to feel that I ought to be making a bigger effort to get out; now I’m happy for an evening out, whether it’s Date Night or the three of us, but I don’t feel that I’m supposed be enjoying myself in a particular way, whether or not it’s what I personally want to do.

6) Different: I am much more liberal than I was when I was young. I think that it comes primarily from a greater understanding of human frailty–we all have our weak points and make bad decisions, and I’m much more sympathetic to that than I used to be. Maybe because I’ve discovered more of my own weaknesses.

7) Same: I hate eggplant and okra. And brussels sprouts. That recipe you have that will convert me? It won’t. I’ve tried them enough to make this decision as an adult. I continue to not like sardines as well, no matter how calcium-rich they are.

8) Different: I love blueberries and cherries, neither of which I liked when I was younger.

9) Different: I spend a lot more time outdoors. I will always be fair-skinned, but I look at my wedding pictures and am struck by how pale I looked. On our honeymoon in Hawaii, I looked in the mirror one day and said, “Oh, that’s right. I freckle.”

10) Same: I have trouble coming up with a set number of entries for lists like this.

Photo by Cathdew, via Flickr.