Have you changed much since you were a kid?

fuzzybuddy

fuzzybuddy

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The Sticks, Northeast PA.
I don't think my brother changed at all. My kid brother is the same 8 year old kid he was, when he was 8. I'm the older brother and the mature one. I'm still 10. I really haven't changed much.
But some people burst into way different versions of themselves.
Have you changed much since you were a kid?
 

If I just pick an age - let's say 13 - I had a rather serious disposition, preferred a particular tempo of music, was mostly careful (but had another side that took certain chances) - disliked being the center of attention, and preferred quiet settings or smaller groups. As for those things, I am much the same today.
 
I don’t think so but I do believe that I’m a much better version of my young self.

My older sister on the other hand hasn’t changed a bit, for the better.

I believe that the difference between us has been the size of our worlds.

I had a career that took me to many new and different experiences while my sister’s world was always a version of the relatively small world that we both experienced growing up.
 

I think most of us what to believe we have changed through wisdom and experience, whether we have or not. So if I believe I've changed that much, how much truth is in that? I believe I have changed a lot. Unfortunately most of that didn't happen until I was in my 50s, and much too late to change the wasted years before that. If I leave anything behind most of that will have been forged in the years I was struggling to find a footing, and won't be all that impressive.

Actually noting will be that impressive. But I will die knowing I had eventually found comfort and a friend or two who I believe I was worthy of having. I don't need more.
 
Question without defining specific ways one may have changed is way too vague. Like many questions some people ask without considering how others might differently interpret whatever, in this case it is like the audience is supposed to somehow obviously know what the OP's mind was thinking.

For example, my body has certainly changed considerably. I've grown taller, heavier, have some gray hair and lost some hair at top, my eyes need reading glasses, my damaged ears have eternal tinnitus. I've grown from a child's form to an adult's form, especially my face. Over decades I've suffered some negative injuries that have affected my life forever forward. I look older and know it. I know I cannot attract younger women like I did in my 20s/30s and that changes how I interact in groups socially. But, I also expect that is NOT what the OP had in mind.

My brain has created myriad new neural connections while myriad other connections have been created, degenerated away from lack of use, and gone. Especially vast amounts of technology I studied and stopped using at some point. I have a long list of accomplishments and some failures, all of which bear on my decision making and life choices. There are activities I participate in during this senior era of my life that I never did before and likewise the reverse. My expectations develop, evolve, and change regularly due to life situations.

My experiences have continually affected my brain connections. Changes to culture, science, society, media, the world, my education, and research, and understanding to myriad things, all bear on changes to what we become. But which of these does the OP think we are supposed to be discussing, all of which might be a thread topic on their own? What usually happens on vague threads like this is one or two members will respond and then others will expect that is what a thread is about. But by page 3 of posts, members are discussing different things and some just joining in are obviously confused while others are interpreting posts in unintended ways that others might even then become emotional about before clarifications.
 
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I have changed outwardly very much.... altho' inwardly I feel I'm the same person but actually in reality, I'm not...

As an abused child I altered between being timid , and being feisty..... depending the situation...

I was angry all the time...

That's not been me for many years...

However I recently spoke to one of my sisters who was estranged from the whole family....she's 3 years younger than me.. and over 2 long phone calls..in the 30 years since we last spoke , my heart sunk as I realised she hadn't changed at all ...

She was still the manipulative piece of work she always was.. and still talking about wanting to beat someone up......I couldn't believe I was hearing it...

I cut the cord again after the last call....I have no wish for that sort of thing in my life....
 
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Having also been an abused child I was angry for a long, long time and still have times when that anger comes back. The best I can do is to walk away from things or people who stir that up. I understand I am only hurting myself but I don't think that type of trauma ever goes away.
 
I am so very different from when I was a kid, though my core is the same. Astrologically, I was born on the cusp of Aries/pisces, and used to identify as an Aries, but in my 40s felt I was/am a Pisces. Aries is a fire sign, known as a fearless pioneer, while Pisces, a water sign, is quiet, meditative, and socially introverted.*

Also, while I was always smart, there's just so much I was ignorant of, and am still catching up.

*Just for clarification: I have long felt astrology is just another language for communicating ourselves and our observation to others. I'm honestly not a flaky "believer".
 
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Marcy Sheiner said:
I am so very different from when I was a kid, though my core is the same. Astrologically, I was born on the cusp of Aries/pisces, and used to identify as an Aries, but in my 40s felt I was/am a Pisces. Aries is a fire sign, known as a fearless pioneer, while Pisces, a water sign, is quiet, meditative, and socially introverted.*

Also, while I was always smart, there's just so much I was ignorant of, and am still catching up.

*Just for clarification: I have long felt astrology is just another language for communicating ourselves and our observation to others. I'm honestly not a flaky "believer".
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funny you should mention both of those signs.. I am an archetypal Aries.. .. to the bone... Highly honest, fiercely loyal.. cannot understand those who are disloyal to me..

The sister I spoke about is a Piscean.. manipulative, devious, ... puts on the great act of being the helpless female when men are around.... so they will act like knights in shining armour... when in fact she's settiing them up for a fall

I absolutely cannot understand that type of behaviour..I am nothing if I'm not totally honest and upfront...
 
hollydolly said:
funny you should mention both of those signs.. I am an archetypal Aries.. .. to the bone... Highly honest, fiercely loyal.. cannot understand those who are disloyal to me..

The sister I spoke about is a Piscean.. manipulative, devious, ... puts on the great act of being the helpless female when men are around.... so they will act like knights in shining armour... when in fact she's settiing them up for a fall

I absolutely cannot understand that type of behaviour..I am nothing if I'm not totally honest and upfront...
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We apparently see both signs very differently! To me, Pisces is gentle and sweet, while Aries is just too much to deal with!
I too am honest and upfront, as you say, but never think of it as being astrologically influenced.
 
Marcy Sheiner said:
We apparently see both signs very differently! To me, Pisces is gentle and sweet, while Aries is just too much to deal with!
I too am honest and upfront, as you say, but never think of it as being astrologically influenced.
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Aries are the most honest sign of the whole Zodiac, but very straightforward, no sides... ...... Pisces are not sweet and innocent... that's the projection.... they're complete opposite to Aries..
 
Yes, I have changed much since I was a kid. I used to be shy, an introvert, and let people step all over me. I was slim, athletic, and ran in the Junior Olympics and played high school volleyball. Now I have to watch what I eat because I gain weight easily. I am more educated, more assertive, have more confidence, and can speak in front of an audience as well as be responsible for my own life and not depend so much on others. I love the "me" I have become.
 
Absolutely. I was a chubby, effeminate kid who learned a lack of self-esteem from my mother. I was shy. The neighbors just called me "reserved". We moved to FL when I was 9 y/o and I left all my friends and relatives in NC behind. Kids my age played army while I listened to records. Older kids knocked me off my bike. The older kid next door threw a rock through our window on Christmas Eve. There were many other factors like religion that contributed to my self-hatred. In my teens, I struggled to fit the male stereotype but eventually succeeded in blending in.

My breakthrough was in my 40s when I went through a deep depression and saw a therapist. He said I had basically "buried that 9 year-old boy" and needed to come to terms with my past. When I thought back on it, I bawled uncontrollably and it was incredibly cathartic. It was in the early 2000's and he also asked me why I was always so afraid of being persecuted when so many were accepting of gay people and the chances were so slim. It made sense.

Since then, I have been happy with myself and my lifestyle. I overcame my shyness by going into sales. I had a successful career where for 20 years I was "out". I've tried over the years to overcome the anger I felt at myself and for being bullied. It still comes out occasionally but for the most part it has been replaced by happiness.

If I hadn't changed I don't know if I would have survived.
 
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hollydolly said:
Aries are the most honest sign of the whole Zodiac, but very straightforward, no sides... ...... Pisces are not sweet and innocent... that's the projection.... they're complete opposite to Aries..
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Since you mentioned Astrological signs, I'm a double Scorpio. Hubby is a Scorpio as well. I live up to the sign. I am extremely loyal to those who treat me well but for those who don't they are quickly forgotten. Suffice to say, Hubby and I frequently say the same thing at the same time but are very careful not to overstep bounds.;)
 
fuzzybuddy said:
I don't think my brother changed at all. My kid brother is the same 8 year old kid he was, when he was 8. I'm the older brother and the mature one. I'm still 10. I really haven't changed much.
But some people burst into way different versions of themselves.
Have you changed much since you were a kid?
Click to expand...
Not really. I still carry within me myself at all of the previous stages of my life. The nine year old is still very much present, and now that I am old, she pops out every time I go outside in the sunshine and notice nature doing its thing. I still look up at the night sky or the daytime clouds with wonder and delight.
 
Due to verbal and emotional abuse as a kid I was a basket case most of my life. I've started settling down but I'm mixture of hard and soft. Sometimes I'm very sweet and other times I come across as hard or harsh. It has come from coping with so much over the years. As I heal I'm hoping I will be able to settle down more and just be a sweet old lady. LOL
 
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