If You Could Ask Yourself
A recent Roderick on the Line episode brought up a fun thought experiment:
If you went back and updated your 16-year-old self on where you are today, would your teenage self consider you a “success?”
To me, “success” is a multi-faceted metric. Success in your career? Or success in your goals? How about where you are, and who you’re with? Would your younger self even know what you’re talking about in terms of a job or hobbies (try explaining blogging in 1997)?
Overall, I think my teenage self would consider my adult self successful, based on a few measurements:
Career: I’ve always wanted to do something with writing. I left for college knowing I wanted to be a journalist. While that didn’t pan out, I did have a short career in journalism and used my writing skills to make stories in the corporate world. I also had a life goal to do something at the University of Michigan – either a degree or a career – and I accomplished that in my last job at the museum of art.
Hobbies: My younger self was involved in playing card games and video games, taking photos during social activities, and traveling. And what do you know, my adult self enjoys doing all of those things as well, to varying degrees. Photography, for instance, is now a core part of who I am. Traveling is something my family and I do constantly, and always will. I still read The Lord of the Rings trilogy every few years. I probably watch a little less professional wrestling than I did at 16, but some of my heroes have stuck with me.
Life in General: I’m happily married with three great kids, living in my sometimes-hometown, and comfortably middle class and socially active. I spend time with my family, I enjoy going out to eat, and I see my friends – not like I did at 16, but often enough. I’m not rich, but I never expected to be (I just knew I didn’t want to be poor again).
I score a 10/10 on almost all three of those metrics. Where would my teenage self be disappointed? Maybe in something like, I’m not a novel writer like I maybe thought I’d be. Or, I never moved far from my roots.
On the other hand, I didn’t have big goals or ambitions as a young person. I was happy to check the boxes, get my education, get a decent job, and hang out with my friends. If I’ve seen any success over the years, it has not been according to a Grand Plan. Up to now, I’ve been successful only because of luck – and maybe a bit of personal growth, continuing education, and building relationships.
Success is what you make it. My 16-year-old self would be satisfied with all of those things because that’s who I am, and who I’ve always been.
(Above: another photo from Hale, Michigan, shot on my iPhone 13 mini and edited in Darkroom)