What would 10 year old you be the most surprised about you now?

That I'm a girl now. Would have blown their mind that it was even possible. But then would have been disappointed in me for not having made a video game yet.

As someone who recently came out, I was kinda hoping that this would be here. It is a pretty wild thought
Estradiol is fucking magical.
- Estrogen in general I would say.
But then would have been disappointed in me for not having made a video game yet.
That's me NOW, too! Maybe if enough of us get together we can cobble something together to appease our childhood selves
- But with how abusive the game industry is, makes me never want to get a job at a company that makes games. But that also means I have a full time job doing something else, and the idea of doing my job and coming home to work on my passion project game also sounds nightmarish.
I was about to comment the same thing lol. Even the video game part.
Honestly though, I feel like there's a chance I wouldn't have been surprised cause I feel like I subconsciously knew back then but just didn't understand it or know the words to describe it.
- I always felt a kinship with girls while growing up and often thought of it as the idea that men and women really weren't as different as people kept saying they were.
  No kid, you're trans. You weren't a shining example of how a boy can get along with girls. You were just a girl among other girls.

"What do you mean you're happy with getting socks for Christmas?!"

Never thought I’d spend as much on the wool socks I have… yet here I am.
Darn Tough
- https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/darn#Etymology_2
Last time I was gifted socks...they were the wrong one (somehow, I get my socks from Walmart, so I'm not too picky, or so I thought). I'm pretty sure it was an amazon special - anyways now I tell everyone I'm super picky about socks or that I have 20 pairs already.

i live in a different country and most of the day i speak a different language

You see that pretty girl who lets you touch her? That's your wife.

See those kids - they are yours. That one can go hunting and will get more girls than you ever will, that one is as kind and caring as you can get, and that one will do dumb shit with you.

Evwrybody likes to feel useful

That I never did Something Great™ with my life.

Didn't become a rock star, didn't cure cancer, didn't invent a world changing technology, didn't become a famous artist, etc.

I didn't know specifically what I was aiming to do, but for some reason I assumed that i would do something that made a big impact on the world. I was totally convinced of it. And it's not because my parents constantly told me that or anything. The closest i heard was a lot of "you have so much potential if you'd only apply yourself!" Ugh.

i didnt hear no bell
- Maybe at your age. At my age almost all of the Something Great bells have rung. Don't get me wrong, there are still plenty of very meaningful things i can accomplish, and many important impacts i can make on individual people's lives, - but for me the possibility of doing something that has a broader impact on society is pretty much gone. But so what, the impact i can have on individual people's lives is still very valuable, and my own subjective experience of life is just as important as anyone else's! So i try to make my own experience of living as good as it can be!
my parents had me convinced id magically save the world. made me feel like id never have to try, so i didnt. we see how that worked out lol
Do you have kids or a partner?
Because that made a significant impact on their world.
- That's exactly what i was trying to say. I don't have the chance to make an impact on society at large, but i absolutely do make a very significant impact on the individual people in my personal circle, and that's extremely valuable.

I'm impressed with the amount of people who can actually remember what they were like as a 10 year old. I've got some pictures n' shit of myself from back then, but honestly that might as well be a completely different person, and I can't tell you jack about what's going through their head.

I can relate to that. I remember specific memories, but my situation has changed so much that I don't relate to being the same person
What age do you start remembering what you were like?
I became really self-aware at 11. I’m guessing a bit about being 10, but 6th grade (11-12) is when I feel like I started being the person I still am 20+ years later. Obviously I’ve grown, but it started then.
- I have some vague memories from around middle school, but pretty much nothing prior to that.
  Highschool and later are locked in, but before that goes from hazy to brick wall real quick.

That I am a girl now. Seems to be a common pattern şn the comment section 💀

Same, although I had thoughts in that direction at that age but I couldn't categorize them.
- yep. Same (about having had the thoughts and not being able to categorize)

Probably that I haven't killed myself yet. That's not a joke.

Yeah, I survived too 💓! Always wanted to but it wasn't always so simple.

Growing up poor in the suburbs, now living on an old farm in the middle of nowhere, Denmark, growing my own weed, a beautiful wife, have chickens, 2 cats and a dog, my younger self would be flabbergasted. Mostly because I was "destined" to have my life fucked, but I overcame obstacles that surprised my childhood friends. Had one say at my wedding "You were the last person I thought would make it".

Gotta be proud of what I've accomplished.

I'm gonna have a drink tonight for this. Here's to making it. The best feeling you can have as a child is hearing from your parents when you've become an adult that they're proud of who you have become.
- It would be good, had it not been for my father being absent from I was 13 until I was 35, when we reconnected. He told me he was proud of me (wtf?) and we did a video call. He told me I needed to cut my hair (had hair nearly reaching my bellybutton, and I'm male). Realised later why on his Facebook: he's a self-proclaimed nazi (he's greek) who believes all gays (probably LGBTQ+ in general) should be killed, and the fact that the only way to punish criminals who's done something to you is to get your crew together and beat them up. So yeah, fun lol
  My half-brother on my father's side has completely removed him due to being who he is, which is 100% understandable, as I have also removed our father from my life now.
  And my mother has told me she's proud of me, but she's a narcissistic alcoholic, so lots of luggage there lol.
  At least I'm married now 8 years and counting), own a house with land, and have chosen my family (you can't choose who you're blood related to, but you can choose your family!), whom I love and cherish.
  Therapy helps (along with mushrooms)!!
  Rant over 😂
  Thanks for the drink 🍺🥂

I mean thats like what. fourth or fifth grade. I can't even relate to who that was. flashes of memory at best. got a little more coherent ones from junior high but even high school and college are a blur.

Thank jeebus you didn't have to get married to the type of men in the community/cult we grew up in and pop out babies.

Probably that I’m alive?

I already dealt with (undiagnosed) chronic depression by 10. The first time I thought about killing myself I don’t think I even knew the word “suicide.” I also had an overwhelming sense that I wouldn’t live past 30. That might not have started until I was 11 or 12, but I think it was there when I was younger.

Weirdly my mom also had an overwhelming sense that she would lose me at a young age from the day I was born, which she didn’t have with my older sister.

Well, I’m past 30 now. My love of people in my life has kept the suicidal ideation to only that. While I still have chronic depression, I’ve learned to manage it better over the years and medication helps.

I genuinely don’t know why I was depressed or had suicidal thoughts that young. I didn’t have a traumatic home or childhood. My parents worked a lot but loved me and my sister without question. We didn’t have a lot of money but always had enough food. I loved school and had great teachers. I wasn’t sexually assaulted before I was 10 (I think I was 12 the first time). I don’t know and that bothers me.

ETA: I guess I was bullied at school by 10, so maybe that accounts for it?

That i don't believe in god anymore. My family was very religious growing up

The brainwashing is real. Took me years to fully grow out of it.

My job...

10 year old me would be amazed

21 year old me would call me a sell out

30 year old me would nod approvingly

Current age me is getting too old for this shit

Current age me is getting too old for this shit
Ah fuck, you’re partnered with Riggs, aren’t you?
- Blackface.jpeg

That I'm on a computer programming all day for my job.

That I'm on a computer programming all night for fun.

That I rarely play video games anymore.

I finally bought that Gameboy advance

That I’m pregnant. I was a tomboy and very masculine. This is as far away from masculine as I can be at least in a physical sense. It’s not as bad as I thought.

I touched boobies.

Coolest dude ever.

That in pretty much every single sense of the word I'm an absolutely pathetic loser.

I didn't think I'd ever be anything special, but I also didn't think I'd be 38 and single for going on a decade, living in someone else's garage, working in a factory in a dead end position with no degree and not an ounce of self worth to even presume to choose a direction.

10 year old me couldn't wait to be an adult, but after seeing me I think 10 year old me would never want to grow up knowing what I'd eventually become lol

Hey dude, I don’t know you and I don’t know anything about you. I do know that everyone, even people you would never expect, have value. You are amazing just for being you. If you find things you enjoy, do those things. 10 year old you may be prouder of you than you think, even if it’s because of how you have kept on going when things have gotten tough. I hope you feel that.
- I appreciate the kind words! Empathy is proving to be increasingly more rare in society so I appreciate you wanting to express that.
10 year old would probably be proud you have a job, no responsibilities and can stay up on the Xbox or whatever all night.

65" 8K television.

That I hate television and actually enjoy working. Jobs suck, "work" sucks, but getting things done around the house or finishing a project or even just getting into a flow on a task is rewarding. 10 year old me would ask, "What happened to us?!" But I guess I enjoyed it then, too. I just defined it differently. Building with Lego for hours in my room, being creative. I didn't define that as work until my adult hobbies expanded into making things with my hands and I had real world job experience.

"You look just like dad. And that's very disappointing."

I sat here for 10 minutes trying to think of an answer. I genuinely have nothing. I was pretty depressed as a 10 year old so honestly? Probably that I'm still alive. My life being a mess and hating near everything in it? I always thought that was going to happen.

Happy to have you still here.

Life goes on past thirty five. I knew that was the case, but my plans and goals only went as far as then.

Kinda like when you graduate uni and you realize that there's still more stuff to do.

dude, youre still alive? congrats

that im still alive
20 was the expectancy
i always say im running on fumes of spite now and i got plenty of spite still left

That for all intents and purposes, I beat depression. And here's me knocking on wood to not jinx that.

The girl 10 yo me was hanging out with all the time, very much thought I was going to marry (she did too) and eventually took my virginity a few years later is now an incredibly handsome man with a wife and kids

Its probably that, honestly. Maybe that I've spent a month and a half of my life in Japan so far, that's p wild for a 20 year old and I'd never have even considered it then

Maybe that I went into a blue collar profession, but that I make such obscene money doing it.

That my parents passed away.

That it all worked out, somehow.

10 yrs old you Hi-Five!

Tossup between "You didn't join the military?" and "Why the hell do you want to sleep so much! You're an adult! You could be up at midnight!"

How much I've improved with my art.

That at 47 the hardest thing in life was keeping relationships. Everything else is a cakewalk.

this is a great question. for me, it would be going to bed at a responsible time.

I actually had that thought yesterday. my younger self would be so sad about me cutting out precious video game time, but I literally can't focus on my job if I get tired halfway through the day.

but my younger self would not understand how lucky my life currently is, and that "sacrifices" need to be made to do the best that I can in life since many people do not have the opportunities I have. I got very lucky.

That I'm a runner. Never in my life did I imagine ever enjoying running. Aiming for my first marathon in spring!

Awesome! Do what you love! 10 yrs old you would think that's so cool. 26 miles is Really far!

That I stopped playing Zelda AND Pokémon

Very little, I basically achieved everything 10 year old me wanted (own a house, work with my dad, have a house husband, own a car - I was a really boring 10 year old).

Are you hiring a second house husband? We can do house stuff then play xbox.
- You have described his occupation perfectly. It's not always as awesome as it sounds tho: tonight he had to referee 4 screaming boys in a bouncy house in our living room while making dinner. I'm happy to report everyone survived.
But that's awesome! Having simpler dreams means you can actually achieve them! That's so much better than having dreams of stardom that results in disappointment and wasted life opportunities for 99.99999% of those people.
And also, your dreams sound like very meaningful things that make a great life!

That I'm not disappointed in him.

That I work with metal forming headed towards engineering instead of woodworking with a goal of fine joinery.

I guess how much I'm still the same person. Sure, I have a house, a job, I'm an adult. But I also still play video games, including stuff like RCT which I lived back in the day. My brain still switches from interest to interest, and my brain is still completely obsessed whatever interests me at the moment. Ultimately I'm still that slightly weird nerdy kid, just grown up.

12 y/o me would probably be amazed that his fancy new Nintendo DS is still alive and kicking almost 20 years down the line. In hindsight it's not too surprising though, because I always treated it with the utmost respect and care.

That I'd rather go outside than play video games all day.
That I no longer care about becoming a software developer and work in a huge corporation (fuck 'em)
That I still have no girlfriend.

My dick didn't grow.

Imagining that you Macguyvered the DEER and rode IT home!

That I live in a small car with my wife and a cat. lol Never would have ever guessed that.

At least it’s temporary as we are buying land and will soon get an RV and build a house.

"Still a fat loser I see. And a weed smoker? But, our D.A.R.E lion? 🥺"

Why the fuck do you have so many kids?

Fourth grade? I don’t think I really thought about my life 30 years later. Maybe finding out I have ADHD; I’m not hyperactive so not the kind really diagnosed in kids.

10 year old me didn't have much expectations about the future but I'd say 15 year old me would be most surprised about the fact that I have a girlfriend. If you were to then tell me that not only do I have a girlfriend but I also have a house and the truck I've always wanted it would literally blow his mind.

Yeah 10 year old me didn't have much thoughts about the future. Similar but not the exact same as you, but 15 year old me would be surprised that I have someone in my life who considers me a friend. 15 year old me would probably be disappointed that I didn't go to med school, but imo I make decent enough money.
I'm glad things are going pretty good for you right now. :)

You got to touch a girl's boobies.

Honestly, probably only that I like dogs more than cats now when it used to be the reverse.

My life has been crazy, in a mostly unpleasant but not entirely unpleasant way, but I don't think 10-year-old me would be surprised by any of those parts. It's the more mundane stuff that surprises.

That's I've been working 2 jobs for twenty years and am still married to this asshole who I am grey rocking so I can get through my 12 hour workdays.

How amazing computer games look now.

I mean, I'm impressed now, on behalf of ten year old me I suppose.

The entire world of personal electronics and the cloud.

I got in early and my entire life is digital. I used the first mass market personal computers and was on several precursors to the internet before most lemmings were born. I’m a software engineer: I play video games and do home automation for fun. I don’t have much of a lab but only for lack of time. Seriously, my entire life.

When I was 10, I was still a couple years away from joining my first computer club (IBM mainframe), learning my first computer language (APL - I’m a math nerd too). There were no mass market personal computer yet, and even the first kits probably weren’t out yet.

When I was 10, my life was skating through school, playing out in the yard with my brothers, or in the woods. I loved building and fixing, whether with my father’s tools, or model kits, or Lego. i loved camping, sports, visiting my grandparents farm. My interest in technology was mostly reading history. I would not even recognize most of my adult life

Life gets worse. Much worse. And you will survive and even find happiness. And everything you needed, you had it all along.

that all that studying and academic pressure had basically zero payoff other than at least im employed

So many things! But mostly that I have a lot of wonderful friends. I was a pretty lonely child, awkward and uncool.

10 year old me would be extremely disappointed in my Christmas lights.

I should have Clark W. Griswold level lights, but with colors and blinking lights.

Instead I put up all plain white lights along the windows and doors and a wreath like a reasonable person.

It's so much work as an adult with adult responsibilities to find time to hang lights, and even worse when you have to take them down.

I am ashamed.

The fact that I work with IT with a niche skill set that is highly sought after in my industry. I was 10 in 1993, and at that point I didn't even know how to turn on a computer.

What I did use a lot, on the other hand, was my NES. And 10 year old me would probably make a jaw drop induced crater upon seeing the kind of games I can play nowadays. Hell, my brand new laptop is fancy on its own.

That I didn’t grow up to be Indiana Jones

that i'm not a teacher and that i don't read as much book as i used to and should

That I never watched the final Star Wars movie. I was 10 years old in 1977 when the original came out

I didn't have a lot of belief in myself. At 10 my dream was "work in an office", because it would mean I was smart enough to not need to work a manual job. I also firmly believed that no woman would want me.

I'd be surprised to learn that I'm married, have a child, and work in tech for one of the biggest companies in the world. They'd also be surprised that I'm moving to that city where Friends is.

I can't imagine 10 year old me

That I'm still alive.

Computers aren't cool anymore.

That I graduated high school, have a job, and changed my name. Instead of being locked away in a group home where I'm forced to stagnate at mentally 6 years old, and also punished for being mentally 6 instead of older.

You are in accounting? Wtf? You can't even count.

Same as you. I also fully expected to be overweight. Sort of still do expect that at some point.

That I'm an atheist, probably. Living on the opposite side of the world is a close second.

Well I did write down that I was going to win a billion money and move to the moon. I have much less faith in gambling now though.

I finally learned to ride a bike. And I touched boobies.

10 year old me would be surprised that my predicted death didn't happen. As a bit of fun one time my cousin, my sister, and I all wrote obituaries for ourselves and I couldn't imagine living past 35 so that's when I set my death date. It would be a bit of a shock for him that I'm staring down the big 4-0 (still a bit of a shock for me).