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I'm 18 with 27 years of experience.
Who says experience doesn't count? Huh? Yea... I thought so.
Experience does count.
You always hear people wishing they were eighteen again...
and knew what they know today.
Oh... just deal with it.
You can't possibly know what you know today at the green age of 18.
Of course someone can tell you... and even if you listened, it wouldn't matter.
The true understanding of what you know now is a collection of events and activities that you participated in throughout your life.... a degree that each person earns individually. Each degree is unique as each person's lessons of life are different.
You are the experiencer of your own life.
If I were to give you advice and tell you the "to do's" and the "not to do's" it rarely may apply to your life. I could later say, "I told you so" or "you should have listened to me." Now, think about that.... how unfair is that? You cannot tell someone how to experience their life. You can give them suggestions and encouragement.
Think of it like this.... Picture a rowboat. Your boat is tied up to the dock. It is time for you to set sail. You have two oars. You are the motor. Throw off the bowlines, and push yourself away from the dock. You are now in control. It is your choice to to decide what you will experience. And you will use the experience you already have to make those choices. Your experience will come from exploring. It is a lifelong journey.
So, you're probably thinking... what's your point?
From a parents point of view.... my point is this. When you bring a baby into this world, you love it from the minute it is born. You nurture your child with love, and teach him based on your own life experiences. You build a foundation of morals for your child. This is where you are transferring your own experiences and beliefs. You watch your child grow and mature. It happens so quickly. I don't think we realize the whole concept of time until we have children and they grow. When they reach 18... we suddenly realize that 18 years have passed by so quickly!
We start to question ourselves...
did we do a good job? did we teach them the right things?
did we allow them to be themselves?
did we let them discover who they are?
build dreams?
give then encouragement and point them in the right direction?
and the most important question of all is...
are we willing to give them wings now so they can discover?
That is the hardest part of all. I can remember the most poignant memory of my father. It was of him saying... "what makes my daughter happy, makes me happy" and I don't think I knew how painful it was for him to say that at that very moment. But now, as a parent, I do know. Because what we want most of all is for our children to be happy... even if it is not exactly what we would want to choose for them. You still have to pin the wings on their shoulder and set them free. ~Caroline Neff~
