A 10 MINUTE WINDOW

What if RIGHT NOW we had a chance to talk to our teenage self for just 10 minutes (so much to say in so little time)

8 MINUTES LEFT
I figure it's going to take a couple of minutes for me to calm my teenage self down enough to convince him I'm not an angel or the Terminator coming back in time to kill him

" Listen to me I don't have much time. COLLEGE!!! GO-TO-COLLEGE!!! Do whatever you got to do to get there. Just because you think about going to the military is not a plan. If you still want to do this military thing, go to college at the same time. Don't be lazy. Just do it."

" You're going to like a lot of girls. Open up your mouth and go for it. Talk to them. When you keep your mouth shut somebody else is going talk with them and take them away. I never had a high school sweetheart. Do something about that."

"Stick with one sport instead of three.Your favorite one.You're a good athlete but you're not a great one. You are not getting a college scholarship for athletics. Concentrate on academics."

5 MINUTES LEFT
"Be yourself. Not a follower. Don't worry about what other people think of you. Stop hanging with the popular crowd. They're all the same. Be unique. Someone different. The nerds. The rich kids. The goths.The heavy metal kids. The quiet ones who keep to themselves. Try to make a friend with every one of them."

"Save your money.Stop trying to keep up with everybody else. It's going to cost you in the long run. Clothes.Cassette tapes. CDs.Video games. Just get what you need and stop begging for what you want all the time."

3 MINUTES LEFT
"Stay in touch with your family especially your cousins. All of you are going to grow up and go separate ways.KEEP IN TOUCH. You're going to lose each other. I'm not the same person I was without them."

"OK really listen 'cause this is important. Keep an eye on Mom and Dad. You're not going to understand this now. Those arguments they been having are going to be less and less. They going to stop talking to each other and that's when you need to worry.You understand? It's going to be a quiet house for a long time but just do the best you can for them."

1 MINUTE LEFT
"Not much time. Paper and pen now. I need you to write this down. I already told you to save your money. Mow lawns. Fast food. Whatever. You're going to need that money for some companies I want you to write down. You're going to put that money in something called "future investments." Don't ask questions. Just trust me and write fast. This is going to change our life for the better."

Author's Note

Just my imagination playing around

Reviews

[That1Nerd23]

Oh my gosh! Like serious, whoa! You are such an amazing writer, I absolutely loved reading this! Profoundly insightful, to say the very least.

[Annette Pisano-Higley]

Yes, what if...You hit all the salient and wise points in your story my friend. This should be an email blast, a facebook post, a tweet- whatever it takes to reach all of our children. Very clever form and structure that adds to the urgency, importance and intensity of your message. As you did, I also learned the hard way about life. Wish I had your story in my pocket back then. Love this.

[Mrudula Rani]

I am sure when you were a teenager some close relative( grandparent, uncle or an aunt) in your family must have given you all those advices, that now you want to go back and give yourself. Expecting a teenager to accept and follow advices is a miracle!

[Pooja Chintamani]

This is inspirational feed always we r hungry for. Just a gulp of right way to drink for our teenagers random mind. Thank you to share ur motivational ink.

[sette]

truth is stranger than fiction kC and i can sense it in this piece but anyway no one is exempted from pains in life it is just the way how we handle them so we can survive.

[Alecia]

It's almost as if you red my mind...wow...just wow

[BBP]

Super fun read! Even gave me the chills on how amazing it would be to talk to your past self. I'd have a lot to tell my b***h a*s past self! lol Nicely done.

[Jacob Clifford]

An opportunity I'm sure we all wish we could have! Some of the things you mention here are things we would simply have no way of knowing at the time, and others are simply a result of being young and reckless and not thinking of the future. I very much like the suggestions made to the younger self and the way they are presented. As Cherrie mentioned, the ol' "What If" game! It can haunt our nightmares, showing us what could have been if we'd only been smarter or had done this instead of that. It can be simultaneously run and sobering to think about. Sadly, though, we don't have a Do-Over button. It can be fun to imagine, but dwelling is no good. Very clever write, KC.

[Cherrie]

The old, 'what if' game. If I only knew then what I know now. I'd like to lean in that window for a 10 minute chat.