growing up

ei blot til lyst

remember those old milk commercials where the little kid's drinking milk and looking into the mirror and older versions of himself walk on, showing him the benefits from the healthy dairy choices he's making now? i used to imagine that sometimes when i'd stare into the mirror hanging in my bedroom in the basement years ago (i'd also sing into the mirror, giving myself my own personal rock concerts, but that's not what this post is about.) i'd wonder what the older versions of me would look like, what they'd have accomplished, and what they'd say.

in the last few years, i've found myself on the other side of that mirror, i guess. i sometimes think about talking with my younger self, what corrections i'd suggest and the encouragement that i'd offer. unlike the milk commercial, i sometimes don't even envision talking to my teenage self, but to the jeffs from only a few years ago. today as i was sitting the foyer at church, i thought about what i'd tell myself two years ago. and i reflected on how much i've changed since then. it's easy to recognize the growth we've made since we were in high school or freshmen in college, but is there any significant change from, say, 30 to 32? it doesn't feel like it, but when i stop and think, yes, very much.

two of the most significant shifts that i've made are :

1. i'm less worried about "following the rules" than i think i ever have been in my life.
2. i'm becoming more opinionated and a little bolder about those things.

at least, i think i am.
maybe it's just that i have my art class tomorrow morning, and so that stuff's on my mind.