In the spirit of Galantines, the girls at our Brighton chapter
collaborated with the girls at the Leeds chapter. I was put in a group
with Isabelle and Olivia to discuss the theme of our younger selves.
Youth is intrinsically linked with womanhood; therefore, it is
essential to reflect on it. I had the pleasure of interviewing Olivia and
learning how her younger self and experience have shaped the woman
she is today. I also did an interview for Isabelle which can be found
on the Leeds chapter website.
Do you wish you continued a certain hobby that you had when you were younger?
“One thing I really wished I had kept at is guitar. I adore music and
I often find myself regretting giving up on learning how to play
the guitar because there is nothing, I would love to do more than to be
able to strum along to some of my favourite songs! It was such a
classic case of life getting in the way I suppose. As soon as school
started getting more serious, I just found myself losing the time to
pick up my guitar and play – if only younger me knew how much
busier life gets! I still have my guitar and occasionally I’ll pick it
up and play something, but it sounds nowhere near as good as it
used to.”
What things do you do now to appease to your younger self?
“Younger me was painfully shy and really struggled with meeting and
talking to new people. As I’ve grown up, I’ve gained newfound
confidence, particularly since I moved up to Leeds, and I find myself
now feeling less anxious about the thought of speaking to new people.
Younger me would be so amazed at this so I definitely try to push
myself every day to get out there and push myself socially to appease
my younger self in this sense.”
What principles do you have now that stemmed from her?
“Younger me was definitely a people pleaser which meant she
often spent her time with people who definitely didn’t have her
best interests at heart. Unsurprisingly, this made for some pretty
miserable times as a child, but it was a lesson well worth
learning! After some time and some helpful advice, I realised
that there is no point in trying to impress people who didn’t care
about me. A big fear of mine was that I was too concerned with
what people would think of me if I put myself first and cut
myself out of those ‘friendships’. But it is so important to
remember that the only person you’re always going to have by
your side is yourself and you need to look out for yourself – you
are so much more important! So, a principle I carry with me that
has stemmed from my younger self is to spend more time with
people who enable me and to put myself first!”
If you could give your younger self any advice, what would it be?
“I would tell her to just relax and have some fun! Stop worrying
about the future too much because then you miss out on all the
wonders of the present. As cliche as it sounds, it is true! Life
comes at you quickly so take the time to really enjoy it before you
learn what responsibilities are or before school and work become
ever present factors in your life. I’d also tell her not to worry too
much about popularity or friendships – she’ll soon meet the best
bunch of people she’s ever met and she’ll find a happiness and
contentment in her life that she didn’t know existed.”