Growth… it’s a beautiful thing, isn’t it? How many times in your adult life have you reminisced over things from your past and thought “I’m so glad I didn’t do that?” Everyone has at some point in their life. Whether it was a particular hairstyle, fashion trend, or tattoo choice, you can look back at that moment and be thankful that you outgrew that particular phase in your life.
There are so many things that you can reflect back on and see just how much you’ve grown up. Take gifts, for example. What you wanted for Christmas as a kid versus what you want for Christmas as an adult are totally different now. As a kid, you might have wanted the My-Size Bride Barbie but as an adult, a gift card for spa services or a nice candle will make you as happy as you were when you got that My-Size Bride Barbie! Thank goodness for growth!
Speaking of growth, we discussed how you outgrew the things you wanted as a kid but no longer have a desire for, right? Well, what about the things you swore up and down you never wanted as a kid but now that you’re an adult, you desperately long for those things? For some people, those things you swore off but want now doesn’t come as easily as you want them to. Would you call it karma? Bad luck? Or reaping what you sow?
In all honesty, it’s not any of those things… it’s simply called growth and maturity. It happens to everyone at different paces but it’s how people evolve. You don’t want to be a 32-year-old man or woman still acting like a 16-year-old… As you grow older, your taste changes, your thinking changes, and your life goals change. We’re going to take a look at some of the things you swore off when you were younger that you now long for as an adult.
Marriage
As a kid, the thought of boys was the grossest thing ever, right? Yes! They were dirty, gross, and stupid… boys thought the same thing about girls too (that they were gross) and the thought of marrying them made you make the “I’m going to throw up” face. Even in your young adult years (your years of partying hard), you had no interest in anything serious, let alone getting married. But once you hit your late 20’s to early 30’s your views on marriage started to change.
You’ve been there, done that and the party scene has gotten old now. What you really want is someone you can genuinely call your partner for life. But now that your interests have changed, you’re finding out that dating is tough and finding that person you could see yourself marrying is not as easy as you had hoped. You’re not necessarily looking for perfect but you’re looking for someone that’s perfect for you… is that too much to ask for? It’s really not but just keep dating and meeting new people… once you meet “the one,” you’ll know it.
In the world of dating, you want to look for specific qualities that you’re looking for, not what other people say you should be looking for. Ask yourself:
- How does this person make you feel?
- Do you feel safe around this person?
- Can you be yourself around this person?
- Can you actually see yourself with this person for the long haul?
- Do you have fun together?
Those are just a few questions to ask yourself while dating. These questions aren’t the determining factors in finding your mate but they give you a little perspective.
Children
Maybe as a teenager you had siblings that drove you insane and made you swear off ever having kids. The constant whining, crying, begging, and having to share everything with them was a complete turn-off but you were a kid then yourself. As you grew older, you started to see the real beauty of having children and now want that same experience, especially now that you’ve found your soulmate. The only thing left is the fun part… making the baby!
Well, you’ve been having so much fun “trying” but things aren’t going the way you wanted. So you go to the doctor and find out you have fertility issues. That type of news can be absolutely devastating. It makes you go back to thinking about how you swore off having kids when you were younger. You would give anything to be able to experience the nausea of “morning sickness,” or to feel the back pain of carrying your baby.
Luckily, technology has come so far from since you were a kid. Couples that have fertility issues still have the opportunity to become parents through IVF treatments. There are fertility clinics that will be with you every step of the way from giving you education on the IVF stages to the actual implantation and after. There is hope for you starting a family regardless of swearing it off as a child.
Thank Goodness For Growth
Growth is what makes us who we are today and that’s perfectly fine. The person you were as a child will definitely change as you grow older, and for the better! So just take it all in stride, one day at a time!
