When were you your own best version of yourself and when were you your worst version of yourself?
This week's prompts were pretty challenging for me for many interesting reasons. I have had both good and bad bosses, but I don't want to publicly talk about micro-managing bosses for obvious reasons. I don't drink (so I don't have a hungover cure) and I don't have kids (so I shan't comment about parenting). Talking about myself seems to be the "best" choice, and it struck me how personal this topic actually was, because as I went through my memories, while it's easy to pinpoint the best version of myself, I realised my worst version of myself isn't that glamourous after all.
Worst Version
So let's do the negative one first. My worst version of myself was probably during my schooling years, or rather, the teenager period (13 to 16 years old), where most of us can get rebellious and temperamental.
It was just a very tempestuous period.
With my family, my rebellious nature meant that I got into a lot of quarrels and disagreements with my parents on many different things, whether it is related to studies or just how often I can hang out with my friends.
In school, I was in a good school but I wasn't that smart. At times I felt like a small fish in a big pond and I was struggling to cope, and was sometimes ranked near the bottom of my class. It didn't help that there were already "classroom politics" (yes, even at that age) and all that backstabbing stuff, and someone who was generally nice and naive, it was just an eye opener (a negative one), which I was forced to face and experience at such a young age.
There were darker moments during this period, but I prefer not to go so deep for this post. All I could say, thankfully, I have sufficient support around me, and I have managed to make some of my best friends during this period. As they say, "a friend in need is a friend indeed". People who don't give up on you during tough times are the valuable ones.
P.S. Don't worry, I am perfectly ok, and have gotten over this period.
Best Version
IT IS NOW. Hahahaha.
I am not kidding. At this age, I have everything that I want and need. Well, almost! I have a house to return to everyday at the end of the day and a comfortable bed to sleep in every night. I am not rich like a millionaire but I have enough to pay my bills, get stuff I need, and occasionally take a vacation or two, that's good enough. I didn't get to this stage automatically - it was an accumulation of savings and investments, and a careful watch on my expenses. And I am really thankful that I don't have to stress over finances in my life.
That said, it's not a worry-free life of course. My health is not as good versus when I was in my 20s and I clearly don't look youthful anymore. But that's ok, it's part and parcel of aging.
As cliche as it sounds, people always say we should always strive to become a better version of ourselves each day. But I agree with that, and maybe that's why my current version is the best version. And tomorrow's version will be better! :)
Ending this post with a photo that I took in Bali on New Year's Eve last year. Seeing the fireworks reminded me that we should always celebrate our successes in life, no matter how small they are, and don't be too hard on ourselves. And having this mindset have served me well so far.
With that, thanks for reading! Have a good weekend!
