Have you seen this video? It’s amazing … it’s a 32 year old guy who had, smartly, taped himself at age 12 talking to his future self. You have to see the whole thing to “get it” but it’s genius. It was featured on the Today Show and has garnered 2+ million hits. Not too shabby!

Anyway, after watching it I couldn’t help but think of my own 12-year old self …

I was in seventh grade at Lounsberry Hollow Middle School, the year was 1992. In our district, we had two middle schools but only one high school. So we were dubbed “Lounsberry Losers” while the others were dubbed “Glen Meadow Geeks.” By the time I graduated high school in 1997, half my closest friends had been from each of the two middle schools — and they were all at our wedding. 🙂

I tried out for — and made — the competition cheerleading squad. This ended up being a huge boost to my confidence level. I loved cheering and since I was kind of shy, it gave me an opportunity to be more bold. During this time I also began coaching my little sister’s squad with my best friend — which gave me some experience with choreography. This inevitably led to securing a spot on the Varsity cheerleading squad as a sophomore — one of just four!

I had an unrequited crush. It lasted pretty much all through middle and high school … fruitlessly. We were good friends, just not that kind of friends.

I began to thin out. Between 11 and 12, I stopped being “compressed.” Dancing tap, jazz, and ballet and cheering surely helped, but really, I just began to mature.

I was very insecure about my looks. I didn’t look like anyone and I certainly didn’t blend. With unruly curly auburn hair I couldn’t style for the life of me, freckles and fair skin … I couldn’t wear all the cool neon everyone in 1992 was wearing. Remember Hypercolors? Yea … those never worked for me. Further, even though I’d “thinned out,” I wasn’t thin. My best friends were. And I wasn’t a blonde or brunette, which the boys seemed to like. I was lucky my mom taught me how to dress for my shape and to complement my physical features, but — lame as it sounds — it was hard to not be able to wear all the same colors and styles as my friends.

I loved Trolls. Do you remember those bizarre neon-coiffed dolls? I had like a thousand of them … it was an obsession. My dad kept some of them at home til my mom finally chucked them one day. I appreciated his sentimentality, but the trolls had to go 😉

I shopped at Aeropostale. Does that store even exist anymore? And I loved, loved, loved my Guess jeans. I couldn’t have Z.Cavaricci pants and I remember being bummed about that.

I wanted to be a writer. Interesting, huh? 🙂 I kept a diary and wrote every single day starting in 6th grade. And I wrote short stories about twin sisters, Kayla and Alexis. Today, I still journal on occasion. And while I don’t write short stories anymore, I do blog regularly.

It’s funny to think back on ourselves at that age and think abut what we were like, what problems plagued us at the moment, what our hopes and dreams were. I didn’t record a video of myself at 12, but I think what Jeremiah did was pretty amazing. I wonder what his 32-year-old self would say to his future 52-year old self?! And, what would I say to my 52-year old self?

How about you? What would you tell your 12-year old self? What personality traits do you still possess today?