Jul
2010
A lesson to my younger self.
This post is part of a series entitled “Things I Would Tell My Younger Self…”
I have a bit of a confession to make. When I was young, my mom did everything for me. Everything. And by “young” I mean until I moved out at 20 years old. She would make my lunch, clean my room, do my laundry – literally everything she would ask me to do but upon showing no initiative to do it (and leaving my room a mess for weeks on end) she would end up doing it herself – and then I would scream at her for cleaning up. She messed up my perfect disorder.
Looking back….
I wish I learned how to take care of my life before I moved out.
I wish I was a bit more of an ‘adult’ living at home.
The main reason? It is quite difficult to put yourself into the habit of cleaning up once you do go out on your own – even now I find it difficult at times to keep cleaning routines. I do my best, but it’s taken me years of having to clean up after myself to even try to find a kind of balance in it.
You know, turning off the tv or the computer, and just taking a look at my room, seriously getting rid of stuff I don’t need, and keeping it clean for myself, and not just because my mom begged me to. There’s a certain pride you get out of keeping your room or your house clean, you don’t have to worry about people coming over and it being a mess, for one.
Because that’s the thing, when you are younger, you have one bedroom. You might have a family room you hang out in too. When you move out, you suddenly have a whole house to clean up, and it gets a little scary and you don’t even know where to start sometimes.
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What would you tell your younger self?
Did your mom do everything for you? Or did she make you do it yourself?
xoxo
Fab Brunette
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Black is the New Black
July 9, 2010 at (1076 days ago)great post! I would tell my younger self not to worry so much. And that I NOT fat ; )
Brandi
July 9, 2010 at (1076 days ago)I would tell my younger self to learn to speak up and stand up for herself. My parents definitely used to do a lot, but cleaning my room was always my responsibility. Though I never learned how to do laundry until my college roommate showed me a few weeks into our first year…fun times.
Julia
July 9, 2010 at (1075 days ago)my mom always kept a pretty good balance. she would do our laundry, for example, but we were responsible for getting it into the laundry room and sorting it. she would make dinner, but we were responsible for cleaning up. if we kept out rooms tidy, she would be nice enough to vacuum and mop.
and in the end, i'm glad she made us take a little responsibility – i moved out at 18 and I haven't lived at home in seven years and all her training has helped me not go completely insane every time i have to clean up after myself or take care of my apartment.
Metropolitan Mum
July 9, 2010 at (1075 days ago)I'd tell my younger self that everything is going to turn out just fine and to believe in herself.
My parents made me clean the whole house and do the ironing. And no, I didn't even get pocket money. The first thing I did when I moved out and somehow managed to afford it was getting a cleaner. I have cleaned enough for a whole life
Elle Bee
July 9, 2010 at (1075 days ago)Every Saturday, my sisters and I had to clean the house. We did laundry, dishes, cleaned bathrooms, scrubbed floors, vacuumed, the whole nine yards. If it wasn't done perfectly, my mom would make us do it again. It was infuriating.
When I went to university, and lived with a bunch of girls who had never done anything for themselves, I called my mom to thank her. It was hell, but it taught us some valuable life skills. However, that doesn't make me much better at cleaning up after myself. I see the value in it; I just hate doing it!
Amanda
July 10, 2010 at (1075 days ago)I'd tell my younger self that HE isn't worth it. Any of the “hes”
My mom didn't do anything “for” me. By the time I was 11 or 12 I was pretty much independent, she just carted me around until I could drive, haha. As a result of being so fiercely independent for so long, I actually have the opposite problem – I have a difficult time allowing anybody to do anything for me!
steph anne
July 10, 2010 at (1075 days ago)I wish my parents taught me more while I was living at home like how to cook some certain meals, etc. Instead they did all the work for me too! Haha. I wrote a post where I wrote a letter to my younger self if I could (http://luxechandelier.com/2009/01/past-to-the-f…)
Layla
December 5, 2010 at (926 days ago)I would tell my younger self to relax and not worry so much about being perfect or popular. If past me had just accepted that her friends weren’t so popular, and focussed on them, she probably would have had a more meaningful relationship with them instead of spending her time wishing she was someone else.
Layla
December 5, 2010 at (926 days ago)PS (and sorry for double post)
I was pretty spoiled in terms of not having to do chores. Yet somehow I had an easy transition when I moved out (living with other students who had just moved out too) and I think it’s because there’s nobody staring over my shoulder now.