If you could have a conversation with the person you were ten years ago, what would you tell her?
This question has been chasing me since December 2014, when a dear teacher invited me to give a talk on activism and technology –the field I work in today– to students in the school where I grew up. I accepted because I love talking about activism… and because similar talks made me reflect a lot when I was that age.
Around ten years ago, I was almost 15 and I was studying at that school when a seemingly alien event changed my life: the Indian Ocean tsunami in December 2004. Being from Mexico, that was far from being my first encounter with loss. What made this experience different was that I was posting on Voices of Youth, where friends from Asia opened threads to see how we could all help. For the first time, I felt I could and should do something.
Since then, I knew I wanted to work to promote social change.
What I didn’t know: what that path looked like and what the first step should be. Should I become a lawyer? Should I drop everything and work with homeless children? Should I aim at working for the UN?
Knowing what you want but not how you can get to it is one of the most frustrating experiences anyone can have, and many of my emotional memories deal with tbat. It gave me an infinite amount of headaches, and a few insecurities that it took me many years to leave behind.
So, if I could speak with my 15-year-old self, I’d aim at telling her something that would help her put that frustration in context. And that’s why I chose to share the following reflections with the students at my old school:
1. Devote time to analyzing your interests and strengths, and never stop doing it – you’ll be surprised when you recognize new things about yourself that will be useful to keep tracing your path.
2. You are because we are. To reach your goal, your personal efforts won’t be enough. You’ll need help from others who will introduce you to new contacts and ideas. Be thankful for all the help you receive, and share it with others.
3. Dreams do come true. Ten years later, I can finally say I spend most of my time doing what I always wanted to do: promote social change. It wasn’t quick or easy, but here I am.
What would you tell your 10-years-younger version of you? Is there anyone around 35 reading this? : )