Trust yourself. You are on the right track. You are as normal as you need to be. Your family does not disappear once you are an adult, and you will carry it and history with you always. You will reconcile with your parents and it will be a good thing. Your life is not something that will happen in the future—stick to your principles and it will work out. In college, you predict that in 10 years you will be dead, in jail, or out of the country. You will be correct, but fortunately only out of the country, and many years on. It is not enough to be smart. Balance is good. Stay open to change, and honor relationships with people and the rest of the earth.
Trust yourself.
Khati Hendry
Characterizations:
funny, right on!, well written
Brava Khati, good advice for your younger self and all of our younger and older selves!
I especially like ‘Balance is good’.
I remember once reading “Everything in moderation – even moderation”.
Wonderful insights, Khati. As we know from your earlier stories, you have lived an interesting life. You reassure your younger self here about the course your life will take. A line from a favorite movie just popped into my head: It’ll be alright, girl.
Very wise, Khati. I love the predictions of your college years and your wisdom that being smart is not enough. The reconciliation with your parents resonates with me strongly.
So many enticing lines that leave me wanting more, but my favorite: “Your life is not something that will happen in the future.”
I love the advice you gave to your younger self. Life is a journey, and each stage has value.
Fabulous advice, Khati. I especially like “you are as normal as you need to be.” I well remember that era when we thought we would wind up dead, in jail, or out of the country. Glad that when you left the country it was because you wanted to, not because you had to!
Wonderful advice to your “second person,” Khati. Your line about normality and need evoked such heartache regarding my own early fears of nonconformity, but we never did fit just right, did we? Also the enigma of your anticipation — “dead, in jail, or out of the country” — will sound familiar to many of us!