CarolCooks2…#bloganuary….What advice would I give to my teenage self?

 

Wow..when I opted to join in with #bloganuary those of you who know me know I love a challenge (A-Z) I also love a prompt word (Saturday Snippets)…but a whole sentence…Just saying!

“What Advice Would I Give my Teenage Self”…scratches head…

Woah! ….as a 50’s child…you can do the math…

Life was so very different then…no mobile phones, we had to earn our pocket money, we didn’t answer back (well, truth be told) sometimes I did…

me and mum & dad 1952 001

One of 3 and the oldest we had no Tv or phone we played out until dark and sometimes we were out all day playing in the woods, making camps…I was definitely not one of those girls who played with dolls and pushed someone else’s baby up and down the street..for fun!

Really…I was a tomboy…one of my earliest memories was this pink spotted dress my mum made me…she made all our clothes and I remember that when the elbows of our cardigans or jumpers wore thin my mum unpicked the sleeves and changed them over so the darned patch was in the crook of our elbow…No waste back then!

I also remember climbing the big old Oak tree in the middle of the green and catching the said pink dress and tearing it! Girls then did not wear trousers only skirts and dresses.

sisters

Going to visit nan

We made tents in the garden by slinging a blanket over the clothesline…..Played how high can you jump with a pole on two sticks…until my dad shouted at us as we made a bare patch on his preciously tended lawn. I remember playing jacks and hopscotch on the pavement( we then) had to clean every bit of the chalk of the pavement when we had finished playing…

Collecting the empty bottles and taking them back to get a penny and how many sweets could you get for a penny?…

I remember moaning like hell when my mum combed my hair after washing it and the rags she put in so we had ringlets( and how they hurt to sleep in). I also remember her taking us to the hairdressers as she was fed up with moans and me getting this fringe…..I promptly got the scissors out when I got home and cut it off..stating I don’t have a fringe now…I was a rebel in the making…lol

I also remember how much I used to write for homework..pages and pages..my teachers must have groaned..not half a page for me. When I got the ” A” my mum would say very nice dear…my dad..not much…he thought girls just got married and had kids.

The prompt…

I had to set the scene so that the teenagers on here would get the picture..how deprived we were…NOT!

So…“What would I tell my teenage self”

Actually…I wouldn’t tell my teenage self much more at all…I grew up to be self-sufficient, ask questions…

But I would tell my teenage self to keep those books, take more pictures with my Kodak Brownie Camera, and to “Follow your Dream”…I didn’t do enough of that early enough…Dream Big as the world is yours to explore, I would tell myself to challenge more and most of all be kinder…..I would tell myself to embrace our history as we learn from history …or we should …

I would say “think outside the box” …don’t follow blindly do your own research and then make an informed decision… all of this I do now…but I didn’t do as much then…be brave…be true to yourself and love yourself…

That’s all from me…I managed to waffle my way through in just over 600 words…will I manage a whole month…I am nothing if not tenacious but it’s only day one…

I look forward to reading other posts on “What would I tell my teenage self” …

Happy New Year to you all xx

45 thoughts on “CarolCooks2…#bloganuary….What advice would I give to my teenage self?”

  1. superdome2006

    Oh Carol! I love your writing. I have just finished reading your posts thus far and enjoyed every one of them

    Yes, I am loving this challenge. Your posts are one of the benefits I actually didn’t count on. Thanks!

    Like

  2. Forestwood

    Like you, tents in the garden or some kind of “cubby” house was a popular pastime. It sounds like your childhood was similar too – unfettered by the fears of many parents about letting their children roam around unsupervised these days. Thanks for inspiring me into writing something for this challenge.
    Amanda

    Liked by 1 person

  3. Pingback: What Advice would I Give to my Teenage Self – Something to Ponder About

  6. Michael Summers

    Thank for your reflections. I enjoyed your post. I was born in the fifties, and I posted, today, a day late, my post about my message to my teenage self. I wish I had thought about photographs from that time. That was genius on your part! Happy New Year!

    Liked by 3 people

    1. CarolCooks2 Post author

      Thank you, Michael , I have also read other posts whereby someone has mentioned something I had not thought of until reminded…I think if I edited the post now it would be somewhat different …I will pop over and check your thoughts out…Happy New Year to you, Michael 🙂

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  7. OIKOS™- Art, Books & more

    What another great posting, Carol! At the first photo one can see little Carol looking very interested into the world, and now we know how wonderful you are doing this, with great benefits for all of us. Happy New Year as well! xx Michael

    Liked by 3 people

  10. Jennie

    This was a walk down memory lane for me, Carol, except my mom didn’t really sew. I was born in 1950. I love how you gave your teenage self strength and resilience, and told her to keep all her books. Happy New Year!

    Liked by 3 people

  11. marianbeaman

    I enjoyed your stories of childhood and teen years. Like you, I remember that hair-combing business, especially from an aunt that pulled my braids so hard my eyes hurt.

    By the way, I can believe you were a prolific writer early on, Carol!

    Liked by 3 people

    1. CarolCooks2 Post author

      Ouch, I felt that Marian there is nothing worse than someone pulling your plaits that hard…Thank you for your kind words…Happy New Year 🙂

      Like

  12. Stevie Turner

    Yep, I’m with you on all this, probably because I’m around the same age. I was always told to ‘come home before it got dark’. Apart from that, I had no parental supervision and roamed all over the East End of London (I wouldn’t do it now, lol) with a gang of friends.

    Liked by 3 people

  13. Pingback: CarolCooks2…#bloganuary….What advice would I give to my teenage self? – MobsterTiger

  14. beetleypete

    Your childhood sounds much like mine, minus any siblings. I would go back and tell my teenage self to think very carefully about getting married. My first two marriages caused me both heartache and financial ruin, and took a lot of time to claw back from.
    Best wishes, Pete. x

    Liked by 3 people

  15. Clive

    If the internet and blogging had been around when I was a teenager the advice I would have given myself is ‘don’t take on challenges that will be very visible when you fail!’ I couldn’t do this one, as I don’t like being told when to write and what subject to cover, but I wish you luck with your endeavours 😊 x

    Liked by 3 people

    1. CarolCooks2 Post author

      I like a prompt, Clive and you can interpret it any way you want so its not really telling you what to do.. There have been many interpretations of the prompt.. Interesting in fact.. We shall see what the other prompts bring.. I may not last the month… 😂

      Liked by 1 person

      1. Clive

        It’s just me! I used to use the WordPress prompts occasionally when I started, and enjoyed them – but without the pressure of having to do it every day. I hope you enjoy the challenge 😊 xx

        Liked by 1 person

  17. petespringerauthor

    I wish I could live my teenage years again. Not because they were so great—far more the opposite. If I knew then what I know now, I would have tried more new things and been fearless.

    Liked by 4 people

  18. Lani

    I’m glad you and I are in agreement. I haven’t posted yet, but my answer is mostly similar to yours. But I love ‘take more pictures’! Ahhhh, not like kids today, but yeah, that would have been great. HNY!

    Liked by 3 people

    1. CarolCooks2 Post author

      Thank you, Lani…I was a bit stumped but decided to go with it my childhood wasn’t bad we didn’t have electronic games and we walked to school…but it was healthier…I look forward to reading your post…Happy New Year 🙂

      Liked by 1 person

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