There are moments, when I sit and meditate about my childhood. I wonder, what then would I do with all the wisdom and experience I have now, were I to go back in time? I fancied how my life would be changed had I only been able to whisper a couple of words of advice to that little girl I once was.
Naturally, I realize that it cannot happen, however, I love to fantasize about that. Had I really been able to go to meet my childhood self, these are what I would tell them.
The initial tip that I would give myself is: trust yourself at an early age. When I was a child I was skeptical about my abilities. I compared myself with other children and thought that they were better than me. I believed that I was not loud enough, my thoughts not brilliant and my dreams were too high to be a little girl as I was. Should I get another chance to meet that little girl, I would hold her hand and tell her that she is enough. You are smart. You are beautiful. You shouldn’t wait and have others accept you before you shine.
The second recommendation I can make to myself is: follow your heart rather than opinions of people. As most of us grew up in Nigeria, I was told what to learn, how to act and even what dreams were practical. Adults made me understand that only in some professions, one can succeed.
Now I know that passion is a power. I would have followed some dreams earlier should I have trusted my heart more. I would explain to my young self that your heart is not stupid. It holds your future in its seed. Follow it."
The other advice that I would give myself is: save and educate myself about money early. When I was a child I did not comprehend how to manage money. Whenever I would receive pocket money I could spend it on sweets, biscuits or little things that I really did not need. I was not told the value of saving and investment. In retrospect, I would advise myself, to save that little coin. It will grow. Study the art of money, and financial freedom will earn you peace in the later days of life.
I would also explain to my younger self: do not be afraid of failure. I recall the fear I had of making wrong. When I did not do well in school or when I failed someone I would cry and feel that the world was ending. I now realize that the end is not a failure, it is just a lesson. Every failure will bring you closer to success. I would whisper to that little girl, then, Fall, stand up, and try again. The reason you fail does not make you weak. You are more powerful since you did not give up.
The other valuable tip is: treasure relations. Being a child I believed that life was all about individual success, passing exams, good grades and making my parents proud. My attention was not much to the aspect of having good friends and closeness to them. Now I understand that people are rich. A proper friend, mentor or helper can open the doors that cannot be opened by labor. I would say to myself, then, "Love people. Be nice, be faithful and make relationships that endure.
Another thing I would inform my younger self is that I would invest a lot of time with the family. Life moves so fast. There are people that I grew up with that are no longer in this day. Had I a chance to revisit, I would embrace them even longer, hear their tales and enjoy their presence. The time of childhood is precious and family time is limited.
Lastly, I would tell myself: pray more and worry less. I was overly concerned about the future as a little girl. I wanted it to be perfect and that was not always the case, thus discouraged. I have now understood that prayer can transform everything. Had I prayed more and believed in God more I would have been more at peace and confident.
To conclude, in case I was able to travel to my childhood self, I would not attempt to erase all the mistakes and rewrite my entire narrative. It was those errors that made me the woman I am. Nevertheless, I would confidently give myself guts to believe, shrewdness to handle finances, power to persevere when things go wrong, affection to appreciate human beings and faith to continue praying. Life does not always give us opportunities to really go back but we can employ such lessons to lead our steps today and to make the children we are around avoid making the same mistakes.