If you pick anyone on the street and ask if they regret something they didn't learn earlier in life or, better still, something they wish they knew or learned earlier in life, I'm certain you'll have your ears full with the numerous things they wish they had been taught or become aware of at an early stage in life. Some people's wishes are related to financial knowledge, others could be personal information, probably related to their paternity, and others could be something else entirely different, but most importantly, it's something they wish they knew and believe would have made their life a lot better had they known it in time. I'm no exception in this regard, and I'd like to tell you about what my own wishes were.
So in the light of that, talking about what I wish I had learned earlier in life, it's worth noting that one thing I really wish I had known at an early stage in my life is that life isn't a racetrack and comparing myself to others will only steal my peace rather than resolve the problems at hand. For years, even till date, many of the world's things are laid out in a way that it seems like a battlefield or competition ground, and the like, and all of these put together can make a young person, even an adult, start comparing their life or position with someone else, and doing this can be so devastating to the point of losing one's peace, so if at all there's one thing I wish I learned earlier in life, it's definitely knowing that life isn't a race and everyone has their life to deal with.
Through the years and as I grew, I've come to learn that each person has a different path, and when it comes to progress, regardless of how fast or slow it is, it's still progress. Had I come to the knowledge of these when I was younger, maybe I wouldn't have tried to kill myself trying to please some educators who look down on you because you're not among the top three students in the class, maybe I wouldn't have felt less relevant than students whose parents are well-to-do, and most of all, maybe I wouldn't have been so obsessed with thinking that only those who came top in class will excel in life, because the reality is that life experience has shown me that my understanding of life being a racetrack where you have to struggle to come first has deprived me of other things I could have done alongside my education, which would have aided my life journey better.
So in the light of this knowledge I've gained through life experience at a later stage in my life, if I were to give advice to my younger self or to the young and upcoming generation, I'd say be patient with yourself, don't rush things, also be consistent and have the belief that your time will come, and when it finally does, make sure to grab it with both hands.
All photos are mine.