Latest / The Checkpoint Podcast: Questions / Episode 31 | If you could bring one thing back from your 20s or 30s, what would it be?
Transcript
- speaker-0: you speaker-1: Hey, it's Dexter, creator of Reboot Player One and host at the Checkpoint. And today's question is If I could bring one thing back from my twenties or thirties, what would it be? If I could bring one thing back from my twenties or thirties, what would it be? That's a tough question. I was I was born in the late seventies and I really enjoyed the nineties. In fact, I I think I'm still stuck in the nineties. Clothing, the shoes, the music, the cars, just just everything. I'm not sure on the exact dates, but I grew up at a time where internet had had just dropped on the scene. It was only accessible through through a computer. I had a pager. I had an analog and then a a digital phone. And all you could do with these phones were make calls and and send messages. That was it. I obviously had one of the first camera phones, but I went through a large part of my childhood and teenage years with just that with with the the pager with the mobile phone that just made calls and the ability to to go home and spend time with the family and not be bombarded by social media and YouTube and you know all of this sort of stuff. I I really loved growing up at the time. I loved everything about it. And I would have to imagine that the majority of people that lived through that time would would probably say the same thing as well. But at least I know for me, that was probably the most impactful years of my life. And there were just so many things that I loved about it. Now, to be able to bring back one thing from that time, so let's just say even if it was the late nineties or Mid to late nineties. I'd be in my let me see. Yeah. It it'd be in the late nineties. What would I bring back? That's a really tough question. That's a really tough question. So let's just say that I was in my early twenties. What was I doing then? I was working. I was I was still working at McDonald's. I was looking for work. There was freedom. there was there was internet obviously but like I said it was more it was more confined to a computer than than mobile devices back then. And there was speaker-2: Thanks. speaker-1: there was separation of work and of personal life. That's you know, I was an employee back then. But home felt safer. home was where you could really just shut off and if you wanted to stay in your room, you could do that and actually feel isolated in a good way. You know, you could stay in your room and read a book, you could sketch, you could draw, you could make things without the distractions of the internet on on say a mobile device. You know, I'm pretty sure I did have a computer with internet on it. But even back then it was it was still quite innocent. There were chatrooms, I'm I'm quite certain. I'm just trying to remember, this is, you know, almost thirty years ago now. And I and I do remember just a sense of ease. I remember a sense of being bored in a good way, being able to to wake up and not knowing what the day would bring. And sometimes I would feel like thinking about it now, sometimes I would feel that I like I would waste the day and and I w and and that kind of annoyed me. I remember a couple of times well more than a couple of times I'd imagine, but I remember waking up and not knowing what to do and then telling myself, We've got an entire day to do something or we don't have anything to do. The good thing about that though is that Whatever we decided to do on those days, on those weekends, we could. We could do. And I really love that. I I really love the spontaneity. I think that's how you say it. You know, being able to decide to do something and then just be able to do it was something that I I I miss. Now with kids, with family, with commitments, with like a quite a lot of other things just thrown into the mix. It's quite it it's not possible. I'm not saying it's impossible. I'm saying it's something that would be very difficult to do. I'd have to arrange for people to look after the kids and and the dog and and and the house and this this all of this sort of stuff. You know, rarely do I get a chance to wake up on a weekend and decide I've got nothing to do and then make a decision to do something. Let's drive interstate, let's go overseas, let's just sit at home and do nothing, let's, you know. tear down part of the pagol and rebuild it. Let's let's do something. And more often than not now, that's just a bit of a dream because it's like I said, it it's very difficult to achieve. Whereas back in the day, I could I could pretty much do it. So but what do I call that? Would it be freedom? Would it be lack of not lack of, but would it be re you know, I I didn't have any commitments, real commitments back then. Is it that? But I guess that's the same thing as freedom. Is it choice? I couldn't really put it down to one word. But that's something that I that I miss. And it it's something that even if I had all of the resources available to me, time, money, opportunity, and and assistance to try and even replicate some of those extremely random and spontaneous decisions, I couldn't do it now. I keep saying it's not impossible, but now that I think about it, you know, it could be it could be close to, you know, having to pull kids out of school, having to organise the house, having to organise just everything. So I guess if there's one thing I could bring back from my twenties and thirties. It would be mm. I it could it could be that. But it it's such a hard thing for me to have to fathom given my current my current, you know, life arrangement with kids and it and everything else. To say I would love to bring it back wouldn't be a lie, but the logistics behind it I I just I just can't even begin to think. As much as I would like. to to bring that back. so if not that, what would what would it be? I honestly have I have no idea. Because all I can see is me almost being selfish in a way without you know, w without tying up the loose ends that would allow that particular one thing to come back. I could say I I could I could easily answer if I could bring one thing back from my twenties or thirties, what would be? freedom. Yeah. I I I could say that. But then what happens to the rest of the things? What happens to the kids? What happens to the dog? What happens to the house? What happens to the cars? What happens to the the garden? What happens to the rubbish? Like that sort of stuff. It it's I I I can't consciously make that decision and expect all of that sort of stuff to sort itself out. So If I could bring one thing back from my twenties or thirties, what would it be? I really I really don't know. I really don't know in way that I y you know, the the question for me seems quite big. And I could answer it with materialistic things. You know, bring back fashion. It's kind of back anyway with the shoes. You know, bring back music and that always happens. Bring back cars. Yeah, it like but but all of those things don't really give me any sense of achievement. You know, it's not gonna make my life Any any different. But if I could bring one thing back, what would it be? I don't think there is really anything that I would want to bring back. And that that's a function of consequences. I remember watching an episode of X-Files decades ago. I can't even remember the the specific episode, but I remember some of the context behind it. And it's such a distant memory that it might not have even been the X-Files, but I'm sure it was. Anyway, the concept behind this episode was something along the lines of a genie finding a lamp. Basically, there was a there was something in the episode where a person was allowed to have wishes and ask for wishes and those wishes were granted. But the way in which those wishes were granted were were quite dark. And and that episode's always stuck with me, you know. So and as an example, I think one of the I think one of the people that were on the the episode said, I I wish I wish I had a million dollars, something along those lines. And sure enough, he was he was granted that wish. And as a consequence, his mother passed away. Or someone passed away. His mother passed away, let's just say that. His mother passed away. And obviously he's he's in mourning and he's sad and and sure enough he gets an inheritance for a million dollars. So his wish was granted, but the way in which it was granted sucks. So when I get asked a question like this, if I could bring back one thing from my twenties or thirties, what would it be? You know, if I was to say freedom, yeah, okay. But does that mean that that what happens to my kids? Like what happens to the dog, what happens to the house? Like I I I just honestly cannot process thoughts beyond that, you know, beyond trying to look after them. sure, like I I could have the ability to travel and and do this sort of thing, but you know, this the the semantics and the logistics and the everything else around it, I I just can't I can't deal with. So my answer to the question, which is this thing here. If I could bring one thing back from my twenties or thirties, what would it be? Nothing. I wouldn't bring back anything. In fact, I think all of the things that I really loved about the nineties, i. e. my twenties, are are kind of back now. And I mentioned it. Music. I still listen to it. Still my favourite. fashion, still wear sneakers. I love Jordans. I love all that sort of stuff. cars, they're still around. It's like I've never left. So I wouldn't bring back anything because I'm I'm quite content with with where I am now. And I don't want anything to upset the Apple cart. And I'm happy to deal with all of the challenges and trials and tribulations that I'm dealing with today. Because I'm happy with who I am and you know, I I don't think that Potentially bringing back one thing from my twenties is going to make it any easier. In fact, it's probably going to make things difficult. So my answer to that question is nothing. So if you've been asking yourself questions like this, we answer these online every Wednesday. You can visit tc.rebootplay one dot com for more information. And if you'd like listening to this episode, yeah, leave a comment, visit the website, all that sort of stuff. Thanks, I'm Dex, and I will chat to you on the next one. Bye. speaker-0: you