A Conversation With Myself From Five Years Ago

Jingwei Zhao

Five years ago, I would have been eight years old. At that time, I was still in third grade, premature and not fully mentally developed. I used to read a lot around that age, but as I grew up, I fell out of touch with literature. I had a few goals and not much purpose. I believe I was also still playing soccer at the time with my club, but I quit in fourth grade due to time restraints. If I were to have a conversation with myself from five years ago, the general advice I would give is to be more proactive.

My first piece of advice would be to read more. As of today, I have been reading rarely, and the consequences are apparent when it comes to reading difficult news articles or slightly more challenging books. My vocabulary is no greater than subpar, and my reading comprehension is disappointingly weak, especially when it comes to poetry. If I could discuss this topic with myself from five years ago, I would tell him to read anything he finds interesting. If he has no interests, then I would suggest starting with history, as learning about experiences from others who were in similar positions to yours now could provide some guidance. Rather than relying on what was given to me, I should have been proactive and read books or novels on my own.

Another piece of advice I would give myself is to focus more on education. If I cared slightly more for math, I could potentially be entering prestigious competitions, which would look good on college applications. Although my math skills are above average, they could always be better. I should have dedicated more time to learning math and trying to understand concepts better, rather than rushing through assignments just for completion. I should have been more proactive.

As for my extracurriculars, I am in a comfortable position right now. If I could change anything about my swimming throughout the past half-decade, I would say to analyze professionals more and try to apply their methods to my own technique. I would also tell my younger self to put more effort into practice, as that would make me more favorable among my coaches, while also building my stamina. However, with time, I learned from those past mistakes, and I know not to repeat them moving forward. As for the piano, I am more than satisfied with my current position. The only advice I can give to my past self would be to focus more while practicing and, once again, being more proactive.

There are infinitely more amounts of advice I could give to my eight-year-old self, but some are more important than others, so I will list the rest that I think are worth mentioning here. When I first entered middle school, fitting in with everyone else was a small struggle. A significant aspect of middle school was all the trends the students followed. Although I rarely participated in them myself, I would still tell my eight-year-old self a few things, such as not always following the crowd and focusing more on activities that improve rather than indulging in material desires. Instead of allowing myself to be controlled by what happens around me, I would tell myself from five years ago to stand his ground and prioritize the things that are truly important to him.