I can still hear his voice saying it in the kitchen while I slathered my Thomas' English Muffin with butter before leaving for High School. I was sooooo much smarter than him.
I was 17!
I knew about heartbreak- My online boyfriend and I had broken up only four years ago!
I knew about money- I had a part time job at a sandwich shop (which my father got for me)!
I was an ADULT, dammit and I wanted to make sure he knew it!
Advice from someone who loved me and basically lived just to make sure my life would turn out spledidly? Pfffffft! I'll listen to my giggly 17 year old girlfriends, thankyouverymuchDAD!
Lookit that man. That is a man who knows a thing or two about the right way to get to the mall.
As I've aged - 10 years since then - I feel like one of the GREATEST lessons that life (and Dad) has taught me is that it's OKAY to ask for help. And it's OKAY to take and use someone's advice.
It doesn't mean your initial, gut decision was wrong- simply that the people who love you are giving you advice because they want what's BEST for you- THEY'RE loved one.
It doesn't mean you are immature and stupid- to the contrary, I've delightfully found many people to be quite impressed when I'm able to go to them and ask their opinion.
It doesn't mean you're weak and unable to fend for yourself- big fat, stinking nope all over that one. That feeling of "weakness"? I personally think that's PRIDE trying to make a sneaky getaway out of your body. And you know what? Let it go. PRIDE is like that crappy college boy who always made us feel insecure and "less-than". Oh we kept that boy around- we thought we NEEDED that boy. We cried and felt uncomfortable when he left us for another unknowing Freshman girl. But in the end, you were BETTER OFF WITHOUT HIM. That's PRIDE.
Let pride go, drink some Franzia with your girlfriends and feel GREAT the next day.
I now make it a point to always ask people for advice- much to Dad's excitement. Because everyone's life has taken them on different journeys- so by asking someone else for their thoughts on the situation you can LEARN FROM THEM. Learn things you would have never known otherwise...
It's kinda like the first time you ever played The Oregon Trail with your cool babysitter- they were seasoned pioneers who knew to NEVER caulk and float your wagon. If they weren't there beside you to offer such sage advice you would have CLEARLY lost that deck of cards you bought back in Town. And WHAT would Bob, Phyllis, Alexander and Rochelle do without that deck of cards?
"Avoid all these dramatics and just take the damn ferry!" Is what Dad woulda said.
Now I know whoever is reading this might be like, "Okay #1 this Blogger template is pretty crappy, Lindsay. And #2 But what about making your OWN decisions and taking CHANCES and getting your OWN hands dirty in the process???"
And to that I say- Yup! You can do that too! I've gotten my hands dirty all across this US of A. I've heard the advice and laughed it off. And sometimes it's paid off to do my own thang and not play by the rules. And sometimes I've fallen flat on my ass. I don't think either way is the wrong way. I just believe you have nothing to lose by asking advice, or listening to others' stories.
Each person you meet in your life is like a full set of Encyclopedia Britannica- so why not just soak up as much of that knowledge as you can?
Ohmigod remember this guy? See HE is someone who should have taken his friends' advice and not worn that denim button up.
That's why I started this little Blogger. Because maybe one of my friends or some random person who accidentally typed in this domain name will read one of my harrowing life tales and be able to relate- or be able to take something away from what I've lived and learned.
Well, that and the boredom. The boredom is part of the reason I'm doing this, too.
(See? If I was taking people's advice right now I'd be reading The Hunger Games instead of writing this blog. Fools! Mwahahaha!)
So yeah, anyway...
LEARN FROM ME,
Lindsay
