This week’s prompt is hosted by Maggie and the topic is: 

Then and Now

Were you more of an introvert or an extrovert?

An introvert most definitely.

Did you have a boisterous or a more reserved personality?

I was very reserved even with family members I didn’t see often.

Were you more confident or did you tend to be insecure?

I was always very insecure.

Were you social or were you more of a loner?

Generally, I was a loner. I made a couple of friends at school but I was always happy with my own company.

Were you a good listener or a good talker?

I was a better listener than talker.

Did you like school or dread it?

I dreaded it. I was always worried about having to do sport, dancing or some other thing my uncoordinated body was no good at. I was scared of teachers who yelled at you. I didn’t want to stand in front of the class to talk.

Did you like the outdoors or did you prefer staying inside?

I liked being outdoors some of the time. I used to go for long walks by myself. I did play with Naomi and my cousins out of doors when I was younger. I was always happy indoors too though.

Did you have deep thoughts about the world, the universe, etc., or did you only see as far as where you lived?

I always wondered about the world. I used to ask mum about places that I could see in the distance. “What’s over there?” I would see bits of things on the news and wonder what it was all about. I always wanted to go places because of mum’s stories about travelling in her young days. As a teen I had many penfriends overseas and enjoyed hearing about where they lived as well as telling them about what it was like in Australia.

What did you want to be when you grew up?

I didn’t have a clue. It was never about what I wanted to be. It was always about what I wanted to do which was to see new places, live in a nice place and have time to do the things I liked to do.

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Looking back, how did you fare as an adult? Are you still that same person or have you changed? If you changed, was it a dramatic shift or just slight changes? Did you end up in the profession you thought you would?

Some things about me have changed. You’d hope so after 65 years of life. I’m more confident and I’m a better talker than I used to be. I still consider myself an introvert but I’m an introvert who is fine in a small group of people that I’m comfortable with. I can talk to tourists at the Visitor Centre where I volunteer fairly easily and I enjoy doing it.

I still want to know “What’s over there?” my curiosity about the rest of the world has never waned. Now I have blogging friends instead of penfriends but I still like to learn about where they live and tell them what it is like in Australia.

I still don’t know what I want to be when I grow up.