Can you still find the child you were in your personality today?

I was insane as a kid. I thought I was completely bulletproof and I took all kinds of risks. I got even worse as a teen. I loved to have fun and push the envelope. I’m a little more careful now. With just a few risks thrown in for the fun of it.

I am the same person I was when I was 2, just I have a better vocabulary now. I can trace lots of things back in my mind, and I’m fairly sure I am more or less the same person I always was.

^Which solidifies my theory that some men never grow up.

@chyna I refuse to grow up.

Really fun question and I can say there is 110% of my childness still intact despite some later battles in life!

No. My dad beat that out of me years ago.

Nervous, insecure, anti-social, angry? Sure, I’m that same kid not too deep down. Sometimes, right on the surface.

I am basically the same in personality. I was born rather responsible. I don’t enjoy feeling out of control. I tend to not spend much time preparing for things and worried more after the fact. I was fairly social, knew everyone, and kind of moved in-between cliques. I give up too easily I think, that is the same. Enjoyed dancing, watching TV, smile a lot, all that is the same. The biggest changes are now I appreciate beautiful things more, things that have to do with the senses: nature, comfort, sunshine, music, it all is more majestic, more awesome. I used to just take it all for granted, like of course these things exist, but now I look at it all through new eyes for some reason. I would say I am angrier in the last 15 years, mostly to do with my medical problems and frustrations with the medical community. It puts me a little more on edge overall. I can quickly slide down into a pit of frustration when something triggers me. When I was a kid I had nothing like that. I catch myself in that state and hate it, hate I have become that person.

Interesting question :) I’ve a lot of the same traits now that I had as a kid. I’m happy in my own company, friendly and I still have that feisty streak. I was always such a little worrier and that’s something that has remained with me, although I’m getting better at dealing with that. I was one of the most insecure kids I know and that crops up every now and again. I’m learning though. The little me will always be a part of me :-)

For sure. I am very in touch with my 4 year old self. haha
Infact I have a pic of my 3 year old self on the fridge I made from an old negative last year.
I still have a devilish grin, a gleam in my eye and don’t like to sit still. lol
I still love Play Doh, blowing bubbles and am addicted to stupid party favors. Only now I drink wine and have a happy brownie in my big girl pool. lolol

Yep, very much, even now.
In addition, I often see things that I would have said or done as a child coming from my own children these days…and while they certainly aren’t little clones they sure do mirror (to me) both the best and the worst aspects of my personality from time to time.

Yes indeed. I was always very quiet, polite, and well behaved.
I’m also still extremely stubborn and lack confidence and self-esteem…

Yep. I still instantly think people are actively bothered by my sheer existence unless they give me lots of strokes.

Pretty much the same person now as then . . .

When I was little, I was overly trusting, very forgiving and wanted everyone to get along—played the peacekeeper quite a bit. I was extremely empathetic and really, really loved my friends, family, things, books—I loved hard, laughed hard and cried hard—I really felt my emotions. On the other hand, I was very active, never sat still, was very unaware of my effect on others, talked peoples’ ears off, was nicknamed both Chatty Cathy and Livewire—I didn’t stay upset for long. Ah, I loved my risks too!

I received so much criticism for all these qualities through my life—too sensitive, too talkative, too involved, too forgiving, too this and that… So, as a result, when I feel safe, I express my true inner-self and most of these qualities still come out. They’re still in me, but I’ve learned to protect myself and choose when to express myself.

I spent most of my childhood just trying to survive, waiting for the next horrible thing to happen, and I don’t remember huge chunks of it. Some very basic things haven’t changed… for instance, I still love to read and still need a lot of alone time. Other than that, I’m a lot different.

I was shy and quiet as a kid, and I liked being alone. That still happens now, except now I keep having to try to find reasons to explain it. :/ Never needed reasons as a kid, I could probably learn something from me when I was little.

I think I worked out of wanting to being the center of attention all the time. I’m still a clown. I grew up and became friends with my 2 younger brothers after being resentful of them all through childhood. I still like to make things with my hands, only then it was all kinds of crafts; now, it’s cooking. I was much more self-centered as a child than I am now, but I learned to be generous. I still love to sing, only I’ve gotten much better at it. I still work at being a better person than I am.

I have changed very little over the years. I have always been quiet, serious and a little dreamy.

I am probably so not answering this question correctly! But I had a flash back of me when I was a kid that lead to half an hour of belly laugh. You jolted a memory. When I was a kid starting from no idea what age, I used to “roll” my head back and forth until I fell asleep. I loved it so much I would chance my luck in the car. I can still see my dad in the rear view mirror saying stop it. I must have looked mad and also must have driven everyone nuts, as I rolled my head back an forth on the back seat of the car during journeys. I really made an effort to stop when my parents said “Imagine her poor husband?”. I was only about eight at that time. And I realized my “rolling” was over. I sometimes wake up doing it now in my sleep. Yes I know, I am odd!!

The kid I was never really left me. I have always suffered from anxiety, the earliest I remember that being an issue was about 5 or 6 years old and it’s never really eased for me. Many of the things that comforted me then still do so today (sitting on a swing or having a cuddle with a big dog for example). My interests haven’t changed agreat deal either, I still love things like Winne The Pooh, singing in the bath, watching a documentary (I loved watching documentaries with my dad as a kid), the theatre and being with animals. I may have matured but I haven’t grown up!

@stardust You just described me as a child!

Of course, rollerblading, risk-taking, uncautious stupidhead is still overly present! I’m like Peter Pan, I’ll never grow up!

The only parts of me that have survived are my love of horses, art and reading. The rest… all I can say is thank god I’m not like that any more.

A lot’s changed, the majority through choice, but not the sense of wonder and adventure or the ability to find joy in simplicity. Those have only grown.

How would I describe me as a child….boisterous and really smart. Kind of bossy. I thought it was completely stupid to be afraid to speak up about your opinion. I’d say the bullying I experienced knocked that out of me pretty thoroughly. I became pretty quiet for a long time. These days I’m in between. I’m not obnoxiously loud like I was as a kid, haha; I’ll wait until I have something at least mildly interesting to say before talking, but I’m not so afraid of saying something stupid like I was for a long time after I got bullied. I’m still smart and have my love for math and science, which have been my favorite subjects in school for as long as I can remember.

One interesting thing that I have noticed is I’m pretty good at getting back into my child brain and seeing things through mini-me’s eyes. Like this one time, my sister and I were looking through some of the papers our parents saved from when we were kids, and I found this odd marker drawing. The lines were all covered in speckles. I looked at it for a moment and then realized, I know what’s going on here. I was trying to make a dot-to-dot for myself. When my parents tell funny stories about me as a kid, I can usually remember the thought processes I went through to think whatever I did was a good idea. I really like that I still have access to my child brain like that. Sometimes you need to think like a child again.

Well, when I was a child I was just a little bookish ;)

But yes, I do still find the child I was in my personality. I am just light years more self aware of why I am the way I am, and I take much better care of the child these days.

Ever since I was a child, I’ve been confident in social situations yet a total introvert. I’ve had an easier time making friends with people older than me. I’ve been good at leading when I have to, yet prefer to collaborate and delegate. I’ve been anxious and prone to depression since I was very little. I’ve had a very, very active imagination (preferring imaginative games rather than sports or competitive games) and I’ve been empathetic and have had loose ego-boundaries. I did have some friends as a child, but I’ve most often been alone, and had to get used to my own company.

@Mariah, That’s really cool to hear that you still have access to your child brain! That is just impossible for me. I have felt for a long time, that trying to access my child mind is like trying to read a cassette with a CD player… The memories just aren’t compatible anymore. There’s a lot of my childhood I’ve blocked out as well, so that might have something to do with it.

The person I was as a child is still very present in me as an adult. I was creative, imaginative, caring, brave, determined, affectionate and fairly stoic (amongst many other things).

I remember having a strong sense of justice. Even as a young child if I thought someone was not being treated right, I would stand up for them. Even against much bigger kids and I would tell my Dad if I felt he was being unfair too. I remember him saying one of his philosophies as a parent was he believed children should have the right to discuss their punishment. He might not change his mind but you should have the right to put forward your case. I suspect he must have regretted that at times with me because I certainly did tell him and I wasn’t likely to back down if I believed my point of view was right.

@ucme You’re still 4 feet tall?

I was always a tall kid, tiny wee feet though strangely enough.