Besides the obvious answer of making money, or rather, how would you do it as an 8 year old? What else would you do?
Be kinder to my younger brother.
Hug my mom
After that I’d probably start the process of establishing that I’m trans, and I’d actually study and put effort into applying to good schools as time goes on.
I’d spend a lot of its mourning that I’d never be able to replicate my daughter as she is now. I could time it right to get the right egg, but how many wanks, exactly, and when did I have? How could I possibly even guarantee the right sperm even if I manage to secure the same payload?
Probably instead just ride the bitcoin wave hard as hell and start my own game dev company.
Also I’d be better equipped towards mad anxiety disorder. That shit absolutely ruined my life and it took about 3 years before I realised something was actually wrong.
In 1976 give mom and dad a list of large corporations to buy stock in for for my Christmas and birthday gifts. Well into adulthood, buy Bitcoin. Tell my grandmother to go to her doctor and start cancer treatments.
1979 for me and that is exactly what I’m thinking.
Convince my parents to put all their money in some fruit company about apples.
First, I would convince some of those old crazy ass mercenaries that my uncle used to hang out with that Donald Trump touched me. This would be in 1992. Then I’d work my ass off mowing lawns and doing chores and saving every bit of money I could, invest in apple and other big stocks that I could get as they came out before they hit big, id sell them and invest in Tesla before Elon could get in on it, and Bitcoin. Id use my wealth to invest in solar so that it takes off earlier. Create a Superfund to counter lobbyists like the dark roofing lobby. What a completely asinine thing. Just switch to making white roofing materials? Use my wealth and power to become president, reverse citizens United and bring back a 90% tax on the wealthiest people. (Yes, Including myself.) Boom. World saved.
How would you make that claim believable? Did you have access to Trump (or rather, did he ever have access to you)? It’s a nice plan, but saying it without plausibility sounds like a one way ticket to not being believed about this or anything else ever…
My uncle worked for a publishing company that published all kinds of magazines including guns n ammo, and some other more specific one for mercs though I can’t remember the name. And I’ve met a LOT of those psychos back then. It doesn’t really take much more than an accusation to get them going from 0-100. But yeah my grandparents had money and took us on big, expensive trips about every 6 months. 3x to NYC, 3X fishing trips to Alaska, 2X trips to Norway/Sweden, 2x to London, 1x to Paris, Berlin, new Orleans, Grand canyon, Everglades etc. More than enough for those whackos. Honestly, exposure to those guys is probably a big part in why I joined the army before I grew more as a person and learned empathy.
Edit: as a young kid I remember hearing conversations about things such as “best thing to decapitate someone with” and “funniest death” that’s not who I wanted to be when I joined the army or anything, but I wanted to be a hero. I wanted to save people who couldn’t save themselves, and had delusional ideals that we were the good guys and I could save good people by hurting bad people. It wasn’t about idolizing those people, I knew they were crazy even when I was a kid. Just an explanation that it wasn’t about some fucked up fantasy or something.
Talk my mom into putting us into a better school. Cry because I have to be a kid again. Be an academic hyperachiever, then get ridiculously early onset Alzheimer’s at like 30 years old.
I’d have a serious conversation with my parents about the less obvious symptoms of ADD. (It didn’t have an H back then)
Besides that, I often wonder what I would do when I meet my ex wife. Avoiding her would save me trouble down the road, but then my three amazing kids would never exist and if the reset happened tomorrow, I’d have so many unanswered questions of whatever happened to them in that other timeline.
Your kids wouldn’t exist if any tiny change was made to the timeline at all. You having the memories of an older self at age 8 would certainly be enough to do it. Fortunately, it’s just hypothetical.
Possibly. I do have enough information that I could easily find my ex, even if I didn’t take the same path between age 8 and the day I met her.
For example if I studied harder and got into a better college, I still know which one she went to, and where she would hang out. I guess the biggest possible flaw of trying to recreate them would be which sperm hit which egg and how much of a difference that might make.
Actually, I’ve already raised three kids, maybe I’ll just spring for a vasectomy at 18.
Yeah, super weird. As an 8 year old, my future wife would be 3…
Ok, so now you got me wondering how creepy it is to start dating in junior high with adult brains.
I could probably honestly convince at least one of my parents of the situation, they were both big woo woo sci-fi nerds.
After that, I have a pretty good memory and could take advantage of strategic stock purchases and entering technologies.
Yeah, my father would believe me, especially after I just tell him exactly what he’s been doing.
This will unfortunately cause a divorce several years early but probably for the best.
Could get in literally at the earliest for bitcoin. And just “yeah apple is going to do…a lot. Get on that”
I am sure I would start out trying to excel and impress people but I’d very quickly become depressed and lazy because I can’t relate to anyone my age and school would be stupidly easy. I’d probably play more videogames
Immediately begin my global takeover. 1983 would never know what was about to happen. By 1990, the world would be mine.
Does my depression also go back in time?
If it’s part of your mind, unfortunately.
Estrogen. If that plan fails (and it probably would) then DIY orchiectomy. And if that plan fails (and it might) or is otherwise counteracted then I would die by my own hand.
The situation of my eight-year-old self is antithetical to the being of my current mind. My knowledge and understanding would force me to take certain paths and many of them lead to situations beyond my make-it-stop threshold. Is it better to walk to one’s doom unknowingly, or to be dragged beaten ragged and screaming into the confinement of hell?
Go see Star Wars in the theater again. :)
Gosh, I don’t even know. To be back in that traumatizing household?
I wouldn’t make it very long, I don’t think.
Maybe I’d steal some money and run away to a different country before 9/11 makes everything harder.
