What "youthful mistakes" tell us
A lot of talk right now about how we shouldn't judge someone based on their "youthful mistakes". Or at least, not let "youthful mistakes" ruin current prospects, twenty and more years later...
Because, of course, we've all made them.
Most of us do dumb shit when we're young. Most of us make a few poor choices.
But see, here's the thing:
What kind of dumb shit did you do?
Me, I mooned after rock n' roll bands, hitchhiked to concert venues, absorbed mood-altering substances, turned down some help I might have benefited from, spent money I didn't have, lied to my parents about who my friends were and what we were doing, went to a wapatuli party at the ag frat, told no one about being sexually assaulted, turned down help (again) for depression, stayed in some pretty shitty jobs, did a couple of sex-related things I'd be terribly embarrassed about if pictures ever surfaced... there may be more but that's the stuff that sticks in my memory.
You know what I didn't do?
Assault anyone.
Bully anyone (except myself).
Deny anyone their basic human rights.
Deliberately try to injure someone else's reputation or get them into trouble.
I'm not saying I have no amends to make from that period of my life. I've made some, I'll make more when it's possible. People do hurt each other without intent, and thoughtlessness can have some dismaying unintended consequences.
I have no ambitions for the type of public service that would require a high-level security clearance or scrupulous examination of past errors and their implications, but if I were called to such, I hope I could be forthright about it, and let others decide whether the character I've accumulated over my entire life, and the actions I've taken, both stupid and hopefully better-considered, both youthfully and in maturity, made me suited for such service.
No one is exempt from making youthful mistakes. Examining the TYPE of youthful mistake is the important thing. What does it say about a person's character then? And can you see, in the years since then, whether that character has grown in the same direction, or taken a different course?
meditatively,
Bright
= new reply since forum marked as read
