Human nature, ego's, and role models.

[Fascinate]

This is completely random and i dont even know why i thought of this, but i am going to present to you a scenario i recall from my childhood and you are free to label me as you see fit.

1997


I am 16 years old and had just gotten a new car that my dad bought me after driving a pos for a year. My dad was a self employed mechanic at the time, mother worked at a factory manufacturing AC units for large business and i had a girlfriend going on about a year at this point (not sure that is relevant lol).

So one day the water pump goes out on my car, and i decide to fix it myself without even consulting my MECHANIC father. He happens to come into the garage at the same time i was fixing the pump just to see why i was in the garage i assume, and i remember snapping at him when he attempted to give advice (i remember him being a bit upset as well, and im sure it was great advice) but i wanted none of it.

Now, i am just trying to figure out how a 16 year old me could have acted in such a way as this. My dad has now been gone for a good many years but that really isnt relevant to the story, i just want to know how i was that snot nosed and ignorant not to accept advice from one of the smartest people ive ever run across in life (talking real common sense smarts here, not the "smart" people you see on tv everyone loves to celebrate, celebrity scientists come to mind here).

I listed the title as i did because i could not figure out of the three possibilities i could come up with which was correct:

1. It was human nature to disregard my fathers advice for...whatever reason?
2. I had an ego at 16 years old (god i hope not lol)
3. Role model question is a bit deeper. I never found a role model in life, was this because i was never searching for one or did simply none pop up during my childhood.

Anywho, just a bit of rambling lol.

[Dezerte]

1 and 3, a little 2 perhaps as well. It's complicated, but "rebelling" at the status quo (your father) is normal and something we see in many many other animals as well.

[Slant]

You don't need to look for a role model to have one. As for your personal situation, I think everyone went through a phase or problem in their life that they wanted to solve themselves. Snapping at your dad wasn't nice, but I'm sure he understood that you wanted to prove yourself that you could do it, if only because the mechanical problem and the solution peaked your interest. It's rather boring to watch other people do work, but it can be really interesting to do it yourself and figure out how to solve it. Ego? Doesn't necessary come into play here, sometimes it's just that we're faced with a puzzle or task and enjoy doing it for the sake of doing it.

[Fascinate]

I can understand that logic, i just get hung up that my father was an actual mechanic lol. Maybe 4 should be an option, i was an idiot.

[Independent voter]

At 16 a person knows everything, 16 year olds will often say "damn, I know all there is to know." It's only during their 20's do they realize they are becoming more and more stupid as time passes.

[Fascinate]

At 16 a person knows everything, 16 year olds will often say "damn, I know all there is to know." It's only during their 20's do they realize they are becoming more and more stupid as time passes.

I really did think i was a genius at that age, why is that? I actually get nauseous thinking back on some of the cringe things i did back then.

[Sierra85]

I actually get nauseous thinking back on some of the cringe things i did back then.

I think most of us have a period of our lives we look back at and cringe, so it's only human. SOme of the things i did and said I can't even imagine saying or doing now. It's almost like a different person, or like my conciousness wasn't there.

[Fascinate]

I think most of us have a period of our lives we look back at and cringe, so it's only human. SOme of the things i did and said I can't even imagine saying or doing now. It's almost like a different person, or like my conciousness wasn't there.

It kind of makes you think tho, is what i am thinking now correct lol? If i was so off when i was 16, am i off by a less disgusting margin now?

[Dezerte]

It kind of makes you think tho, is what i am thinking now correct lol? If i was so off when i was 16, am i off by a less disgusting margin now?

Second-guessing yourself will keep you on your toes, but take care to not go to far into that direction so that you lose your confidence. Be fair to yourself.

[Doomislav]

I think most people (myself definately included) look back at their teenage selves and realize that they were self centered and ungrateful.

[Powerogue]

Teenagers have been rebelling against their parents since the beginning of civilization, and probably before. As you've demonstrated, the "oh crap I really underestimated how much my parents actually knew about things" tends to kick in several years later after you've had a taste of being an adult yourself.

It kind of makes you think tho, is what i am thinking now correct lol? If i was so off when i was 16, am i off by a less disgusting margin now?

Ideally. As long as you keep an open mind growing up it might even keep trending in that positive direction. It would be great if 20 years from now you were able to see that same level of self-improvement.