I Mixed Up Passion With Fantasy

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This is a wonderful prompt, and I love it because it has pushed me into self-reflection.
I have reflected on so many things that have happened in my life right from the year I began having explicit childhood memories.
If I'm to go back to any of these years then it'll be my sixteenth. I'd love to go back, if possible together with time, to set things right.

I'd love to go back to make the right decisions I couldn't make at that time.
I can still remember when I finished high school. While waiting for admission into the university, I was asked to choose which trade/skills I would love to learn.
So many things came into my head, but I finally settled on hairdressing.
This decision of mine was made out of fantasy.
I knew I loved fashion, but I didn't know which circle of fashion I belonged.

What attracted me then was colors. Beautiful extensions and dyes.
I wanted to derive joy by making people beautiful, so I thought.
I do not regret it, I still love seeing beautiful hair and makeup. But not as then.
The reason is that I can't make my hair. I do make nice wigs for myself though but I’d love to plait myself those beautiful long braids.

Now if I were to go back and make that decision again, I would choose fashion and design, sewing in particular. Then I would be able to create and wear my styles.
Unlike hairdressing, sewing is done in one's free time, night or day. It doesn't matter as long as you meet up with the deadline.

If I could go back in time and give my younger self advice, I'd still choose my sixteenth, down to eighteenth. Because that was like a free time for me, a time I would have used to discover myself.

I would love to advise my younger self to spend quality time with my siblings.
Maybe I would have been able to teach them one or two. Something important that will make them smile whenever they remember it.
“I learned this from my sister, while we were teenagers”, words like this.
But I spent those years traveling around, enjoying my adventures.
It was always from school to one place or the other for a holiday. I forgot I was supposed to spend enough time with my siblings too.
Now we are all grown-ups, living in different places and only meeting on holidays. And on some holidays we don't meet at all.
I now yearn for their presence every day, wishing we could go back to those days when we didn't have responsibilities besides having fun.

I wish time could be reversed, so we can go back to living together as a family.
And then I’d choose not to spend my holidays elsewhere but home.

However, these are all wishes, because time can never be reversed, instead, it keeps running forward, and we hurry every day so to meet up with ‘time’.

I am still striving to make up for the things I couldn't do. I readily grab every opportunity I see to spend time with my siblings.
I'm still hoping that I will learn how to sew, sooner or later. Whenever the opportunity comes.
So the three pieces of advice I would love to give my sixteenth are simple;
• Learn to make the right decisions,
• Value and spend your time with family,
• Don't be driven by fantasy, have a long-term vision that is based on self-discovery.

This is because I have now realized that some decisions if not well made can lead one astray. It can delay one's achievement or destiny.
I have come to understand myself a bit, at least I now know what I love and what I hate.
I can now tell the difference between passion and fantasy. They look alike.

The importance of having quality time with family can not be overemphasized.
I feel these little things would have made me happier and more satisfied.

Here is the link if you want to take part in this prompt.

Thank you for reading, for your time and support.