"Never say never" is a mantra we usually hear in response to things like, " I will never get an A in this class." or "I will never be a doctor." It's a reminder that nothing is impossible and that we should strive to achieve our goals no matter how difficult or vast they may seem. But I like to think of it in a different way.
You see, we are human beings (shocking, I know), and by definition we are adaptable, we change and evolve. My thoughts and opinions changed from when I was in elementary school, to high school, to college. And guess what? My viewpoint on things in the world around me will change again over time. If it were up to me we would all have a stamp put on our foreheads that read "Subject to Change." (Okay, not really. But hear me out.)
Too often people forget it's okay to change your mind. We get caught up in what people will think of us if we change our mind on an issues or what that says about ourselves as people. But the truth is, we are living new experiences everyday that shape who we are, and that's amazing! We get to assimilate more of our environment as it changes and gain knowledge.
To me, "never say never" means I know that in the future I could very well change my mind. Never is a very strong word. Changing my opinion doesn't make me any less reliable or mean in any way that I don't know what I'm talking about. It just makes me human, like the rest of us. It reality this makes you stronger and wiser. It means you can step outside yourself and see where you were once wrong or rejoice in the person you used to be. You can allow yourself this much needed space to grow and make mistakes.
So that tattoo I got last year, I could end up hating it in twenty years, and that is OK.
My thoughts and opinions about Sorority girls has changed. Now I am one! That is OK.
My political viewpoints have evolved. That is OK.
I don't want to go skydiving, but that doesn't mean I won't maybe want to someday. That is OK.
Sometimes I have a general lack thereof beliefs about certain issues. That is OK. I will get there. YOU will get there.
So what do you say when you don't know what to say? When talking to others and having discussions I try to be sure to say at some point, "That is what I think now, but I know I could change my mind about it someday."
Life is too short to allow ourselves to be trapped by our egos. Allow yourself the freedom to be wrong and change your mind. Embrace the stupid choices you made years ago, because those decisions really weren't stupid at all. You once believed in the things that led you to the choices you made. That tattoo I got, even though I may want it gone years from now, I will not come to dislike it. Here is why: the meaning and beliefs it has will be a small relic of a past "me." That is beautiful. This is what I want you to take away. Be so proud of who you were and who you will become.
You are subject to change.
