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cross-posted from: https://sh.itjust.works/post/44187272

Besides the obvious answer of making money, or rather, how would you do it as an 8 year old? What else would you do?

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[-] Matriks404@lemmy.world 2 points 3 hours ago

I wouldn't spend so much fucking time on a fucking computer... maybe.

[-] Duamerthrax@lemmy.world 3 points 10 hours ago* (last edited 10 hours ago)

Fix my education path. No compromises. No getting gaslighted.

If they won't officially give me my classes, I'll sit in the right ones until they either give them to me or kick me out.

Edit: Also, try and stop the Brook Brothers Riots.

[-] HiddenLayer555@lemmy.ml 2 points 10 hours ago* (last edited 2 hours ago)

Do I keep my language skills?

Then have a normal childhood with normal social interactions in Canada instead of the awkward immigrant who can barely speak. Also potentially get diagnosed with autism as a kid because I kind suspect of the language barrier masked some of the symptoms.

[-] manuallybreathing@lemmy.ml 3 points 13 hours ago

Take a water bottle on an airplane, buy stock in apple, and send the money to the PFLP

[-] ArsonButCute@lemmy.dbzer0.com 3 points 17 hours ago

Transition at 10, as soon as the egg cracks.

[-] ur_ONLEY_freind@lemmy.zip 2 points 18 hours ago* (last edited 18 hours ago)

Graduate early and then use my future knowledge to make a shit ton of money as early as I can, Then retire and finally relax for once in my two lives

[-] UltraGiGaGigantic@lemmy.ml 2 points 20 hours ago* (last edited 20 hours ago)

I would actually follow through with that suicide i was thinking of back in the day. I think about it today also, but I used to as well.

Life ain't worth the squeeze, and im not adding an additional 30 years to my shift on earth.

[-] solidsnake@lemmy.ml 2 points 18 hours ago

Sorry to hear that even if you had the advantage of having the wisdom of a 38 year old at 8 you still don't find life worth living. I disagree, but can sympathize with the cynicism. I hope you find something akin to peace.

[-] JayJLeas@lemmy.world 2 points 22 hours ago

Transition earlier.
Try to get away from my abusive parents.
Do certain things to meet my best friends earlier and convince them.
Stand up for myself more.
Spend more time with my grandparents.

I've thought about it a lot

[-] untorquer@lemmy.world 6 points 1 day ago

Depends on whether that's 8yo now or back when I was 8.

In either case, a lot more fucking around as a teenager and a lot less fucking around in my 20's.

[-] Cowbee@lemmy.ml 10 points 1 day ago

I wouldn't change a thing, otherwise I wouldn't be able to meet my partner.

[-] Matriks404@lemmy.world 1 points 3 hours ago

Imagine going back in time thinking you will be able to get the same partner but earlier, but after like few minutes of conversation it turns out that the other person thinks you are a fucking creep and doesn't want to have anything to do with you ever. It would be a fucking nightmare.

[-] Cowbee@lemmy.ml 1 points 3 hours ago

Yep, for us it only worked precisely due to a ton of branching choices changing who we are and how we lived our lives prior to meeting.

[-] electric_nan@lemmy.ml 1 points 6 hours ago

Aww that's very sweet. I know exactly where and when I met my partner though, and I could show up to the meeting way better prepared for our life together :)

[-] Cowbee@lemmy.ml 2 points 4 hours ago

Great! For us, so many things had to go right and wrong for us to meet each other at the right place, right time, and right frame of mind. Honestly any slight change could have led us to never meeting or never liking each other.

[-] victorz@lemmy.world 11 points 1 day ago

[Panics trying to remember every "correct" move since I was 8]

[-] Cowbee@lemmy.ml 9 points 1 day ago

Yea, lol. Would be awful!

[-] fxomt@lemmy.dbzer0.com 7 points 1 day ago* (last edited 1 day ago)

I'd try to be less sensitive and socially awkward, since that's how i was when i was younger and it affected me heavily later on.

I'd also try to be a better person to all my ex-friends, and give them more attention; try not to drift away.

Besides that? I don't know. Nothing, I guess. I wouldn't go back to being 8 even if i had a choice, tbh. I don't miss those times.

[-] danciestlobster@lemmy.zip 5 points 1 day ago

The real answer

[-] brucethemoose@lemmy.world 27 points 1 day ago* (last edited 1 day ago)

Holy heck, I’d be highly aware of being somewhere on the autism/add spectrum. That would change everything even if I just knew that.

An example: I actually mined bitcoin when I was a kid, on 2x HD 6850s.

And… lost it, in the depths of some old partition with files everywhere :/. I didn’t take any of that seriously.

I’d have kept a bunch of friends too.

[-] BlueSquid0741@lemmy.sdf.org 6 points 1 day ago

Probably be catatonic. This kind of stress, self-doubt and loathing require those extra 32 years of building resilience. Transplant it into 8 year old me and he just shuts off I imagine.

[-] inb4_FoundTheVegan@lemmy.world 4 points 1 day ago

Transition decades earlier. Or more precisely have the courage, vocabulary and fortitude to stand up to my religious mother and bigoted father. I always knew what I wanted, but they both insisted on doing football and weight lifting, no matter how out of place and unnatural those environments felt to me.

[-] Fizz@lemmy.nz 6 points 1 day ago

Probably aquire as much money as I could because money = power. I'd hide it from my parents because i know they would take it(they needed it more than 8yr me)

With all the knowledge i have now i cant go back to being a kid. I'd have to try my best to make use of the unique position and influence the future as best I can.

I'd probably spend my money trying to run political advertising to prevent the conservatives from getting into power. Using knowledge of the new mediums and how grass roots the internet is.

[-] monovergent@lemmy.ml 22 points 1 day ago
  1. Be intellectually ahead of everyone my age
  2. Become an outcast
  3. Become depressed 😭

More optimistically, I would stop complaining about my bedtime, take better care of my teeth, and join a sports program. Try not to be a perfectionist and put more time toward proper hobbies instead of wasting away on the internet. I'd also treasure my time with my parents a lot more than I did back when I was 8. They're still around for me, but man do I wish I had more time to spend with them.

[-] TherapyGary@lemmy.blahaj.zone 12 points 1 day ago

I used to think about this a lot and, despite having largely resolved my relevant trauma now, I think my answer is still the same.

I would try to convince my parents that I'm the Antichrist, and if that didn't work, I'd just stab my dad

[-] SlartyBartFast@sh.itjust.works 14 points 1 day ago
[-] TheLeadenSea@sh.itjust.works 3 points 1 day ago

Did you have access to crypto as an 8 year old? Or would you just wait until you were older?

[-] clot27@lemmy.zip 2 points 1 day ago

I would kms if that happened

this post was submitted on 15 Aug 2025
38 points (89.6% liked)

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