It's been thirty years since this photo was taken - I've not changed a bit.
Well, maybe I've changed just a little, but not very much.
Ok, possibly more than a bit. Way more than a bit probably.
I've actually changed a whole lot...but for the better. So I'm still me, but changed...for the better.
Oh, in case you're not quite sure, I'm the one holding the bolt action 30-06 rifle.
I was twenty five years old when this shot was taken; out hunting with a mate after being away from home doing my job for a fairly long time.
We were above the New South Wales/Queensland border directly north of the small outback town of Bourke and between the two map-dot outback towns of Cuttaburra and Cunnamulla in Queensland. The massive cattle station is about 1,300 kilometres from where I live and we'd headed there for a week to do some pig hunting and camping - it seems like a lifetime ago.
I was looking for something specific the other day - a photo that I wanted to show my girlfriend from back when I was a young chap, and I found this one. I didn't show her as she'd not appreciate the dead pig image but showed her a few others that she found quite amusing and pleasing - mostly because I've not changed all that much to look at in those intervening years which is due to a good lifestyle I guess, and good genes from my parents.
It made me think about what had changed and I realised so many things have changed over time that it's difficult to list them all - it was easier to list what hadn't changed as there's less of them.
I'm not going to go into it all, but things like my work ethic, dedication to duty, discipline, sense of honour and integrity, my ability to take on difficult things and to protect that which needs protecting have remained the same as has my ability to stay the course but pivot when required; these things and others endure or have become more refined and honed. I'm also pleased to say my sense of humour is largely unchanged, maybe it's a more dry type of humour now though - my girlfriend tolerates it well thankfully.
Thinking on the changes time has wrought in me and what's remained the same, I think they all sort of come together well and are driven by getting older and experiences over time.
I wonder about yourselves though.
What changes have you seen in yourself over time and what has remained the same? Have the changes been positive or negative and, willful or by chance and are there things about you that you wish had stayed the same? Feel free to comment about your personal thoughts on it or just comment generally on this post if you'd like to.
Design and create your ideal life, tomorrow isn't promised - galenkp
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Image(s) in this post are my own
Sometimes I look back and think where has the years gone? It seems like nothing has changed. I've suddenly jumped from 30 to now, I'm still with the same person, still carefree with no family responsibility, still feeling young at heart. The biggest difference is now I can choose not to get up at 7am to go to work and still enjoy life. Oh, I can't fit in a lot of clothes from even 5 years ago, but let's not worry about that ☺️
Young at heart is a good feeling; I don't feel my age in that way often wondering how I can be the same mischievous person I was when I was a kid...not all the time, I'm actually far more serious than I should be, but it's still there. My wife gets to see it though. My girlfriend and mistress too. (She might all be the same person so no judgement ok.)
Choice is a big one, I enjoy that also, but it doesn't come cheaply or without effort; not for me anyway. Nothing I have has been handed to me, I've worked hard to be in the position I am and although it's been more than 30 years of hard work it's been in the last 30 that the work-rate has increased with the eye on the prize, the endgame...which is not an end but just another beginning right?
As for the clothes, I'm sitting typing this wearing a t-shirt I bought in March 2015 and am still filling it out well. It's actually my favourite one, tattered and battered and my girlfriend says I should chuck it out, but I love it. The Levi's I wear might be 34's instead of 32's now but together with this t-shirt I still manage to get at least one lady to look (my wife) - the only one I wan to look anyway.
Our endurance levels certainly increases as we age and I find myself to be more patient than my young hood. One other thing I notice now is that in young time, our body was capable of taking stress, but as we grow, its very important to stay calm and deal with things happily, patiently - just do as much as you can and don't bother about things that is outside of our control.
Are you happy with how you've aged or do you wish you were younger still?
Yes, I am happy with how I have aged, but still try to do more which I need to control.
There's always more to do...when there's no more to do you're dead.
Few pounds more, shit ton of gray hairs more. Same fucking idiot underneath it all. But I am still damn Handsome.
I could say the same...not many more pounds but a few. The grey...yeah, more than a few and the fuckingindiotness? That's never changed.
Me right around 30 years ago. Dammit Man that truck was awesome.!! And even back then I had a cat on the dashboard. A stuffed Garfield.
Fucken Garfield, he knows what's up.
"I love sleep. My life has a tendency to be interrupted by amazing things like eating and needing to pee." - Garfield
Hope this comment finds Cleo happy and healthy?
My Samantha was just lying beside me here in the sleeper bunk on what Might be our last few days in this old blue freightliner coronado penske racing hauler prime mover.
Delivery of this truck to its new owners is set for this weekend. Waiting for funds to clear HIS BANK ACCOUNT. So cash can be given to me upon delivery of truck and title. 🤞😉🤞
All good here mostly, Cleo is wat hijg the same nature show I'm watching, hilarious way hkng how intently she wat he's the animals and birds.
This weekend hey? That's good, the end of an era I'd say.
End of an era. Beginning of the final chapter.
Bittersweet. I have had a love hate relationship with this truck. I still miss the Kay Dubbya.
Youth days are the most important and energetic phase of life, which lay the foundation for personal growth, and a bright future. You didn't changed much except being more 'macho' and 'more responsible'. From youth to adulthood, is an exciting yet challenging journey of self-discovery, taking responsibility and establishing oneself in various aspects of life. You made it to the phase in a great way. Every experince in life teaches us some important lessons . Mine is not different, facing critical situation with calmness is typical lesson that brought in me..quite a passive aspect.
Do you feel you've developed and progressed positively? Do you ever look back at a younger and wish you did things differently?
I like the way i have grown into. It was a positive and mindful in every aspect.
Being happy with one's progression is a good thing to be able to say; it's like an extra layer of benefit that's come from one's hard work and effort.
That true, Happiness comes from within
I also have basically the same sense of humor, it hasn't change much, just that as youth one had more occasions to use it
The effort I put in the things is also the same, I do things well or not at all, just that I expected work to be more effort-rewarding back then, so the effort there now is limited
I wish health would have remain the same and I didn't met a scumbug doctor, also less constant pressures pushing me everyday now compared to back then
That boar in a BBQ must have been paradise, I need to note your house as a point in my future Australia trip!
Health is always the big one for sure. I sometimes lament not being as fit now as I was pre-35 years old but I try...it just requires more work...and even then I can't get close. 🫤
If you're coming to Australia, don't knock on my door unannounced, won't probably go well. Lol. Just let me know ahead of time. 😊
Metabolism is just way faster before the 35-ish,so you burn everything easier, then we start to slow down so same burn needs more effort
Haha I don't like either when people come without pre-alerting, so it's not something I do, I even warn my parents every time
Ah yes, metabolism. I remember being 35...only just though, was so long ago. 😁
110 years ago if I remember well🤔
Haha, yeah that's right! You have a good memory.
Your looking good after all these years, at least better than that hog.
Biggest change is how I make decisions. Used to be reactive. Now I sit with things, probably too long sometimes. Getting burned enough times will do that. Tolerance for nonsense is basically gone. I don't get angry, just done. I say my piece and move on. People believe what they want and your not changing them.
What stayed the same is my curiosity. Still want to know how things work. Love watching How they made that and fixer upper shows.
What I wish stayed the same? Health and Energy levels. Mind works fine most of the time, body doesn't cooperate like it used to. Had to restructure everything around that reality instead of fighting it. Maybe that is the biggest change after all.
Great comment man.
The experiences we have bring changes, it's unavoidable, most can be good, I mean we gain wisdom along the way and that can work to our advantage, but some can be difficult to deal with like the health changes. All we can do is work around it though right?
You are absolutely right. Maybe my stubbornness is something else that hasn't changed much. Because it took me forever to stop fighting the change in my body and figure out that I had to start working around those changes instead of fighting it.
Stubbornness = Tenacity, commitment, endurance, persistence, discipline and so on. Sure, we can stubbornly resist things and that can work to our disadvantage but stubbornness can work as an advantage too; stubbornness when it comes to not quitting for example.
Exactly 30 years ago, I was still relatively young and immature, all I could think about was my company, parties and women 😊
25 years ago I was engaged in some jobs that required only physical strength, and a little more than 20 years ago, I realized that I will not have strength all my life and I started to engage in work that involved my head.
That's when I started to use my full potential.
Honesty, cheerful spirit, concern for others, sense of humor, I have not lost, while I strengthened my integrity, raised my knowledge and gained some strong contacts, while at the same time, I got rid of low-quality contacts that would drag me back.
It's interesting, the journey one takes in life physically, emotionally and mentally; how one's thinking changes.
Also, getting rid of people that have a negative influence is smart and something to continue all the way to the end. ✅
That reflection feels both honest and grounding. Thirty years can change almost everything on the surface, yet it’s comforting to recognize those core traits that quietly stay the same :)
You're young so probably don't relate to 30 years of change from your own personal experiences but I wonder how you think you might change.
I don’t have 30 years behind me yet but I am very close to reaching 30 haha. I do think about change a lot... how perspectives shift, priorities soften, and some things you once chased quietly fall away. I imagine I’ll change less in who I am, and more in what I choose to hold onto.
In 30 years from now you'll probably not even remember what seems so important to you now, priorities certainly change.
I have no doubt about it :)
Since I was a teenager until now... I am already 47 years old... I have changed a lot, but the changes were brought about by myself because I decided to do so, and always for the better. But constancy, honesty, loyalty, sincerity and many other qualities are still intact as the values that have forged me. The changes have been mainly in terms of emotions, bringing out the inner woman who is whole, happy and positive. I am happy with the way I see myself, I love myself and that is great!
Happy and positive is a good way to be; what's made you feel that?
Discovering that the environment was affecting me and changing in terms of doing what I really liked and not family mandates. Self-knowledge helped me in the process.
It's great that there are hardly any changes in your physical appearance. That indicates that you live a peaceful, stress-free life, because when that's the case, people age quickly physically. Best wishes, my friend.
I'd not say my life was peaceful at all, quite the opposite for some of it. And as for stress, I've felt a lot as I have always worked in high-stress environments.
I have worked hard on mitigating the negative effects of that stress though, on eating well, exercising and I drink alcohol sparingly and never smoked. Put that together with a good mindset, enough sleep and a good attitude and I've managed to stay in a good place from an aging perspective. There's been changes in my physical appearance though, thankfully because I used to have the sort of face that would scare people, a really horrible face indeed. now it's less horrible.
Ha ha, well, at least you've improved since 30 years ago. One thing that really ages you is not sleeping well; that's fatal for the body. By the way, happy 2026.
Happy 2026 to you also.
The way that is blurred it almost looks like Ringo Starr. :)
Oh yeah, Ringo was a pretty good hunter back in the day. When him and the other lads were on tour he'd hunt and kill all their food. I've always tried to model myself after the great hunter that was Ringo Starr.
He was always my favorite Beatle.
I never got into the beetles, too young? Nah, just didn't and don't like their music and the hype around them. They're the Backstreet Boys of their time.
I can understand why you feel that way. I grew up on oldies, so they were a staple of my youth. I think there were other bands that were more talented, but when you dig into what John and Paul were able to do as songwriters it puts them in a whole different light for me.