A friend recently asked me, "What would 5-year-old Sabrina want in life?"
I sat there picturing 5-year-old Sabrina.
(Here she is below, I mean pretty adorable if I do say so myself)
What worries did I have back then?
Who did I picture I would become?
Would that little girl in this picture be proud of who I am today?
Like most millennials, I grew up feeling all my feels alongside Adele. She is one year older than I am, almost to the day, so her progression of feelings, emotions, internal battles were something I could genuinely feel because I, too, was there in life.
When the song "Hello" came out, I was working at a bar on Friday nights until 1 AM, and there is nothing that a drunk 21-year-old loves more than what they think is a heartbreak belt-out song, so this song was played often.
I recently came across an interview where Adele explains the lyrics to the song, and boy, did it hit more profoundly for me as a 32-year-old than it did for the group of 21-year-olds drunk on a Friday night after their first heartbreak.
Adele explained that this song was her trying to reconnect with herself.
Adele says, "When I was 7, I wanted to be 8. When I was 8, I wanted to be 12. When I turned 12, I wanted to be 18. I always wanted to be older. I wanted to be shorter, too. I was 5'9", but I wanted to be 5'7". I always wanted to be someone else."
She is talking to herself. She is talking to the younger version of her asking herself the same questions that we ask ourselves, would you be proud of who I am today?
Here are Adele’s lyrics. Read them again knowing she is speaking to her younger self.
Hello, it's me
I was wondering if after all these years you'd like to meet
To go over everything
They say that time's supposed to heal ya
But I ain't done much healing
Hello, can you hear me?
I'm in California dreaming about who we used to be
When we were younger and free
I've forgotten how it felt before the world fell at our feet
There's such a difference between us
And a million miles
Hello from the other side
I must've called a thousand times
To tell you I'm sorry for everything that I've done
But when I call, you never seem to be home
Hello from the outside
At least I can say that I've tried
To tell you I'm sorry for breaking your heart
But it don't matter, it clearly doesn't tear you apart anymore
So, let's change the lyrics to fit caregiving and the situation that we are finding ourselves in and then ask ourselves if we will be proud of who we will become after who we are today.
Hello, can you hear me?
I'm ELBOWS DEEP IN MAKING APPOINTMENTS AND MEDICATION REFILLS
dreaming about who we used to be
When we were younger and free
I've forgotten how it felt before WE PUT EVERYONE BEFORE 'ME'
There's such a difference between us
And a million miles
Hello from the CAREGIVINGside
I WILL PROBABLY CALL a thousand times
To tell you I'm sorry for everything that I PUT LAST FOR US
But when I call, you never seem to be home
Hello from the CAREGIVING
At least I can say that I've tried
To tell you I'm sorry for NEVER COMING FIRST
I HOPE THAT NOW IT DOES NOT MATTER AND YOUR HAPPINESS CAN BURST
HELLO FROM THE CAREGIVING SIDE
I HOPE YOU KNOW THAT I REALLY TRIED
TO MAKE SURE YOU LOOKED HAPPY ON THE OUTSIDE
BUT MY GOAL IS THAT NOW YOU'VE FOUND A WAY TO BE HAPPY ON THE INSIDE
HELLO FROM THE OUTSIDE
BELIEVE ME, I KNOW YOU WANTED TO PROVIDE
THE CARE FOR EVERYONE ELSE
AND I PROMISE YOU NOW I COME FIRST.
What would you want to tell your younger self? Would they be proud?
Now, keep that in mind and remember one day this will be the younger version of you. Will the future you be proud of who you are TODAY? What can you do to make sure that you in the future is HAPPY, HEALTH, and PROUD of YOU?!
BE THAT PERSON, BE THAT VERSION, BE THE PERSON TODAY THAT THE PERSON TOMORROW WILL BE PROUD TO HAVE KNOWN.
