{"id":13021,"date":"2026-02-23T08:42:18","date_gmt":"2026-02-23T13:42:18","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/rickollie.com\/?p=13021"},"modified":"2026-02-23T08:47:29","modified_gmt":"2026-02-23T13:47:29","slug":"lost-love-and-unchosen-roads","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/rickollie.com\/es\/2026\/02\/23\/lost-love-and-unchosen-roads\/","title":{"rendered":"Lost Love and Unchosen Roads"},"content":{"rendered":"<p class=\"has-text-align-center wp-block-paragraph\"><strong><em>Daily Prompt&#8217;s QOTD<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-text-align-center wp-block-paragraph\"><strong><em>What Advice Would You Give to Your Teenage Self?<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">This year\u2019s version of me has changed. I would offer my younger self more than in the past.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-text-align-center wp-block-paragraph\"><strong><em>Here Goes<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">I&#8217;d still tell myself that you\u2019re going to lose people. People that you love.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Not all at once. Not always to death. Some will leave by choice. Some will drift. Some will stay in your memory longer than they ever stayed in your life. Losing that first &#8216;<strong><em>real love<\/em><\/strong>&#8216; is going to feel like something inside your chest was torn out. It will take years to heal. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">But love that deep teaches you that your heart works. Don\u2019t harden because of that hurt. Don\u2019t turn your pain into proof that you shouldn\u2019t care. One day you\u2019ll understand that lost love wasn\u2019t failure.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-embed is-type-video is-provider-youtube wp-block-embed-youtube wp-embed-aspect-16-9 wp-has-aspect-ratio\"><div class=\"wp-block-embed__wrapper\">\n<span class=\"embed-youtube\" style=\"text-align:center; display: block;\"><iframe loading=\"lazy\" class=\"youtube-player\" width=\"640\" height=\"360\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/5hr64MxYpgk?version=3&#038;rel=1&#038;showsearch=0&#038;showinfo=1&#038;iv_load_policy=1&#038;fs=1&#038;hl=es-MX&#038;autohide=2&#038;start=27&#038;wmode=transparent\" allowfullscreen=\"true\" style=\"border:0;\" sandbox=\"allow-scripts allow-same-origin allow-popups allow-presentation allow-popups-to-escape-sandbox\"><\/iframe><\/span>\n<\/div><figcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\"><strong><em>Mike + The Mechanics: The Living Years<\/em><\/strong><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-text-align-center wp-block-paragraph\"><strong><em>I\u2019d tell him this too:<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">You don\u2019t have to prove how tough you are.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">People will call you strong. They\u2019ll say it like it\u2019s a compliment. What they won\u2019t see are the nights you\u2019re tired of being strong. The appointments. The waiting rooms. The moments you wish you had a choice in the matter. Strength isn\u2019t something you chase it\u2019s something that shows up when quitting isn\u2019t an option. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">You won\u2019t always have a choice. But you will always have a voice, use it. Write things down. Even the messy thoughts. Especially the messy thoughts. There will come a time when someone else is really scared. Your words will help them. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">You won\u2019t want fame. You&#8217;ll quit caring about being known. You\u2019ll just want someone to read your story and think, <em>\u201cIf he\u2019s still living, maybe I can too.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Don\u2019t wait for life to slow down before you live it. Go downtown. Take the photos. Sit on the steps. Show up to the event even if you have treatment coming. <strong><em>Cancer <\/em><\/strong>will try to measure your life in injections and scans but don&#8217;t let it. Measure it in moments, laughter and the people who stayed.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-text-align-center wp-block-paragraph\"><strong><em>Most of all, I\u2019d tell him this:<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">You\u2019re going to walk roads you never would have chosen. You\u2019re going to get tired of being called inspirational. You\u2019re going to wish, more than once, that you could just be ordinary again. Instead, you&#8217;ve become extra ordinary in your honesty, imperfections and the way you show up for others. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">You will have finally learned to honor that slogan &#8216;<strong><em>I Am Me<\/em><\/strong>&#8216; and will be remembered as someone authentic. That&#8217;s the best you can be. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><strong><em>Consider making a small donation to help keep my website afloat at&nbsp;<a href=\"http:\/\/paypal.me\/justmeric\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">JustMeRic<\/a>. And check out my&nbsp;<a href=\"https:\/\/www.amazon.com\/shop\/rickollie?ref_=cm_sw_r_cp_ud_aipsfshop_X2H33BYQ9M4J6VKWB55M\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Amazon Creator Storefront<\/a>. There you\u2019ll see some of the awesome purchases I\u2019ve made and recommend. Yes, I earn a small commission when you shop there. You can also find all of my sites in one place on my&nbsp;<a href=\"https:\/\/linktr.ee\/rickollie\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Linktree<\/a>&nbsp;page. If you enjoy what you read here, please subscribe to my email list at the bottom of the page.<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-jetpack-blogging-prompt jetpack-blogging-prompt\"><div class=\"jetpack-blogging-prompt__label\">Daily writing prompt<\/div><div class=\"jetpack-blogging-prompt__text\">What advice would you give to your teenage self?<\/div><div class=\"jetpack-blogging-prompt__answers\"><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"jetpack-blogging-prompt__answers-gravatar\" aria-hidden=\"true\" src=\"https:\/\/0.gravatar.com\/avatar\/646081c7340c41495dc66be68f8a8c0149351f7add5249c97d774a70c66fd7f7?s=96&amp;d=identicon&amp;r=G\"\/><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"jetpack-blogging-prompt__answers-gravatar\" aria-hidden=\"true\" src=\"https:\/\/2.gravatar.com\/avatar\/5ad38864d1c54dc4b33596ce71af9b56871c54776cfb824929e6274840dc74ad?s=96&amp;d=identicon&amp;r=G\"\/><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"jetpack-blogging-prompt__answers-gravatar\" aria-hidden=\"true\" src=\"https:\/\/2.gravatar.com\/avatar\/eb3855333dd5ae2d745e32b1c918fd5877d5dcd5c5a79653d8a3de9440740ed5?s=96&amp;d=identicon&amp;r=G\"\/><a class=\"jetpack-blogging-prompt__answers-link\" href=\"https:\/\/wordpress.com\/tag\/dailyprompt-1857?locale=en\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"external noreferrer noopener\">View all responses<\/a><\/div><\/div>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><\/p>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Cancer will try to measure your life in injections and scans but don&#8217;t let it. Measure it in moments, laughter and the people who stayed.<\/p>","protected":false},"author":91886495,"featured_media":13027,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_feature_clip_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"A letter to my younger self about lost love, emotional resilience, and living with cancer. Strength isn\u2019t something you chase\u2014it\u2019s what shows up when quitting isn\u2019t an option. Life is measured in moments, not diagnoses.\n#LifeLessons #CancerJourney #KeepGoing #Resilience #IAmMe #LoveMeAnyways #IAmMe","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":false,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2,"attached_media":[{"id":13027,"url":"https:\/\/rickollie.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/advice.png","type":"image\/png"}]},"_wpas_customize_per_network":false,"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false},"categories":[770052968],"tags":[770052933,770052741,770052947,770053694,770054197,770052801,770054335,770054216,770054334],"class_list":["post-13021","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-dailyprompt","tag-advice","tag-cancer","tag-dailyprompt","tag-dailyprompt-1857","tag-forever","tag-i-am-me","tag-imperfections","tag-real-love","tag-teenage-self"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v27.6 - 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