because i grew up in the truth i missed out on a whole lot of kids at school that i could have been great friends with. also a couple of girls that i could have had a first relationship with. i missed out on family moments each year exchanging gifts with relatives that i could have enjoyed (or not enjoyed) seeing during holidays. i missed out on spending a lot of time playing and watching saturday morning cartoons because of field service. i missed out on being able to save a lot of money by working full time instead of part time and full time field service before i moved out of my parents house. i mostly missed out on the life of a normal person, having time to myself, growing up instead of giving most of my time to jehovah. what did you guys miss out on?
missed out
by aoxo 7 Replies latest jw friends
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OpenFireGlass
I wasn't even allowed to have a radio in my room.... So I missed out on a whole lot of Dr. Ruth in the 80's when I was going through puberty...
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aoxo
yeay i relate, i was getting into KISS when i was 10 but my parents put a stop to that. so i started listening to michael jackson instead untill he was....
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ivorysnow
its the generation thing here. i'm sure of it. because saturday morning cartoons and fields service go hand and hand. You watch them while getting ready. well in my case while your mother clothes you. You were denied a RADIO! ok so i could care less about a radio when growing up. The radio was mostly a car thing. My mom knows words to songs that i dont even know. We listen to decent music tho. Kingdom melondies on Sunday morning, by choice. Actually Saturday morning since Katrina but thats another story. I was too little to remember when we used to celebrate Christmas so i only remember not celebrating it. Birthdays??? I like being special and not participating in things like that. We have big parties for anniversaries and graduations. Talent showS!!! picnics. AOOOHHHH conventions were always a big thing even when we were to poor to go out of state or even city. We had fun. I'm the weird kid though because up until recently i didnt have one friend in the truth. I have tons of friends at school. I guess because i dont have that much knowledge of the truth and i mostly taught my self i was shy arround them. I was shy at school also up until high school. i dunno whats up or down. But i'll be leving for college in October. And i hope to meet some good friends their. A new start has always been good for me.
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parakeet
I feel terrible for all of you who had parched JW childhoods. I was in my mid-teens when my family got going with the JWs, which pretty much killed my social life at school. But at least I could look back on a normal (more or less) childhood--friends, Christmas, nice neighbors, birthdays. I think those memories are what grounded me throughout my JW experience and allowed me to get out fairly quickly without too much damage. It must be so much tougher when you've had the "truth" stuffed down your gullet since birth.
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freetosee
We were told we missed out on AIDS and other terrible things –but actually we were rubbed valuable years in life!
Freetosee
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merfi
I became a dub at age 20-ish, married a dub, lived the dub life until a few months ago when I DA'd. So, what I missed out on was having a LIFE in my 20's, starting with marrying the wrong person. There are more "worldly" guys out there with greater integrity, loyalty etc than the idiot I married thinking that the marriage would "just work" because it was Jah-blessed. WItness marriages never go wrong if ya put J first, ya know.
I missed out on FUN summer vacations, wasting money and time instead on conventions.
I missed out on doing fun stuff with friends (wanna go get a drink after work Rach?) as it was "bad association".
I missed out on giving my kids b-day parties and presents. Same for Christmas and any other "kid" holiday.
I missed out on good TV... Friends, ER were on Thursday nights...
I missed out on a LOT of family gatherings, which is the thing that hurts the most. (My family isn't JW) They get together for July 4th, Xmas and any birthdays that they can. I opted out for so many years... and missed so much.
I have a lot of regrets, but trying to not dwell on it but move forward... Jumping into the "World" with both feet and it's not only enjoyable out here, but just ... nice. So, although I've missed out on a LOT of things (even as an adult), there is still much time to live life.
~merfi
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poppers
"I have a lot of regrets, but trying to not dwell on it but move forward... Jumping into the "World" with both feet and it's not only enjoyable out here, but just ... nice. So, although I've missed out on a LOT of things (even as an adult), there is still much time to live life."
Good for you, merfi! Live life fully, in this very moment - that's where life is.