Hello friends!
Recently, my husband has been trying extremely hard to get me into different genres of movies and TV shows so that we can spend more time watching stuff together rather than sitting in the same room and doing completely things. Ok fine, that’s not his reason for trying, but it’s my reason for accepting. He just hates it when he’s seen something amazing and I have no clue what he is going on about… but I digress.
Today’s post was inspired by one of my newfound favourite genres – time travel. Wait, is that even a genre? As I lay here in a dark on a virus filled evening in 2020, I couldn’t help but think how amazing it would be to travel back in time and do some of the things that I used to take for granted pre-pandemic, pre-baby and pre-responsibilities. 😅

Firstly, if anyone has watched 12 Monkeys, would you have been willing to hop into the machine and splinter into a different time? I know I personally wouldn’t because the risks are to high. It’s not just the disorienting sensation or the nausea that would come with it, more like the possibility of having your brain explode or a limb left behind. Scary isn’t it? For those of you who haven’t watched it, it’s just a machine that, you guessed it, makes people travel back in time!
If I could time travel right now, I would reset the clock to a few different times and let fate be the deciding factor of where I land up. Here are my main picks
My pre-honeymoon trip in October 2017
What’s a pre-honeymoon you may be wondering? Well, it’s the trip that my husband and I took to the Philippines three months before we got married, which turned out to be more exciting and special than our actual honeymoon. We had spent fifteen days between Manila, Legazpi, Cebu and El Nido, each time trying something new. I would say my favourite of all times was being in the gorgeous blue seas in the quite of El Nido mostly because we had arrived during off-peak season and also because there was so much greenery it just felt serene!
The day my daughter was born
I regret to say that everything happened so fast that I barely remember any details. From my doctor’s appointment the day before when I was informed that I needed to go home and pack for check in as I would be having the c-section the very next morning to the looniness I felt being high on drugs and extreme fatigue… We didn’t take a camera in to the operating room so I have no footage and have to rely on the fragmented memories paired with my husband’s dramatic description of the day.
My first solo trip to Brazil
Back in November 2014, I made the toughest decision to travel to Rio de Janeiro all alone because my travel buddy stood me up after I had already purchased my non-refundable plane ticket. The trip was ok, nothing too fancy. I remember being so broken and unbothered by anything that I would take walks alone in the busy streets after midnight just because I couldn’t sleep. Back then I was a little less smart than I am now, but I think I would’ve taken in all the freedom I had with much more appreciation. It also happens to be the one time that I missed my flight and had to ask my brother’s girlfriend to buy another ticket for me to return in time for work. Back then I was an accountant and it was month-end, ie the time no one is allowed to be on leave! I wish I could revisit that time to correct the one major mistake I made; spending my last few hundred dollars shopping for clothes … that I never wore! Imagine that!
There are a few other moments that need to be corrected, but those are stories for another day.
If you could go back in time, what moment in time would you return to?
If I could time travel I would go back to my wedding day in St. Thomas. It was filled with so much drama by G’s family.. From the numerous phone calls asking us to delay the wedding because they decided to change their flight and arrive the day of the wedding instead of the day before to showing up at the wedding and changing clothes on the beach, to wanting to change hotels and stay with us after the wedding, the drama was too much for me. I wanted the day to be a celebration of my husband and I in a beautiful place and instead it’s tainted with memories of negative drama.
Oh my gosh just wow! Do you have at least one memory that isn’t chaos and movie worthy? I think you should turn your life into a book… I hate to say it but it’s so entertaining! 🙈
Oh my yes! I have lots of wonderful memories of traveling to Costa Rica and Norway and time spent at my grandmother’s house both as a child and adult 😊❤🤗 I just wouldn’t travel back in time to those events because I wouldn’t want to change anything about them. I have been told my life events could be made into a book or movie MANY TIMES because they are so entertaining 😄 That’s part of the reason I started this blog 🙂
Wow, awesome choices. Thank you for sharing your memories, and really nice you enjoyed your trip to the Ph with your husband.
Thanks for reading! What would you do if you could time travel?
Love this post! I have three times I would return to: 1. My daughter’s first few months. Her birth was very traumatic and I was super stressed and scared for at least the first six months of her life. I want a do-over, knowing as I do now that everything turns out okay! 2. A dear friend died last year, and I would go back to right before her death and visit her in the hospital. We had been talking about me coming to visit her after she got her transplant, which made sense at the time. But if I could do it again, I’d go see her immediately. 3. A happy one to revisit: the ten-year anniversary trip my husband and I went on. It was so wonderful! I would do it again exactly as it happened!
Thanks so much for reading and sharing Suzanne! I’m sorry about the traumatic experiences… I can only imagine just how terrible each of them felt! The great thing about you daughter is that you have the rest of your life to make new memories~ but a time machine would be very nice!
If I could go back in time, I will go back to 2015. It was just after high school and I felt really confident in myself and my abilities. Not that I don’t anymore, I lost it at a point and I have been building it back ever since. I wish I went to a different university far from home, to discover myself. Thankful that I’m doing that now and not later. Thanks for your post. It brought back good memories
What a lovely idea! I think I’d go back to times when people were alive (morbid I know) or I’d go back to when COVID didn’t exist. Those were happier times 💛
Olivia | https://olivialucieblake.com
I agree with you! And it’s not morbid at all… it’s actually beautiful that you love that hard.
Very intriguing post, Shelly! If I could travel back in time, I’d choose the years my father was alive. I would spend more time with him, explore new things and ask a lot of questions. I’d also love to go back to the days when I first met my hubby at 16. I would rethink A LOT of those decisions we made. I’d slow down and enjoy each moment a lot more and take my time to grow up! 🤗
As much as I enjoyed 12 Monkeys and the challenges of splintering, the Tardis has always been my time travel vehicle of choice 😊
Thank you for sharing your key memories and insights. I can certainly appreciate wanting to see if there is a way to influence a different outcome.
In terms of myself, I am happy enough not to go back into my own past. The key moments in my life, both good and bad, are exactly where they need to be. However, I would like the opportunity to explore history (including my family tree) and to see what the future holds.
Time travel is surely a dream. We miss our childhood and many beautiful things that has shaped us for what we are today. Your article has really sparked the moment when we sit and look back in life with nostalgia overwhelming us. I guess, looking back and thanking all that has contributed to us is really something worth doing.
Taking lessons from the past has shaped us and made us what we are today. For you, what started as a movie genre, took you too beautiful journey to re-explore your memories in the past. Really a very creative thing indeed. I like the way you connect certain things in life to the personal aspect of humans. Really appreciative of your post.
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