Question: What would you do differently if you knew what you know now?

 Some of this blog is going to be answers from interviewers.  So I thought I'd post this one:

"Knowing what I know now, I would have been braver.  I look around and see a cute guy and I think "I could have dated him, I would have flirted with him right here in the line, right here in the coffee shop, I would have gotten his number and been brave enough to meet him for a date."  I would have gotten more numbers.   I would have gone on more online dates.  I would have gone to the gym and flirted with the personal trainers.   I would have not been so attached to whether or not the date went well, whether he ever called or if I ever saw him again.  I would have been playing the field more, yes, I would date multiple at a time and let them all know they weren't exclusive and if they wanted me exclusively, well, it would have to be worth my while.  Not that they weren't but I would have had way more fun in my single-hood.   Whatever.  I don't know why I was so afraid.   I don't know what I was so afraid of.  Rejection, well, yes, but rejection doesn't mean that you aren't worthy or aren't attractive it just means that the person that you are interested in isn't interested in you and those are their reasons and they have nothing really to do with you.  Attraction is an evolution of a person.  What I was attracted to when I was a teenager, a twenty-something, totally different today.  I guess I am more curious about people today and willing to dive a little deeper into seeing who I'm really talking to beyond what they look like on the outside.   That saying about "beauty is only skin-deep" is not just talking about character but really that elusive youth that we try to contain and keep but time removes and strips away.    The person you hope to be involved with, that person who you think is so sexy, what are they going to look like in forty years.  And better yet, what are you going to look like then?  It is character that remains sexy, vibrant, lovable and keeps me coming back for more.  The ability to make me laugh.  The ability to hold space and caring for another person.  The ability to be a true friend.  What they think and what they choose to do with their time.  Their creative brain.  Character is sexy.  Character is everything.  You're going to have an old man across the table from you one day, hands wrinkled, skin weathered, bad teeth, broken knees.  What are you going to talk about?  The adventures you had together or the fact that the teeth are bad, and botox didn't ever really help?  Yeah, I would have been more slutty.  I would have played the field and not even thought twice about it.  Not in a hurtful way but in an inquisitive, exploration of this life and who we're on this journey with.  And who I am, not defined by my fears, but my experiences."