What is the Other Version of You doing in a parallel universe right now, and what is their life like?

[Slidingdorz]

Daydreaming and thought it would be fun to see other takes on this from other people.

Me in the parallel universe : didn't get chronically ill in adolescence. Had boundless energy. Moved to London and had a really exciting successful career in advertising for a few years, then went back to art school. Now enjoying an interesting life as a painter with a rich social life full of friends. Beloved family members are still alive, and cos I'm super healthy I could have a child, a daughter. In the parallel universe right now I am preparing to open my latest show tomorrow and choosing an outfit

What about you? What's your alternative story?

The other me went to university. Met a really boring man, married, probably had children. They'll be earning a decent income, living in a 4 or 5 bedroom house, with no debts. But she'll always be wondering if there is more to life. She'll have no challenges to face, she won't experience the joy of helping others less fortunate than herself. She'll be missing out on some wonderful experiences.

She’s married to James Purefoy and owns a horse!

Passed my Army medical. DH and I still got together, but kids waited a good few years. Probably just starting on them now instead of having a 10&12yo!

She has six children, a husband who adores her. They have sex 3 or 4 times a week and he gives her the most intense orgasms.

They have a live in house keeper and she has literally fuck all to do but enjoy and love her family

Lucky bitch.

Took the job I was offered with a theatre company and had a successful theatre career.

Living in Italy, working as a magazine journalist. Spends a lot of time drinking coffee and smoking outside cafe-bars.

I am in "import/export" think del boy. Spent a few months in prison for receiving stolen goods. Have a high income, children went to private school, good uni with no student debts. Married very early. Holiday home in France. Work 70-80 hours a week and have a drink problem

I'm always incredibly creative and make a good living at that as I've got a well-connected handsome cool partner. At the same time, I work for the UN and do brave nation building work supporting refugees in various war zones.

Ugh, this is depressing....

She made the right choice for uni, and was therefore happy and actually finished her degree. She didn't drop out and spend the next three years getting stoned with her waster boyfriend, and upon graduating was actually able to have a real go at landing her dream job.

I hope she's happy, and I hope she's every bit as successful as I always dreamed I would be.

Didn’t chose her 2nd fave university as her first choice based on proximity to her 6th form boyfriend. Instead went to her favourite one and actually enjoyed it & put in effort. Don’t spend 3 years crying over the same lying cheating horrible boyfriend she made her life choices around instead took a chance on the cute funny boy she met at uni. She graduated with a first, persuade her dream career not just the first job she was able to get. Hopefully she is as happily married as I am now with beautiful children

Snogged the guy who wanted to snog me in a taxi, had an affair, and ended up marrying him and having a fun and happy life, rather than choosing to spend the next 30 years trying to hold together an abusive marriage which nearly killed me.

Parallel selves are great multi-taskers I find.

The other me is living alone in an apartment in Lisbon, making a very successful living as a novelist. There is a man there occasionally, but he fucks off immediately without any fuss whenever she wants to be on her own. Days are spent writing, drinking coffee on balconies and walking on the beach. Evenings are spent drinking wine, eating tapas and laughing riotously with friends, or curled up with a book and a cat on her lap.

She is probably lonely and vaguely envious of her friends with kids, even though they complain constantly about how tired they are.

The other me chose theatre studies A level, went on to study English Literature and had a career in film production. She lives in London or LA, is skint and probably doesn't have any kids because of all the travel.

My sliding doors moment was in the late 90s, and the me who decided to stay in London continued in a very hot but definitely doomed and madly messy relationship for a few more years, but became a very successful art dealer. She’s now helping very rich collectors grow their collections, has a great flat because she bought before the boom and made a killing, and has a lover with whom she’ll never live so she doesn’t have to compromise.

She thinks she’s happy and probably is, but doesn’t realise that if she’d left London and lived my real life, she would have met the most wonderful man and have spent 25 lovely years with him so far, in a far more rewarding and meaningful career.

Alternative me is great at the piano and singing, because she was encouraged to practice and not relentlessly criticised, shouted down and told she wasn’t worthy of anything when she was practising or doing solos.
She’s probably dealing with her autism fairly well after a few setbacks early in life (my DP has modelled that this can actually happen).
She’s got a steady and not super-high-powered job which really helps people - language interpreter in a hospital? Family lawyer? School counsellor? Working with an animal charity?
I’m going to rig the universe and age my DP up because otherwise this would be deeply wrong, but she found him or someone like him after a bit of teenage acquisition of relationship skills maybe five years ago and is married. Possibly there’s a baby on the way, maybe we just have 15 cats for now.
She’s found some lovely friends and has been bridesmaid for a few of them, she never lets them forget how much they’re loved and is able to help them out in tough spots and nowadays do grown-up hobbies.
She hasn’t wrecked her health and isn’t likely to die before her grandparents, and doesn’t suffer autoimmune stuff that just aggravates that. Her legs haven’t been painful since birth.
Alternative me loves baking - for her friends (as I already do) but also for herself. She isn’t afraid to eat it and is secure enough to know DP will still love her if she’s heavier.
This is more like my fantasy life but hope some people can identify!

I would have stayed in my birth town and not up sticks and moved to the other end of the country due to my dad being made redundant. I would have gone to grammar school then a top uni to study law. I would have married young to a wonderful empathetic husband and had two daughters so not to have left it too late to have children. I would have written my novels in my spare time. I regularly think about who I could have been if things were different.

Oh thats easy.

My 3 week old isn’t in NICU hes at home; we’re snuggling in the living room, friends have been to see him, we’ve taken him for walks in the pram, hes been in the car, I wake up in the night and hes next to me.

I packed away his pram and car seat this evening just for my own sanity. I want to wake up from this hell.

Her lovely DH is still alive and therefore her children aren't traumatised. They are all living a far more conventional life than this one.

Does anyone never think of bad ones?

My ex-boyfriend is mortgaged up to the eyeballs on his east London townhouse and works for British Gas. Meanwhile I earned nine grand last year but I'm an artist. I'd rather be me.

Parallel me would have moved to the French Riviera 8 years ago when she had the chance. She will be popping out now for apero at a nearby bistro after a day of teaching English as a foreign language to refugees.

I sometimes think someone else is living the life I imagined.

She has a tree lined drive and at the end a beautiful Georgian house at the back she has 100's of acres, her own wood with a stream and a fairy dell, wild meadow and horses doing their thing. Two dogs amongst the other animals that she and her (my) dh walk every day with their cuppas whilst deciding what they don't have to do that day.

Life is easy, pottering, taking care of all the rescue animals and feeling utterly blissed out daily.

Lucky cow.

Not religious but fingers crossed for you and sympathy @TakeMe2Insanity. Also sympathy for others revealing cruel life events. xx

I am a successful comedian who has their own podcast, has been on and won Taskmaster and has a regular role on Death in Paradise.

Other me lives hand to mouth to pay rent, feels frightened about how she's going to feed and clothe her kids, and lives in a fairly frightening area where life feels rather desperate. I'm unutterably grateful for the work that I've put in and the many lucky breaks in adulthood that I've had to allow me to feel safe. Makes up for my rather awful childhood.