Chris Geddy – If I Knew Then What I Know Now

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Life Lessons From Adults To Children
Today’s Guest – Chris Geddy

1. Your message to kids today that you wish you knew back then what you currently know now. Be specific.

I would encourage any child, whether in elementary or secondary school, to take part in as many extracurricular activities as possible. Such activities encourage the group participation which is so essential to daily adult life. Additionally, it’s extremely important to find something which you yourself are truly passionate about, rather than having someone else directing you on which course you ought to lead. In a culture which so heavily promotes specialization, I truly believe that it’s the well rounded individual, the generous spirit that interacts well with others, who will end up with emotional self-actualization.

2. How did you learn your lesson or what was your lesson? Did you get hurt, did you upset someone, did you get scared?

When I was younger, I had two opportunities which I failed to take advantage of. The first was I had the opportunity to have a small speaking part in a movie which was shooting in Cleveland. However, I didn’t want to participate because the one shoot date was my eighth birthday, so we politely declined and I went to the baseball game with my parents instead. The other was when I declined to take up a musical instrument when I was ten, in the fifth grade. I remember thinking how it was too much work and would cut into my time spent goofing off and playing sports and videogames, so I proclaimed to my parents, “I hate music!” I regret both of those missed opportunities. Ultimately, I was scared, and I ended up hurting only myself.

3. What you would have done differently back then if you could turn back time?

I would never pass up an opportunity to tell someone how I feel about them. Attraction is a very specific thing, even in a metropolis with as many beautiful people as Los Angeles! There was a girl that I fell in love with when I was nineteen. She was in a verbally abusive relationship at the time. As a result, it took me way too long to tell her how I felt. Eventually, it was those lost moments which came to define our relationship. A tenant in my apartment building recently lost his wife of 25 years in a car accident. The driver of a semi fell asleep and ran them off the road. He told me to never pass up a moment to tell someone you love them. “Love them and hold them as close as you can,” he said.

4. Do you convey this message to children in your life today?

I don’t interact with children on a daily basis, and I’m not close enough with those I do interact with to explicitly convey such a message. So I try to be kind with children and use humor at every turn, because what we get out of life is directly correlated to the goodness which we give to others.

– Chris Geddy, Actor / Writer