Writes..."Kicking My Younger Ass"

i'm working on something else right now but i needed to write this down before i forgot it.

"i've been looking at a lot of things i've written, things from ten years ago when i was writing a bunch. and i can't believe i wrote some of this stuff. one thing in particular...i've always been a guy who felt love was important. loving and being loved, the two reasons we exist. but i've seen a phrase i'd written way too many times, even for a romantic person as myself, and i'm not good with it anymore. something to the effect of "the only thing i wanted was for her to be happy, even if it meant i wasn't" or some bullshit like that. seriously "younger brian"?! that's what you were thinking? i wish i had a time machine so i could go back and kick my own ass for that. not that i don't want a woman i'm chasing after to be happy with her life now but not at my expense. sorry, i'm not that dude anymore. still romantic but not that dude. "older brian" can't be."