Learning from old work

I was cleaning up in the basement today and found some folders of my old work. Most of the work I found from college and just after should be burned, the ashes beaten with sticks, the resulting mess shot with a machine gun, gathered up and flushed down the toilet of a poorly run Mexican restaurant, shut down by the Food and Drug administration before everyone involved is executed by ninjas. The work is that bad.

Though I found a few things I really liked. It is interesting when you see your innocent, untrained work and discover qualities that may be missing in current efforts. I feel like I have learned a thing or two since this drawing was done.  Now I have a need to finish and finesse work, fixing any thing that looks wrong or off. I will say that I may be losing something in that quest for visual truth. This drawing got me thinking; how to do that without loosing immediacy and energy.
Below is a self portrait from at least 15 years ago. Interestingly, I like a lot about it. I am not sure a self portrait done right now would have a similar feel.

It lacks form and good proportion, but it has personality. I had long hair then,roughed up into dreads  and the beard had some color. This is a drawing of me as a young hippy. I knew little to nothing when this drawing was done but I still like it. A self portrait today would not look like this. Of course it would be a drawing of a 41 year old and not a drawing of a 24 year old- big difference in subject matter, but I am thinking only of the works execution. How would the work look now.
I will have to work on a new self portrait to compare.
I should go through more of my old work to see what I can learn from hippy Luschek.