Dear Fifteen Year Old Self: A PowerHouseCreatives Contest
Dear Fifteen-Year-Old-Me:
Somehow, through the magical wizardry of time-travel science, I have been able to write this letter and send it back through the ages to you, my younger self, at a most pivotal time in our life. I do not have long, so will not be able to wax as poetic as I might like, so I shall get right to the point.
Now, the problem with writing a letter to you is that I may be tempted to give you pause to make different decisions in life. The problem with that is that we are all the sum of our historical components and, right now, for me, we're doing okay. The children are awesome (or, at least, have the potential to be) and, for the most part, we're the happiest we've ever been; if not happy, then perhaps mildly content. If I were to suggest some specific changes to you then I wouldn't end up where we are right now, and who knows what could happen.
So, that said, I know, right now, you're going through some things. You're confused as, quite frankly, most fifteen year olds are. You may not realise it, but you are. So allow me to give you some advice that should not drastically alter the course of our history.
First, a reassurance: it will get better. You are confused, and that's normal. It will all come clear and you will be alright, but I would like to offer some suggestions for you along the way:
Trust people. Seriously. I remember being you at fifteen: the people you should be able to trust are not trustworthy and they are instilling in you a deep, dark cloud of mistrust amongst everyone. You're at a very impressionable age, your parents are useless and are using you as collateral in their cold war against each other. Your mother likes to tell you that the only reason people do nice things is if they want something in return. Your father blames anyone who isn't an english speaking white person for everything that confuses him. Ignore them both. Trust people. There will come a time in your life when you need to trust people and you can't because of what's happening right now; please, please, please understand that most of the people you will meet are genuinely good people.
Learn to take responsibility. It's easy to blame other people for your woes in life, and you've so far been raised to do just that. Don't do it. We are not always able to effect our current situation, but we can definitely choose how we react to it. Be the better person. People who lay blame on others for their plight are not worth your time.
At some point in your life you're going to do a 180 degree turn. Right now you enjoy reading, going for long bike rides, and seeing the world around you. Ultimately you'll end up being so busy and trying so hard to make up for lost time that reading becomes an intrusion that takes too long and you bike ride to burn off the lunchtime burger. Learn to slow down. Seriously, dude. Slow. The. Fuck. Down. Quit running a mile a minute. Keep reading. Do things because they're fun, and do it with other people. Remember, you can trust them.
Do not let people make you think less of yourself than you deserve. I know, I remember your current situation; you feel guilty for your very existence and don't think you deserve to be happy or successful. This, too, will get better. Your parents aren't your fault.
Reach for the stars. You are better than what you're made to believe. Find your strengths and your inner "Fuck You" attitude. You will eventually learn it, but the sooner the better!
Be creative. It's what you really want to do. Right now you want to write for a living but are led to believe that you need to be more 'business like.' Fuck that. You're going to end up in IT quite by accident. Get out of it as quick as you can. Write. Get involved with a theatre. Take photos. That's where your heart lies. Do it before you're stuck in a rut and don't know how to get out. Besides, being creative is a lot of fun.
Some other pieces of advice:
As soon as you hear of bitcoin, buy it. As much as you can.
Same goes for Google.
And Amazon.
Learn a second language. And then a third.
Stay away from married women. Really. Nothing good will come from it.
Learn judo.
Learn to dance. Then teach your children.
Some answers to some questions I know you currently have:
- Yes, the Calgary Flames will almost always suck. But then again, so do the Vancouver Canucks.
Other answers to questions, in the order than you're thinking of them:
- Yes, yes, yes. No, yes. Hahaha, um, no. Fuck yes! And the jury is still out on that.
Now, go tackle the world. Ride your bike to the zoo and stop at Tim Horton's on the way back - you know, the one right beside the river. Enjoy a donut while you're still young enough to be able to burn it off easy. When you get back home start some serious work on that story you keep putting off, The Knights of the Periodic Table. Don't make me have to do it now when I have so many other things to do.
Reach for the stars, and know that you're awesome.
Regards,
Your Much Older Self.
(c) All images and photographs, unless otherwise specified, are created and owned by me.
(c) Victor Wiebe
(design by remyrequinart: https://steempeak.com/@remyrequenart)
Well, listen to your older self, I second all he wrote. Especially the part about donuts.
Haha, thank you! If you've never had a Tim Hortons donut and coffee, you're definitely missing out.
Thank you!
Ha ha Good one! Your parents sound a lot like mine. Good all around advice to yourself when you really can't give him all that much detail. Are you saying you're being put in the "IT" dept. against your will at work? That kind of threw me.
If there's one thing I learned after growing up it's that children aren't at fault for anything other than their own decisions after they've been taught. Shoulda put that in there too! So I guess I need to write a letter to myself from yesterday to put that in the letter... and.. yeah. LOL!
No, I'm certainly not doing anything against my will. I happened to luck into a job in the IT field when I really, desperately needed a job to support an unexpected infant. I ended up being good at it, stayed, was promoted, etc, despite not necessarily enjoying it. Now I'd like a career change, but the golden handcuffs, so to speak, make that really difficult. It's a work in progress. At least it's a goal to aim for!
Kids = innocence; of a purity that ultimately, in most cases, gets lost bit by bit as they age. A few get to hold onto at least some measure of it through adulthood though, and thank goodness! They're our saving grace!
I see. I loved designing and writing software; it's kind of like being a magician at times, and sometimes the praise one gets for some coming up with a neat little function only serves to inflate the ego but generally not the wallet. Someone going out of their way to give me a pat on the back was a signal that I should start thinking about promotion, lol.
I moved into the configuration manager position the last 5 years, so I was doing a lot of administrative work with approving and distributing new software releases, and a lot less coding. I was more an employee of the IT dept. at that point and less an employee of the software dept.
Those golden handcuffs are certainly hard to break. I hope you find a key, but I think you may be on to something on the horizon. The best of luck to you!
Excellent advice! I think I'd take a few for my 15-year-old self too!
Thank you! Growing up is a hard thing to do.
This kinda made me cry. So much advice here I could give myself. The benefit of hindsight, huh? I wonder what advice we will give our NOW selves in the future?
Oh no kidding, right? "It will get better" is something I keep telling myself now, too.
Well at least The Calgary Flames won the Stanley cup.
The Vancouver Canucks only came close a few times.
Yeah, sorry, I had to get the dig in. It was either them or the Winnipeg Jets.
I don't follow hockey anyway, I like International Soccer more specifically the World Cup.
Hahaha you are always good for some humor. Love the list of advice "buy bitcoin" as soon as you hear of it. "Stay away from married women." lol.
The Knights of the Periodic Table. I hope you're working on that.
It's definitely on my "List of Projects That I Really Want To Do". It's a big list! Keeps getting bigger.
Great write WW. So true, we can’t change our parents but are responsible for our own attitudes once we get out and about.
It's very true. I try to teach my own children that, too. Only time will tell if it has worked, but I'm hoping for the best!
Very impressive piece of writing, @wwwiebe. Seriously, this is amazing. It sounds to me like it was a very good exercise for you to go through, and that you solidified some great realizations about your life and the direction you have chosen for yourself.
Ouch. It must have been tough to come to terms with that and find your way forward. I say that because I can really relate. A confused 15 year old does not cope well with family strife and parents that cannot be trusted to be emotionally intact.
Damn. That is really hard stuff. It's so great that you found your own path, chose not to let their way of being form you completely, and decided not to take the blame and to become a better person than the mold set out for you!
I loved reading about your decision to choose a path of creativity, making choices and being with people who fuel you instead of tear you down. What a great life story.
Reach for the stars and know that you're awesome! Love it.
Thank you very much for reading @jayna! It was a difficult piece to write, and actually pretty difficult to post, too. I nearly didn't. I very much appreciate the kind words! Each successive day will be better than the last. Have a great day!
Geez, @wwwiebe. This hits home for me. Beautifully written.
Thank you very much! It was pretty cathartic, and I'm glad I wrote it.
Well gosh dang. I'm getting hit in all the feels this morning. Some damn good advice here. I could definitely have used a few of these nuggets at 15, 25 and even 35.
Hell to the yeah, my friend. And don't you forget it. ;)
Thank you @plantstoplanks. :) That really does mean a lot.
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STOPWhat an absolutely wonderful letter to your 15 year old self! I nodded yes to much of what you said, especially