Hey so, I’m working on this thing, it’s called “Teenage Commandments”. I promised myself on my 19th Birthday that I would never stop cherishing every little thing i’m given. Every person I met, Every shitty song they play on the radio, every cup of tea, every ray of light, every opportunity Im gonna try and grab, and every person im gonna try to love.
It all changes so fast and soon it’ll be my 90th Birthday, and I swear to God i don’t want to be sitting in an old rocking chair in a fucking nappy reminiscing over all my missed opportunities like a ball of unused rotting potential. I swear to God Im gonna make my life the wildest, craziest, colourful, exotic, beautiful life I can. And that means going into the unknown, a dark void, like walking on a plank. Fucking scary. I started writing a few disjointed thoughts on my Gmail Drafts on the night of my 19th Birthday through teary eyes and under a bright starry Paengaroa sky because I felt so damn nostalgic about leaving my teenage years behind and I knew this was my last year of being one - A stupid, moody teenager. I wanted to write something that encapsulated my feelings and felt taking my experiences and turning them into useful advice would be more useful than just writing down observations. If you’re 13-19 and reading this, I’m so excited for you to grow into an adult. You’ll do good. Trust yourself. I was always excited and nervous to become a teenager and to go to High School but I never knew the ride would be this wild, this.. multidimesional.
These last few months have been telling, revelational, and it’s like i’m entering my new phase. Soon I’ll be 20, and I feel like I’m already 40 or something. I’m sick and tired of analysing too much, sitting on the computer and thinking too much. I know I’m a thinker, but now I want to be a doer. I think that’s why I feel so old, I think too much and Im gonna try to change that. I know we’ve all gotta experience our own life and learn from our errors, but maybe i wish i didn’t go through some of the pain i did, and maybe i don’t ant you to either. I want to help you. That’s why i hope you take this advice to heart, cause I mean every word. I never knew it would be like this. Living is natural, surviving is a challenge. Breathing is easy, but loving is difficult. It’s not for the faint of heart. so if you’re alive right now, you’re a warrior and it means that you’ve been through more than anyone else knows.
The following is the Introduction. I’ll post the full document soon:
You are only young once.
You are only 17 once. You are only 18 once. You are only 19 once. Don’t try and grow up too fast, you’ve got the rest of your life for that. Fuck what they say. Do your own passionate thing and wear your heart out on your sleeve. Run, swim, camp, play, work, laugh, eat, dance. make music , go to concerts, go camping, tell your best friend you love them. Travel to find yourself. You’re as young and as old as you’ve ever been.
I know what its like to be counting down the days until you turn old enough to get into concerts. and I know what its like to wish you could go back in time to relive good times.
I know what its like to wish you were older, and I know what its like to wish you were younger. Growing up is a weird thing.
I’m writing this to tell you, and to make you realize that you can’t go back, because time stops for no one.
