Dear 16 Year Old Me

So, even though the "Dear 16 year old me" thing was part of a campaign to raise awareness for skin cancer (a good cause, given this is a huge killer of young people in particular), it has actually made me think back to when I was 16. How I felt about the world at 16 and mostly how I couldn't have predicted what I'd be like at *almost* 24. I can't believe that it's been 8 years. So here it goes...

Dear 16 year old me:

1) Going to university is actually the right choice, even though you thought it was a waste of time and money. Your time at UBCO will make you a better person.  You will meet people that you would have completely disregarded at 16 that will become great friends of yours.  It will also get you out of Kelowna eventually.

2) You will not stay in Kelowna forever.  At 16, you feel so trapped and isolated having to live in a bible-thumping redneck mountain town.  People look at you strangely because you're reading Noam Chomsky and theories about anarchism.  I'm glad you didn't stop doing this - it became the foundation of a love of learning about the world.

3) You will become a suit.  A suit with tattoos and a "real" life that extends beyond the walls of whatever corporation you intend to work for.  You see, 16-year-old-me, we no longer have a government we can even remotely trust. I know that you thought you would be best fit for a career in government policy, but not when it means having to do conservative policy work. Your ideas and intellect will be better prized in the private sector.  You will become a suit (you buy your first "real" blazer at 22, and it's bad ass). 

4) As much as people tell you that being "punk" is just a phase that you grow out of, they're completely wrong.  Sure, you will become a suit and everything that you're probably against at 16, but you still listen to the same type of music and you still go to the same types of shows, even through your mid-20s. You still enjoy the music and the art of punk rock, you just don't "live" it like you are at 16 (enjoy it!)

5) Remember those assholes that think you're a "freak"? Cool story, bro.  They go nowhere in life.  They either follow the redneck path that has been laid out before them (get married, have millions of children, get divorced) or they'll end up having some sports career where they will never get into the major leagues and be broke-as-fuck.  Being a jock in high school didn't pay off for these people.  You will see some moderate successes, but in general these are people that were fairly decent people to begin with.  All in all, karma is a bitch.

6) You have no idea what you want to do with your life. That's okay. Neither does 24 year old me.  The guidance counsellors are full of shit - don't listen to them.  You have this idea in your head that you're going to make up everything in your Grade 12 portfolio and make it a big joke - do it. It'll be so. fucking. awesome.