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The original prompt was to give advice to your 5-year-old self, but I thought that to be too young. The prompt didn’t leave my mind, so I decided to write a post on it, but to my 10-year-old self instead.
Another World
I was ten when I moved from a rural part of the country to a more urban environment. That was the first step in changing my universe, but soon, my parent’s divorce followed, which set off a whole host of other life events. More than twenty-five years later, this is what I would have liked to have known.
Make Friends
Let’s start with a simple one: cherish your friends. I know you’re not extremely familiar with the subject but know that you are going to make friends in secondary school, and they’re going to be your lifeline. You’re going to have a lot of fun hanging out with these people. They’re going to show you worlds you didn’t even know existed. Accept them and embrace the lessons they teach you. You’re gonna need the fun they will provide.
Keep Writing
Secondly: stay creative! Yes, with an exclamation mark. Your Backstreet Boys fan fiction is going to be a lifesaver too, giving you many hours of distraction while the world seems to crumble around you. And it’s not just writing. Over the years you’ll get many opportunities to do theatre. Please do. Like with your friends, doing theatre is a perfect opportunity to relax, to let go of the serious outlook on life you tend to have. In whatever way possible, stay creative. Keep on writing. You never know where it may lead you…
Love Your Parents
Thirdly: cherish your family. In about ten years from now, you’re gonna get a colleague who tells you the same, who tells you how lucky you are to have two parents still. You’re gonna scuff and think she’s crazy. She’s not.
Savor any moment you have with your father. Remember the jokes you make together, the telephone calls while he’s at work. Realize how rich you are to have a father who loves you that much. Talk about fantasy books, play Everquest together, watch Lord to the Rings. It’s going to be important. Choose him.
But, even though it’s difficult, also choose your mother. The relationship may be tough. You are never going to be best friends, but keep her in your life when you can. Taking distance is all right, but remember that this time too is limited. You are correct in thinking she is not going to live to the age of ninety.
It’s Gonna Be All Right
Keep your head up, even though it’s going to be tough. Life is going to rock you from left to right and upside down, but you will prevail. Keep that in mind. You’re going to come out stronger.
You will be alone, more than once, but you will always find new friends and loved ones. You will also be loved by many cats. You will find a husband, though in a time and place you cannot imagine right now.
Life will get better.
Remember that.
In the end, life will get better.
