Letters to a younger you

[Dumb Ideologies]

Dear 13 year old me.

Seriously. Sort your shit out. No, I don't mean that IBS problem and the bleeding from the poohole, not much you can do about that.

You know what I mean. Stop being a coward and shoving away all your issues till some distant point..

Take life less seriously, don't be embarrassed that you think differently to other people and sometimes appear a bit weird.

Don't be a dick to people who really should be your friends in a stupid attempt to be popular with a self-defined 'elite' in your class who practically no-one actually likes.

Also, you know how you skive PE most of the time? Yeh, do that all of the time.

[The South Islands]

Seriously. Sort your shit out. No, I don't mean that IBS problem and the bleeding from the poohole, not much you can do about that.

I had that problem for quite a while. For me, a major change in diet and body composition made it stop. I can say I'm quite regular now. If, by chance, you still have it, try mixing up your diet.

/unasked for advice

[Neu Leonstein]

don't get him started on it. this is a can of vipers you don't wanna open.

Too late.

No, the thing is though that I was a serial "Intellectual Whore" back in those days. I'd always be nice and a "best friend" to girls I liked (meaning I was a push-over who'd do anything they asked), with the effect that I got to listen to all the problems they had with people they actually saw as potential partners and never got any further than that. And, believe it or not, that was no fun. Kinda like this.

I also had no one to tell me to snap out of it, since I'd never talk to anyone about it, for fear of this "secret" coming out. I also didn't see anything wrong with what I was doing since the nice guy always wins in the movies, and I actually thought that by being patient I'd eventually land the one I wanted. So I just grew increasingly bitter and depressed about the whole issue. It wasn't until the ladder theory came along and told me that I (not the girls and not the guys my girls ended up doing) was being an idiot that I could get on something of a road to recovery.

I could either write that story into the letter or just link to the website and let my young self do the rest. Whether others fail to see past the misogynistic surface of it is really none of my concern.

[Treznor]

Use the damned condom!

[Rhalellan]

Rhal,

I have some hard news for you, but I don't want it to influence your decisions in the coming years. Two years after you and Ginger are married she will die giving birth to our child. She knows the birth will kill her, but when we see the look on her face when she sees our child for the first time, you will understand her decision. Our baby dies three days later. I'm telling you this because I want you to understand that I wouldn't change a thing. If I honestly thought that by writing this it would save her then I would ask you to try. I just don't think it is possible to change the past. I have come to believe that fate is what makes us who we are. What will be, will be. Life is hard and the years that we had with Ginger are the only things that kept us from going insane. The Corps will help us, and our sense of duty will pull us through the worst of it. It will take many years before we come to realize why she wanted to sacrifice herself for a child that was not going to live, but in the end you will know in your heart that it was the right choice for both of you. The years we spent with Ginger are the crowning moments of our life. We will always remember that those years were and always will be the greatest achievements of our lives. While I often wonder what life would have been like with her in it, but I know in my heart that it was never meant to be.

I'm sorry to lay this on you at your age, but if it helps, I already went through it and I am alive and happy now. Yes, I miss her, and think of her constantly, even now, 40 years later. No, you'll not find that feeling again, but it is ok. Would you really want to? You will want to marry again, and if you can help it, don't. Things go badly because you realize your just doing it to feel normal again. But as I said, I doubt you'll be able to change it.

Older Rhal

[NERVUN]

Dear Me 15 Years Ago,

Yes, you are a geek, and you will remain one for the foreseeable future, you're going to learn that it just doesn't matter what everyone else thinks of it. You also need to not worry about people making fun of your deafness and the fact that you are so painfully shy around girls that they think you're gay. So, yes, as you might guess from my words, high school will suck, big time, but it will be all good when you get into university. You're going to change, a lot. By the time you leave university, you're not going to be able to recognize yourself, but you'll have made awesome friends and have had experiences that will help you in your life. You're not going to end up where you thought you are going to, but you're going to be very happy with where you are and the choices that you made, so relax.

For advice, I can only tell you that you shouldn't try to minor in computer science in university, it does NOT turn out well and you end up having to spend an extra year attempting to make up for it. Also, right now there's a girl whom you've started noticing. You know which one I mean, she's the one wearing the letter-man jacket. Yeah, she's cute and seems to be exactly what you're looking for. Don't. You take 4 years to start to get up the courage, then spend two years seriously confused because of the drama and, yes, all the sexual teasing. And when you FINALLY get there, she's gonna run and you're going to end up depressed for a year and then make an even worse choice. She's a good friend, don't screw it up. Besides, there's someone MUCH better waiting for you and all the issues with T is just going to make life difficult.

Oh, keep up with the kenpo. It'll help with the anger and you could REALLY use the exercise.

From the future,
NERVUN

[North Wiedna]

A letter I wrote to myself for March 31, 2009,

Dear Joe,
If you happen upon a website called NationStates, do not sign up. The socialists will make fun of you and your stuff, and demand the poor people use it.
Signed,
14-year-old Joe

[Blouman Empire]

I hate that gay people are "forced to come out" like its some ritual for all gay people...Straight people don't have to tell what sexual orientation they are..why should I ?

Because homosexuality is an uncommon genetic mutation whereas heterosexuality is the norm. Like right-handedness and left-handedness. Most people assume a person is part of the majority unless told otherwise.

Yet people don't have to go out and admit I am left handed and or hide it.

Not where I live.

Then get out of there any way you can. There are a lot of places that have left the 50s.

And now for the main event

(Addressed to the 16 year old)

Have a bit more fun in school, things will turn out better don't try and be the smart arse and that you're better than everyone (even if you are), you are in bogan central sure it is a private school but they still take on the lifestyle of the rest of the plebs infesting this town. In saying that stop wasting time in class and when you should be doing homework, those TV shows you always watch? Yeah they will be re run for years it doesn't matter if you watch it or not what it means is that you will have more options.

You will encounter calculus next year, study hard while you blitz the exam like always your final grade suffers because you fucked around in the middle of the year and you went poor in those tests.

That gap year you are going to take when you finish school? Yeah take it and it ends up being two years but you make so much money it hardly matter.

Hurry up and get your licence. Seriously what is wrong with you, sure you get it by the time you are 18 anyway but fucks sake just go do it now.

Accept who you are as well, I still wouldn't bother about letting everyone know it will bring more harm then you can imagine but that guy that is looking at you yeah your instinct is correct he really is go for it quickly. And that slut that insisted you were the father do not accept it, it isn't when she tells you (next year) deny it, it belongs to another. The sooner you insist on it not being yours the sooner she will admit to you and everyone about the other guy.

When you move to the capital ditch your old school friends now, get out there and get in with new ones and start giving a shit about yourself it isn't all that bad. Do not take a year off soccer, sure you made some close relationships which might not be as close had you taken that year off but your body suffers for it as well as your skills.

Oh and I don't care how tired you are make keep thinking about the dangers of conveyor belts when you are near one, chicks dig scars but not ones like the one you will get if you are stupid. It also means you miss out on the best day of the year as you spend your time having surgery in hospital.

There is probably more I could tell you, oh yeah watch the drink fun to get semi smashed all the time not fun to forget everything.

P.S In a few years time you will start up a new Nationstates nation. DO NOT, REPEAT DO NOT GO AND LOOK INTO THE FORUMS THEY WILL WASTE MORE TIME THEN YOU CAN IMAGINE.

[Ifreann]

Oi, you.

Yeah, homework is boring and all that, and by and large you can get away with doing it at lunch or whatever. Do it anyway. You could do pretty damn well in school if you actually tried.

Just go to the damned discos. You'll dance like a tool, but so will everyone else. The trick is to not care about how you look, just have fun.

Stop writing shit on your textbooks. You'll come to regret the vast majority of it.

Don't bother with chemical engineering. Go for computer science. In UCD. Also, don't do it right away. Take a year and get a job or something. The people you'll meet in the 07/08 year are cool, hang out with them from the start and you'll have great fun. Try to do some work too.

That said, I know why you will want to go to college right away. Absolutely none of the ways you imagine it may work out are close to what will happen. I suppose it might be possible for it to work, but figuring that out requires more wisdom than you have 2 years later with hindsight. I won't tell you not to try, but remember that success is not a foregone conclusion.

On a related note, you will consider calling her parents when you find out about that thing she does. Consider it more, and don't just accept it. Do your best to convince her it isn't a good thing. It isn't. She'll come to realise it herself eventually, but maybe you can spare her some pain. Don't beat yourself up if you can't, just try.

Don't drink as much. Eventually it will lead to actually getting drunk being difficult and expensive. And for fuck sake, when you're walking home, just walk home. A boring walk home is better than dealing with the gardaí.

Buy the CDs of some of the following bands, you'll like them: Dream Theater, Liquid Tension Experiment, System Of A Down, Dan Le Sac VS Scroobius Pip, Red Hot Chilli Peppers, Linkin Park(specifically, Hybrid Theory), The Beatles, some Johnny Cash, Nightwish, Kamelot, Metallica, Guns 'n' Roses, Tenacious D, Led Zeppelin.

Google nation states some time around the end of '02. You'll learn at least a bit about lots and lots of things.

In general, try and be more confident and care a bit less about embarrassing yourself.

[SaintB]

Yeah but BE, you make some awesome friends.

[Chandelier]

Dear 14-year-old Chandy,
Don't obsess so much over your grades. Just do your best. Your best does not have to be perfect.
Don't worry about the people who make fun of you, but don't block out everyone else in response.
Join A-team, it's fun, you get free food, and you can make friends.
Consider taking French.
Take some online classes. They're free and you can probably get a few done over the summer.
It's okay to wear clothes that fit you. I know, I still struggle with it, too. But you don't have to get extra extra larges so that they'll last forever. It's 5 years later and and kid sizes still fit. If you want baggy shirts, medium will probably do.

To 18-year-old Chandy,
When the headache starts, don't wait a week to tell Mom and Dad. It's not going to go away on its own.
If you start taking nortriptyline for the headache, you may think it's working. But it'll just end with you in the emergency room after a week of being completely unable to sleep, mostly unable to eat, and having completely paranoid thoughts until you can't think anymore and can barely distinguish different objects on a TV screen. And when you start feeling that way and your parents and a therapist tell you you're just dealing with the stress of moving away to college- don't listen. Your first instinct will be right.
As weird as that first week is, don't drop general chemistry because of it. It's ridiculously easy, so don't let anything they say or show you intimidate you. There's nothing in that class that you didn't learn in high school. You can get an A in it with minimal effort.
Wash your dishes right after you're finished with them so your roommate won't get upset with you and snap. It's a lot easier that way anyway.

[Blouman Empire]

Yeah but BE, you make some awesome friends.

Actually that is a good point, with every thing I do there must be a positive and negative thing to it.

[Galloism]

Join A-team, it's fun, you get free food, and you can make friends.

Plus maybe people can hire you if they have a problem, if no one else can help, and if they can find you.

[Chandelier]

Join A-team, it's fun, you get free food, and you can make friends.

Plus maybe people can hire you if they have a problem, if no one else can help, and if they can find you.

I meant the club at my school by that name. I didn't discover it until junior year.

[Cannot think of a name]

Here's a neat trick-

Try and see if you can both get over yourself and not be so hard on yourself at the same time. Relax. Also, when people offer you an opportunity, do it for fuck's sake. It's not enough to just be offered, what you 'could have done' is fucking worthless.

You're not going to be able to get right back into college. Don't wait around waiting for it to happen, find interesting shit to do instead.

Little CToaN...those action cartoons are unwatchable, you'll know this years later when Cartoon Network re-runs them. You don't have to rush home to watch them every day.You can watch 'em, but you know, spend the rest of your time doing something cooler.

[H N Fiddlebottoms VIII]

Dear 15 Year Old Me,

Lose some weight. Seriously. You'll do it eventually, but you might as well get it done in High School rather than waiting for college. Just start drinking water and black coffee, quit snacking late at night, and start running. Sticking out your rib cage is a great way to freak out your little sisters.

Don't take what you write so seriously. In 6 years time, you'll hate it as juvenile crap, your brother will love it and no one else will even know or care that it existed.

Watching anime won't automatically turn you into a loser. Going to conventions does that. Don't let an irrational dislike of the first one deprive you of quality entertainment, and don't ever do the second one.

Lastly, wear pants. Seriously, the shorts in winter thing has got to stop. You look ridiculous standing out there in the snow.

[SaintB]

Little CToaN...those action cartoons are unwatchable, you'll know this years later when Cartoon Network re-runs them. You don't have to rush home to watch them every day.You can watch 'em, but you know, spend the rest of your time doing something cooler.

PS Samuria Jack is perfectly OK.

[Anti-Social Darwinism]

PS to younger A-SD - really, being married is not the be-all and end-all of existence. And, really, you don't have to be married to have kids, but do wait until you know how to take care of yourself, first - and trust me, it's not when your 22. When you're 22, you don't even know what taking care of yourself means.

[Epicnopolis]

Dear 7 year old self,
WILL YOU FUCKING STOP BEING SO IMPULSIVE?! Oh and don't say the word that ryhmes with Chucky.

Dear 10 year old self,
BEILEVE ANDREA WHEN SHE SAYS THAT HANNAH HAS A CRUSH ON YOU. Don't be friend's with that dude which name starts with a D and last name starts with an M. And stop being so impulsive!

Dear 11 year old self,
In case you didn't listen to me: Don't be friend's with that dude which name starts with a D and last name starts with an M. Go ahead, and ask if Jennifer likes you. You'll be more confident with yoursef in the end. And stop being so impulsive for the love of fucking god!

Dear 12 year old self,
Kick Shanes ass. Not in the morning, when I tried to kick his ass, I was half-asleep. BAD IDEA! Go too bed at 8 o'clock one night, Shane'll piss you off. Beat the living shit out of him. Don't let Jack piss you off, you're going to need him, and he'll need you. Please will you just stand up to Sam? And when you think the bell is ringing, it isn't. Also, STOP. BEING. SO. IMPULSIVE.

Dear 13 year old self,
Please. PLEASE. Become friends with Andrea again, you're going to realize very abruptly that you really like her. And I have yet too grow the balls to ask her out, make the start for me. For yourself. I've told you over and over to stop being so impulsive. You're going to say things that eat at you, and eat at you, and eat at you. And no that isn't a typo. By the way, you aren't gay, do you feel attracted to men? No, you don't. Don't worry you won't try anything. And after you win the championship in flag football. Here is what you do. Go to you mom, and please for the love of god say this, "Mom, I really don't want to go to baseball, I'm not really feeling that well, I'm not sick, I just don't really feel well, mentally I guess." Please don't go into a rage and destroy all the pictures upstairs, and your room, you'll cut your hand, and do a bunch of really bad shit. Please for the love of god, will you do 2 thing's for me? First one isn't so serious; when you join that game that Justin recommended to you a couple of years ago? Don't be such an ass. Please be nice. Second; this is very serious, you look at yourself and you see a loser, a jackass, an idiot who doesn't deserve anything You're wrong! You hear me?! You are so wrong about yourself! For the love of god what the hell about you isn't to like? Your a nice person, and that is why girls will like you. (And apparently you're pretty good looking from what I've heard, listen to your mom, she's right man,) Other guy's walk around Rio and they act like they're cool. They're jackasses, poser's, all that good stuff. Just be happy with yourself, your a cool guy! I'll go ahead and leave you too it with this last piece of information. Everything you do will end up being OK. I promise you that.

Sincerely,
Your barely 1 year older self

P.S. DON'T BE SO FUCKING GULIABLE!

[Ernst_Rohm]

Dear 1933 me,


Kill Himmler, Goebbels and Goering and maybe Heydrich.

[Epicnopolis]

Dear 1933 me,


Kill Himmler, Goebbels and Goering and maybe Heydrich.

Not sure if I should laugh at that...Ah hell I'm Jewish, I can laugh at that.

[Wilgrove]

Dear Wilgrove,

Do not get a BA in History. Do not get a BA in History. Do not get a BA in History. Do not get a BA in History. Do not get a BA in History. Do not get a BA in History. Do not get a BA in History. Do not get a BA in History. Do not get a BA in History. Do not get a BA in History. Do not get a BA in History. Do not get a BA in History. Do not get a BA in History. Do not get a BA in History. Do not get a BA in History. Do not get a BA in History. Do not get a BA in History. Do not get a BA in History. Do not get a BA in History. Do not get a BA in History. Do not get a BA in History. Do not get a BA in History. Do not get a BA in History. Do not get a BA in History.

Signed ~Wilgrove

PS: Dump that High School bitch before she gets too attached to you.

[Intangelon]

Dear Younger Alma,

Please, for the love of God, when you get to college, don't fall in love with the tall, dark-haired music dork. He will destroy you.

Love,
Older, depressed Alma

Speaking as a tall, dark-haired music dork, I apologize for that one, and assure you he was an aberration. We're generally good people.

[Heaven Hieghts]

Dear Younger Alma,

Please, for the love of God, when you get to college, don't fall in love with the tall, dark-haired music dork. He will destroy you.

Love,
Older, depressed Alma

Speaking as a tall, dark-haired music dork, I apologize for that one, and assure you he was an aberration. We're generally good people.

LIES!- Says the sort of tall reddish brown haired music dork. I WORK WITH THESE PEOPLE!

[Parthenon]

I would tell myself to buy into apple before the Ipod craze and to avoid several drunken sorostitute hookups that cost me better opprotunities with some of the other sisters.