For Beth
A note to a new adult.
I know this kid. She's growing into a very wise young woman and all at once she's beginning to notice that the world isn't what she was promised. I'm writing to her, you guys can stick around if you want, but there's not much in it for you. Sorry. Maybe next time.
Kiddo, this thing is tough. You were told many half truths about the world, how it works and why. People would lead you to believe, without ever saying it implicitly, that this is a great place and a beautiful time to be in it. All around you all you see are these atrocities and horrors and in response to all this you didn't lash out. You did the opposite. You became the kind of person that you thought the world needed more of. I could not be more proud of you. You, one so young, have figured out the trick to changing the world, even if you're unaware of it.
Because it's hard, kiddo. It's hard to just be a human being. Living your life in a polite and good way. Fighting baser instinct to maim and hunt and kill. On top of all of this you add the ignorance, the hatred, the bigotry, the senseless violence, the fighting and death over nothing more than money, the paranoia and the general distrust and apathetic way people treat themselves, each other, and knowledge. Because as rough as it gets people exacerbate it. They add to the living hell that is the human condition. I know it's hardly the world you were promised to inherit. I know how far it is from what you thought or wanted.
I know how much it hurts to wake up in this hellhole every day and wonder how it'll ever get better. You're on your way though. You're so close you may not even see it. I encourage you, always, to take a step back and look at it from an objective angle. You lost track of your mileage on the journey, but you can always turn around and count the footsteps. Any insurmountable problem has a solution if you can divorce yourself from the consequences of the outcome. You have the ability and the potential, I can see it in you. You have everything it takes to survive and thrive in a savage world. Sadly you'll need it.
I'm sorry for the deceptions you've been put under, the false pretenses. I'm sorry that I couldn't fix everything before you had to see it in the state it's in. I'm sorry for so much of what has and what will happen. I trust you to know true right from true wrong. I trust you to make poor decisions and more so I trust you to make good decisions more often. I trust you to grow as much as I trust you to protect yourself. I trust your ability to know when to fight and when the time calls for flight. I trust you regarded only the good advice I gave you and none of the bad (more than once anyway.) just as I trust you to be able to make that distinction with all advice.
For all that you've learned and all you will learn the world is a dark and horrible place. The good news is that the half truths you were led to believe are just that; at least half true. It may not look like it from where you stand, but it's up to you now. You can make your world the place you heard of and dreamed of, or you can despondently accept what you have. It's all up to you to dictate the course of your fate.
But trust me, kiddo. It couldn't be in better or more capable hands. Ignore other people's idea of faith, but never lose faith in yourself. Believe nothing you hear and half of what you read, but everything you say and think. Give help when needed, not when wanted, and accept help when needed and not when wanted. Love as you were shown to love, but only to those that deserve it. Know who really cares for you, and be nice to the people who don't. Be yourself, now and always. You're worth every good thing you get and you're better than all of the bad shit that will be heaped on you. Trust yourself, even if you're wrong sometimes.
You can make your world better. I love you, not because of our relation, but because of the person you are. Never lose yourself. Be good, kiddo. I'm here to help if you need it, and in your case even if you only want it.
I know this kid. She's growing into a very wise young woman and all at once she's beginning to notice that the world isn't what she was promised. I'm writing to her, you guys can stick around if you want, but there's not much in it for you. Sorry. Maybe next time.
Kiddo, this thing is tough. You were told many half truths about the world, how it works and why. People would lead you to believe, without ever saying it implicitly, that this is a great place and a beautiful time to be in it. All around you all you see are these atrocities and horrors and in response to all this you didn't lash out. You did the opposite. You became the kind of person that you thought the world needed more of. I could not be more proud of you. You, one so young, have figured out the trick to changing the world, even if you're unaware of it.
Because it's hard, kiddo. It's hard to just be a human being. Living your life in a polite and good way. Fighting baser instinct to maim and hunt and kill. On top of all of this you add the ignorance, the hatred, the bigotry, the senseless violence, the fighting and death over nothing more than money, the paranoia and the general distrust and apathetic way people treat themselves, each other, and knowledge. Because as rough as it gets people exacerbate it. They add to the living hell that is the human condition. I know it's hardly the world you were promised to inherit. I know how far it is from what you thought or wanted.
I know how much it hurts to wake up in this hellhole every day and wonder how it'll ever get better. You're on your way though. You're so close you may not even see it. I encourage you, always, to take a step back and look at it from an objective angle. You lost track of your mileage on the journey, but you can always turn around and count the footsteps. Any insurmountable problem has a solution if you can divorce yourself from the consequences of the outcome. You have the ability and the potential, I can see it in you. You have everything it takes to survive and thrive in a savage world. Sadly you'll need it.
I'm sorry for the deceptions you've been put under, the false pretenses. I'm sorry that I couldn't fix everything before you had to see it in the state it's in. I'm sorry for so much of what has and what will happen. I trust you to know true right from true wrong. I trust you to make poor decisions and more so I trust you to make good decisions more often. I trust you to grow as much as I trust you to protect yourself. I trust your ability to know when to fight and when the time calls for flight. I trust you regarded only the good advice I gave you and none of the bad (more than once anyway.) just as I trust you to be able to make that distinction with all advice.
For all that you've learned and all you will learn the world is a dark and horrible place. The good news is that the half truths you were led to believe are just that; at least half true. It may not look like it from where you stand, but it's up to you now. You can make your world the place you heard of and dreamed of, or you can despondently accept what you have. It's all up to you to dictate the course of your fate.
But trust me, kiddo. It couldn't be in better or more capable hands. Ignore other people's idea of faith, but never lose faith in yourself. Believe nothing you hear and half of what you read, but everything you say and think. Give help when needed, not when wanted, and accept help when needed and not when wanted. Love as you were shown to love, but only to those that deserve it. Know who really cares for you, and be nice to the people who don't. Be yourself, now and always. You're worth every good thing you get and you're better than all of the bad shit that will be heaped on you. Trust yourself, even if you're wrong sometimes.
You can make your world better. I love you, not because of our relation, but because of the person you are. Never lose yourself. Be good, kiddo. I'm here to help if you need it, and in your case even if you only want it.