Your Biggest Fan

Dear Eric,

I just wanted to tell you to keep your head up. Life is going to keep swinging, man, and you better believe it. You’re hung up on a girl? Trust me, you’ll be hung up on several more. You’re having trouble deciding what in the hell you want to do with your life? Well, I’ll tell ya man, all these years later and I still haven’t got a clue.

But I’m not writing this to scare you, or to make you feel hopeless about the future. I’m writing to tell you it’s going to be okay, and to let you know that it isn’t a crime to breathe.

There is no magic age, man. There’s no magic birthday where every piece of the universal puzzle is going to fit perfectly in place. Where you’ll float above the completed picture, saying “that’s it! It all makes sense now.” Life just doesn’t work that way, at least not in my experience. You’ll be working on that puzzle for the rest of your days. But that’s part of life’s charm. There’s no fun once it’s finished anyway, right?

I’m also writing to let you know that many of the battles and obstacles you’re facing now are worthy adversaries. Some will drift away in time, and become nothing more than vague memories, but others are going to fight to make sure that their voices are heard. You can either let the voices cripple you, or you can learn to live alongside them. Sometimes the latter might not seem like an option, but we’re adaptable, and we’re strong. Don’t forget that.

Oh, and don’t let anyone tell you what you should be, and what you should do, because here’s a secret, my young friend, they don’t know either. Some can project confidence better than others, but in my experience, once you get them alone and comfortable enough to strip down the bullshit, they’ll tell you they’re lost and clueless, too. We’re all just trying to carve a path in the dirt during a torrential downpour. Yeah, as you already know, it isn’t easy.

I know I’m rambling, but I want to make sure I fit all the important tidbits in here. So man, you need to try, as hard as it may be, to live in the present. Because here’s another nugget of truth: people have a way of getting lost in nostalgia. Dipping your toes in those waters is fine, but full submersion will leave you living a life that isn’t real. Your existence will become an illusion of a past you thought you lived, accentuated by those deadly rose coloured frames that consume us all like the purest of drugs. Living in the future can have a similar effect.

Reality is where you need to build your home. You need to face it, accept it, and most importantly, enjoy it, man. I know it’s cliched, but I rolled my eyes at wisdom for years, thinking that time would never catch up with me. I was just too damn fast. But here I am, writing this with a beer in my hand, and a gut to match it.

And one last thing before I sign off, enjoy art. Keep reading, listening to music, writing, and playing guitar. It’s food for the brain, and it’ll serve you well when all other things seem pointless and mundane. No matter how heavy that weight you carry becomes, art will always lift the spirit.

Trust me. You’ll be fine. We’ll be fine.

Sincerely,

Your biggest fan