What advice would you give to your teenage self?
No need to be embarrassed, you are so far off the radar that no one is looking at you, they are all wrapped up worried about other people looking at them to notice you. Isn’t that great news? No need to stress yourself out about it any more. As a teen in the 90’s you are unencumbered by the cell phone video surveillance epidemic that the current youth face. You are free to try new things, explore, be creative, dress differently, and dance like idiots and there will never, ever be any photographic evidence of it, unless you decide to pose for a photograph. Camcorder units were large, expensive, and not all that easy to come by for us middling to poor folks in rural Ontario. There will be no lasting images of how you dance, dress, speak, or work. Enjoy it while it lasts.
Also all those peers whose opinion you were so afraid of, you do not see a single one of them again after the 2000’s are done. Life is pretty great for you.
Oh! By the way, Yes you do have Crohn’s Disease, no it isn’t Celiac Disease. Go on meds, and exercise.
Turns out you enjoy Olympic lifts, and indoor climbing a fair bit more than roller blading, skateboarding, and cycling. Dump the highschool girlfriend(s), work on yourself, and try not to be frivolous with money, so you can actually enjoy both College, and later on University.
Be kind to yourself, be generous but not a push over. Don’t bother to smoke, even for just that one summer. Wait on the weed until it comes out in reliable gummy format, your throat / lungs will thank you. Try a bit harder to pick up the fundamentals of the guitar, and fight harder to keep on playing the trombone once your folks move when you’re fourteen years old. Keep up with the musical theatre (it’s a real hoot).
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