Note to a Baby

Rx is a toddler, my toddler. She came out of my body. So, I know this. I think all the time, What if I die and Rx is dependent on learning from other people? It's kind of horrifying. So, I've been writing her notes in case I'm not around when she's wondering about stuff. This is one of those notes:

1.     DO go to college if only so you know what it’s like so you can talk about it later with educated people – but also because it’s really fun. Getting a degree is overrated if you have talent. And you do. Take the money you’d spend getting a degree and move to Europe to study your art there (whatever that art is) – by this I mean, spend that money on rent and make your art all day, maybe take a class here or there. That’s better than a college education and costs a fraction of the cash.

2.     Educate yourself. If you have a question, there is no excuse for not finding an answer. Look it up. Too many people say, “I didn’t know, so I didn’t do anything.” This will cause them a lot of problems later on, but it will be so much further down the road, they’ll never figure out what went wrong. That kinda thing snowballs and then causes craziness. Craziness hurts.

3.     Life DOES happen. I didn’t think it would. Neither did your dad. We thought growing up wouldn’t happen, I guess, so we made some dumb choices, like smoking cigarettes. But we made some good choices, like EDUCATE YOURSELF and USE YOUR TALENT. Doing those two things has put us in a position to work at jobs we like. You will have to work one day and doing something you hate won’t cut it for you. Homelessness happens to people for very ordinary reasons.  Your dad and I are working hard so that you won’t ever have to imagine being homeless, but you’ll be responsible for doing whatever it takes to get paid for doing what you love. A great way to find out what you love? Try everything. Say YES to everything. Do the unconventional. Yes, you can live on a remote island and be calmer and happier. No, you don’t have to do what the everybody says as long as you have talent and follow it.

4.     Compassion is a talent. And you have tons of compassion. Helping people is one of the best career choices you can make.

5.     Care for people, animals and plants. The universe sees this and will reward you. Take in abandoned animals. They will love you forever.  Water abandoned plants. You will love you for doing this.

6.     “The Universe” is energy. Everyone’s energy. When you put out good energy, it’s felt. When you do good things, it’s felt. Nothing goes unseen.

7.     Say too little rather than too much. Don’t feel intimidated by silence, whether it’s between two people or two emails. You don’t owe anyone an explanation for anything.

8.     Assume everyone has the best intentions. It’s either that or assume everyone has the worst, and assuming everyone has the worst just gives you a headache and makes you feel sick.

9.     Do everything you can for your friends. They are your true family. They will stick by your side through everything and will experience everything with you. They will know you better than your own family.

10. Forget the past if you can. It takes work but it’s worth it. We make our reality what we want. I know those are just words and words are easy to spit out, but I’ve just experienced this and it’s true. 

11. Always apologize as soon as you realize you did something weird/wrong/hurtful. You'll know that it's wrong if it nags at you. Start the apology like this: "It may not mean much to you, but I noticed that I..."