This above all: to thine ownself be true

I'm not sure how I haven't done this in the past 18 years, but I found myself rooting through some old wares 'stored' in my parents crib.  A quick reflection on some things that I unearthed:

1. I had a planner freshman year.  I wrote stuff in it.  I was pretty organized, for a 17 year old son of a chaotic unorganized household.
2. All of my addresses are organized just like they are in my cell; by last name.  My wife thinks it's so weird that I even have last names in my phone, but this is a carryover from my 90’s self.
3. I am in contact with all of the people in my planner address book, except for those that I intentionally no longer associated with.  That's mostly a function of the net, because at a point I had last touch with most folks.
4. I found my first email address.  It was my initials and the last four digits of my social @salisbury.edu. WOW! That's all I can say.
5.  I also found a bunch of letters that are just comical.  Sometimes I get on my high horse and lament the loss of written communication, but in reality I've had wall posts on FB that were way more interesting and substantive than these letters.  It's nice to reminisce, though. Friends, girlfriends, pen-pals...I had actual pen-pals.  Crazy.

It's interesting that I should find these gems now.  I lived as many years since preparing to depart for college, as I had prior.  I remember that kid.  Optimistic. Curious. Quiet. Respectful. Contemplative. Bright. Despite all of that, he was yearning to escape the violence that had grown to a fever pitch in those days.  He felt like one of a few standing from a lost generation of young black men who grew up supervised by overworked mothers, absentee fathers, the correction systems, the streets, or no one at all.

College was his key.  He knew not to what.  Despite the intelligence, he was unsophisticated and had very few goals, beyond survival - Maslow.  I wonder what I would say to that young man, as he loaded his cases of Snapple, footlocker of linens, and jumbo box of Purex (that lasted for three years) into his parent’s minivans.

You already know the secret to life, trust yourself. 

This kid was incredibly sensitive.  His instincts were sharp, for no reason.  He just 'got it'.  Many adults thought that he had an 'old soul'.  He had to go through a lot to get back to this realization, which he already had around the age of 14.

You will get far on smarts and charm, but you will succeed by hard work.

Distinct, with a silver tongue and a cool that would make Andre 3000 stop in his tracks, the young man experienced life as easy (despite the inherent environmental challenges, that were outside of his locus of  control).  He got B's without as much cracking the spine of a textbook.  He was likable and drew people in.  He would find college more suited to his style than high school and his interpersonal relationships would open social and academic doors that he didn't know existed.

If I was sitting with him, I would affirm those qualities and then admonish him to double down on those traits with diligence and industry.  In time, he would come to that realization, but he would have been better served striking while the proverbial iron was hot.

Keep in touch with your guys from home.

He would enter an intense environment, where he would share time, space, laughs, and great memories with new and interesting people.  With long distance charges, snail-mail, and geographic separation, it will be hard to keep the links strong to the guys that he came up with.  The short sightedness of youth will let him believe that it's easier to live in the moment, but these relationships are grounded in a time that will never be his again.  Those that were with him will remain as the anchors of an all too short list of true friends.  It makes sense to grow with them and share your time, space, laughs, and great memories with them along the way.

Money matters.  Get yours.

Gen Xer's rejected the notion of getting rich, just to get rich and wanted to sincerely capitalize on the wave of social change that flowed from their predecessors. The simple reality of this life is that you can't help the poor if you're one of them.  I would have him figure out how to get the most out of his talents, so that he could be a real player in change conversations.

Girls.

This is one he will have to learn on his own, I suppose.  His mom made sure he had the jumbo box of condoms and his dad had 'the talk with him'.  His physical well being was safe.  Emotionally, he would find that girls will be alluring, distracting, intense, irreplaceable, cruel, exciting, impractical, and everything in between. I would have my young protégé be confident, honest, and open.  I would also shatter the myth of perfection as seen on T.V. It will be messy and difficult at times.  The band of angels will not sing forever and the fireworks will fade.  That's OK.  It's character and substance that sustain, not the initial feelings of excitement.

 Read before class, not just before the test.

Sitting though 1.5 hours with Dr. Gehring breaking down the Magna Carta, Pius XI, and Charlemagne will be infinitely more tolerable if he is familiar with the material.

Dream big, not practical.

He was raised to think within the realm of reason.  Son of middle class government worker, the message of go to school and get a 'good job’ (whatever that means) pervaded his self dialogue.  He wasn't going to be Mike Jordan, Mike Tyson, or Mike Jackson, but there are heights that can be attained based on the strengths that he does have.  Figure those out, and go hard.

This isn't as good as it gets, but you should still live it as if it were.

The litany of people telling him at every new milestone that 'this is the time of your life' was confusing, to say the least. How would he deal with the pressure of knowing that this was going to be the next 'time of his life' and the sadness of knowing that whatever comes next will be worse?

I'd set his mind at ease, by telling him that life keeps getting better.  At the same time, this time is unique and not to be taken for granted.  His cool, while a tremendous asset, never lets his lows take him too low (a defense from childhood), but it also never lets his highs take him to high.  I'd let him feel OK with going with the beauty of each moment and living it to the fullest.

If he was still listening, I'd send him off ala Lord Polonius to Laertes:

"Neither a borrower nor a lender be;

For loan oft loses both itself and friend,

And borrowing dulls the edge of husbandry.

This above all: to thine ownself be true,

And it must follow, as the night the day,

Thou canst not then be false to any man.

Farewell: my blessing season this in thee!"

Good luck, homie.