Today, I am seventeen. Needless to say, I do not feel any different.
My father was at University when he was my age, I have still two years to go. I have said before, and elicited much derision, that adolescence is an Existential period of ones life. Plutarch tells us that Caesar wept before a statue of Alexander, because he had not yet accomplished any great things. This is the nature of adolescence, although Caesar shows that it extends beyond the age of nineteen.
I shall make a list, à la Shawshank, perhaps to look back on it in a few years and be reminded of my seventeen year old self. I must warn that the following list is extremely saccharine and may cause problems for people with weak stomachs.
I. My Family and Friends I have a very close family, without whom I doubt I would have made it thus far. My friends have also been there for me when the absurdity of life has seemed to much. Although neither group can hear it, thank you.
II. Learning T.H. White said that the best thing for being sad is to learn something. How right he was. I have always loved learning, indiscriminately. This has been the sole cause, save for my family and friends, of any successes I may have had, but it has not always been rewarded. I occasionally have difficulty fitting my love of learning into a school course, and this has caused problems.
III. Poetry When all else fails, I find solace in poems, particularly in the soothing rhythms of Eliot or Auden.
IV. Hope for the future I have great hopes for the future, which naturally leads to great fears that they shall never come to pass and that I shall end as a failure, as an academic without a degree or job.
V. Myself For all my life, I have been my constant companion. I love myself and my life above all else, and yet I have also often felt towards myself a deep contempt hatred, which attacks me at the strangest moments.
Posted by Goody Scrivener (Member # 6742) on :
Happy birthday, Pel!
Posted by Jeesh (Member # 9163) on :
Happy Birthday Pel! Posted by TomDavidson (Member # 124) on :
Many happy returns, Pel. It gets better, believe me.
Posted by Demonstrocity (Member # 9579) on :
quote: I have a very close family, without whom I doubt I would have made it thus far. My friends have also been there for me when the absurdity of life has seemed to much. Although neither group can hear it, thank you.
Make them hear it! ^_^
Happy Birthday.
Posted by BlackBlade (Member # 8376) on :
Happy Birthday Pel, may you soon find your self free from the shackles of teenage insecurity. Theres a calling out there thats right for you, go find it.
Posted by Edgehopper (Member # 1716) on :
Happy Birthday! Don't forget, there's plenty of non-academic learning out there too, which can be plenty fulfilling.
Posted by Icarus (Member # 3162) on :
Happy birthday.
quote: I have said before, and elicited much derision, that adolescence is an Existential period of ones life.
That seems like an accurate assessment adolescence. From whom did you elicit derision for it? (I suspect that in fact you did not. As I noted elsewhere, you have a tendency to see derision where it is not present, and, when it is present, misconstrue what precisely the derision is for.
quote:I have also often felt towards myself a deep contempt hatred, which attacks me at the strangest moments.
I'm sorry to hear it. I suspect it's true of a great many people here; it seems to be an affliction of the thoughtful, as they are often overprone to self-examination. I can certainly identify with the statement.
I hope you give things a chance to get better, and that you cultivate a receptiveness to their doing so.
Posted by James Tiberius Kirk (Member # 2832) on :
Happy 17th, man.
--j_k
Posted by FlyingCow (Member # 2150) on :
Happy birthday, man!
Just think, 800 years ago you would have been married with a kid (or two) by this point - or dead by plague, famine, or war.
Life is good! You get to come online and take part in an intellectual community without yet having to spend the time supporting yourself or a family - and better yet, there's far less chance now of you dying of plague, famine, or war!
Posted by Carrie (Member # 394) on :
*snort*
Happy birthday, Pel.
Posted by MyrddinFyre (Member # 2576) on :
Happy Birthday to you, Happy Birthday to you, Happy Birthday dear Pel, Happy Birthday to you!
Posted by Dr Strangelove (Member # 8331) on :
Happy Birthday Pel! Posted by rivka (Member # 4859) on :
Hippo birdies! Posted by Swampjedi (Member # 7374) on :
Happy Birthday!
Posted by twinky (Member # 693) on :
Posted by Tante Shvester (Member # 8202) on :
Have a Yom Huledet Sameach* The best is yet to come, no?
*Happy Birthday
Posted by Dr Strangelove (Member # 8331) on :
Tante, do you have some folder somewhere that just has a bunch of links and you just pull one out whenever the occaision arises?
Posted by ladyday (Member # 1069) on :
Happy birthday, and I agree with Demonstrocity.
Posted by Kwea (Member # 2199) on :
Happy Birthday, Pel!
Posted by Teshi (Member # 5024) on :
Hapful Birthday, Pelegius .
Posted by Tante Shvester (Member # 8202) on :
quote:Originally posted by Dr Strangelove: Tante, do you have some folder somewhere that just has a bunch of links and you just pull one out whenever the occaision arises?
Just for you, I'll share my secret source.
Posted by Rakeesh (Member # 2001) on :
Merry Birthday, Pelegius
Although you haven't asked...I think this is a good landmark, anemic or otherwise. I am a bit surprised to think so-I usually associate landmarks with being very lengthy and very detailed-but after considering it a moment...this is a good landmark. I am glad to have read it, and thanks for sharing.
Posted by genius00345 (Member # 8206) on :
Happy Birthday!
I am preparing for my 17th, coming up in October...can't wait!
Posted by Morbo (Member # 5309) on :
Happy Birthday, Pelegius! Posted by Eduardo St. Elmo (Member # 9566) on :
![[Big Grin]](biggrin.gif)
![[Smile]](smile.gif)
It gets better, believe me.
![[Party]](graemlins/party.gif)