youcantseebutimmakingaface:

simonalkenmayer:

I have a great deal of advice. But it is nothing new. I’ve answered this before and given my philosophical views, but allow me to be more practical here.

Participate. Take up causes. Learn. You are paying for these classes so treat it like something you have bought. You wouldn’t pay for a movie ticket and stop paying attention, allow people to talk through it, put up with a theater only showing half, and so forth. Point being, this is something you have purchased and so you should be upset and annoyed if someone compromises it, nor should you compromise it. You wouldn’t buy a car and drive it into a ditch, so don’t pay for school and then give your classes a portion of your output.

Learn to set boundaries and codes of conduct for yourself. You’re an adult now.

If you’re uncertain what to study, take a little of everything and you’ll learn very quickly. If you know what you want and are focused, be sure to also take courses that are outside that in order to challenge yourself.

Do a year abroad if you can afford it. I have heard many excellent things about that.

Remember that your idea of normal is not universal.

The library is wonderful.

Stay safe.

Vote.

Sleep whenever possible.

Don’t overeat. Take advantage of the gym and health centers. Volunteer at the centers if you have the time.

Essentially…keep a foot in the realm of joy and irresponsibility and a foot in the future of you – the adult you. Have fun, but learn how to become an adult.

Order a thousand pack of scantrons and an equivalent of pre-filled mechanical pencils, then sell them for $2 each on test days. Trust me.

Huzzah! Such ingenuity!!! Composition notebooks too! Buy them in bulk!

I wasn’t asked how to make money…goodness.

That’s a hefty question. I’ve touched on it in many ways, many times. Let me stitch it together for you into a monster of a reply.

Firstly, I advise you to be certain that this mental state isn’t due to a neurochemical imbalance. Do not be afraid of therapy. Mental health is health. It is the health of the body, so treat it similarly.

That aside, what could possibly make someone of 21 years wish to die? To my mind it can only be one of several things: mental health, pain, a sense that the world contains very little, regret of some kind.

All these things can be managed. All these things depend upon your perception.

When I woke, I had no idea what I was. When I didn’t grow old, didn’t die, I became very upset. Those first hundred years were some of my worst. To me the repetition was oppressive. I wandered. I looked for new things. I was angry and did things I today quite regret, and unlike humans, I have a very difficult (thus far impossible) time dying. I have no choice but to find ways around it, so in many ways…you’ve come to the right person.

I know that it can seem to you, (in the general sense) that man has been remarkably consistent throughout history. They continue to steal, kill, struggle for power, and while it is true that those basic demons still dwell within you – evolved versions of basic survival instinct – you do change. Humanity does shift. To me, having seen all that I have…I can tell you this is the greatest age. I am always asked that question: which era was best, and the answer is always now.

I have seen tremendous leaps and bounds. And I have hope. I meet ten lovely souls for every terrible one. I make amends with my past by strict self control.

But I do believe it is important for you to embrace a concept. Perhaps you’ve thought about it, perhaps not, but allow me to say it, if I may.

Death is an end. I don’t care what you believe will happen. The truth is no one has a way to know. Not one person on this earth can prove that they know what happens. So let us imagine the absolute worst: that death is the darkness and you enter and cease to be. You cease.

So many humans go on about death in a way I understand – after all, it’s difficult for an organism, whose entire genetic makeup is built to survive, can envision itself not existing, but you should try it.

There is no release to death. There’s no peace. There’s no freedom. Because the thing that can experience those emotions has ended. You won’t be there to say “well thank heaven that’s all over with”. Nothing you’ve done is ever balanced. Nothing you learned can be passed on. And if you are young, you will have fewer souls to speak for you when you are gone.

Death is a cold, creeping horror, not a joy. You should fight it, run from it, with everything that you are, in fascinating and clever ways. There is no point to anything else.

You’re here. This place is vast and constantly changing. This place is always new. Embrace that. Take in everything. If you have to leave your life as it is, then do it. If you have to wander the earth, do it. If you have to go from guru to guru, do it. Your time will run out quickly enough. Never hasten it.

I don’t know your situation, but you asked me about mine. You came wondering if there was a method I have employed. That is the method.

Contemplate death once a day. Then silence your mind and go live every moment. If someone tries to make your life less than you’ve envisioned, fight them.

Return to me, my anonymous friend, and tell me what it is specifically that could make you suffer enough to feel this way. I can do nothing with generalities.