Dear Charles,
I hope you, Neal, Mama and Papa are having a great Memorial Day weekend. Has Papa cranked up the tunes through the house? I always loved the long weekends where Mama and Papa would do things around the house, Neal and I would ride our bikes all over, and we would have dinner on the deck. I just spoke to Mama and Papa on the phone from my apartment in Los Angeles. They had just got back from the store, Mama is making guacamole, and Papa just got in the house from walking their dog Susie. I am traveling back on Monday, they already have our dinner planned, I am really looking forward to seeing them.
Are you excited for the summer? That three month break you have will be so much fun. When you get to Avon, NC this summer, try and be the dune jumping champion. What you do now will shape who I am today, and I really miss jumping off dunes in the summer on the beach. It is wonderful we have parents that are very caring and loving. Take this with you as you become older, it will be a guiding light. To love and care for your family, your friends, your girlfriends, your pets, and whatever else, is what will make you the most happy in life. You can only do this though, if you remember to always have a positive attitude and self confidence. I know, Mama says that to you all the time, and she is right. If you find yourself looking at the bad things more than the good, take a minute to look again and find the good things.
Now, no pressure, but all the choices you have before you, led me to Los Angeles. I am so glad I made them, and you will make them. Keep it up. Some will hurt, some will be annoying, and others will make you want to jump out of your skin in excitement. Savor each one for what it is. Never wish you were someone else, never put up a wall, never change your direction because you fear something. I know you won’t, I mean, I am here today, but I think it is important to remind you. You are the sum of your history and that is fantastic.
Also remember this, you are who I am now, even there, sitting at home with Mama and Papa. We judge things the same way, we need things the same way, we want things the same way. That is how you become an adult, you are able to do things better as you get older, because you realize that you can make conscious choices to change the way you react to something, and get the result you want in the end. By remembering you and only you control your feelings and emotions, you will find great comfort in standing strong and tall in the face of anything that comes before you
Well, time to take a shower and go meet some friends. Have a wonderful weekend with Mama, Papa and Neal.
Love,
Alex
Dear Alex,
Greetings from yourself. I hope all is well in LA. I am sure you are fine, but I think it might be time for a little feedback from my end, something that can help you get to where I am now. You see, life, as you already know, can throw a lot of shit at you. You’ll find it can be a lot of the same shit that gives you the most grief. However, you need to focus on the fact that at the end of the day you will come to a much deeper understanding of yourself and the situation after you deal with it. It won’t come right away, but it will become clearer as time passes. Most of the time you assume you should know how to deal with whatever comes your way. This is never the case. Each event in your life will require a different interpretation and a different reaction. This, however, is a good thing. If you blindly react to each similar event in the same way, you’ll wind up with a different result each time. Take time to react, be patient. More often than not you will find yourself happy with the result, and if you you don’t you will be happy it didn’t happen anyway.
I think it is great you have met a lot of new people. Some of them will remain your friends forever, and I still talk to them today. It is a wonderful experience living in Los Angeles that will make you a stronger and happier person. I know from experience that our choice to move to LA is one of the best we have made in our life. It is an adjustment, but learning to adjust is the best thing for you. The same thing applies to this experience as it does with other events, take a step back, look at the whole picture, be patient and react with the confidence you know you have.
I talked to Mama and Papa today, they are living large in Florida. Neal is doing well too. Don’t worry about the future, you can’t predict it, but you can set goals and dreams for it. Remember to look back at your past and see what you did and how you were when you make choices about your future. You are still that seven year old boy in essence. Everyone is still that child they were at one time, just “grown up”. Just remember, don’t run away from anything. I told you this before, it is an escape from your personal responsibility to yourself.
Love,
Alexander
PS: Hit the beach more.
??????
It is finally Thursday. This has been a long, stressful week. Hunter S. Thompson said it best: I hate to advocate drugs, alcohol, violence, or insanity to anyone, but they’ve always worked for me. I am heading to the beach tonight to hang out, have some beer, and watch the sun set over the ocean.
I am still quite shocked that I made this choice to move to LA. I thought I would get over the shock, you know, be an adult about it. However, it seems to crop up now and then and hit me in the face. It is the best choice I have ever made in my life though. I needed to do this. It will solidify in me that I can do pretty much do everything I set my mind to. It is a good feeling.
Time to sit under the hot sun.
