Postby My pseudonym is Ix » 16 Mar 2015, 12:45
Dear 12 year-old Ix.
Hey dude. How's it going? Enjoying your rugby? Well, keep at enjoying it first and being good at it second- the more you throw yourself into the fun side of it, the more great memories it'll give you.
Hmm. Where was I? Ah yes.
Let's start with something you already know- you've got the single biggest change of your life thus far coming up in just a few weeks. New school, new environment, new people, new start. New rugby team, new opportunities, pretty much new everything. And a lot of it will go great for you- the rugby's good, and will only get better with time, the work will be at that lovely level where you're smart enough to cope with it but challenged enough to be engaged, and you have every tool you need in your arsenal to come out at the end of it with the world at your feet.
But that doesn't mean things are going to be easy, and particularly in one regard- friends. You're going to be split up from them, and it's going to be hard. You'll have to work hard to make new ones, and more importantly you'll have to be prepared to change yourself to do so. I know that sounds stupid to you right now- you have friends now, so why should you change yourself to make them in the future? Well... things change. New people means doing things in new ways. And you can bluster and moan all you like about it not being fair that you have to change to accommodate other people- unfortunately, life just isn't like that.
Because ultimately, it doesn't matter how 'right' you are. It matters whether you are happy.
Write that down, because it's one of the most important lessons you can ever learn.
And you will, trust me on this, be so, so much happier in the long run if you make every effort to be kind and friendly and willing to try new things and share them with new people.
Peace out man- now go forth and do awesome things with awesome people.
-Older Ix
"Let us think the unthinkable, let us do the undoable, let us prepare to grapple with the ineffable itself, and see if we may not
it after all."
I'll try and get it done tonight.
