- Highlight
- #1,761
Honestly, I hope Tori sees this some day. Get your feels/puzzle/rainbow/derp ratings ready, because if she does, I have some sincere positive advice and it goes like this:
Before anyone asks: I do feel better now.
edited to fix a word and add a duck.
Gurl (or boi or enby or however you may want to label yourself by that time), you are not alone and despite what you may think, most people in general will be decent towards you if you approach the world in good faith.
Believe it or not, even most authority figures, including members of the Armed Forces and cops! Most of them just want to do their job in the least stressful way possible and go home, like the rest of us. Leave them alone and they'll leave you alone in return.
Things might be very different by the time you're old enough to make these kinds of choices, but for a start: I strongly encourage you find some way to earn money as soon as you can -- yeah, capitalism and all, but you can find a way to support yourself without totally compromising your ethics. You can find nice shit at Goodwill and flip it for a profit, for example. Cannabis is probably legal in PA by this point, so you could get work at a dispensary once you turn 18. There's always an organic grocery store or food co-op looking for employees, etc. etc.
You will want to hold onto as much of your own money as you can, even keep some secret from your folks if possible, because it will allow you a measure of independence they already enjoy as adults and they're fascists if they disagree.
I also recommend you move out West, because PA is a shit hole. The culture in cities out here is much more welcoming to left-leaning people and there are social programs widely available to help you get on your feet. It's really rewarding, and will give you a great sense of accomplishment, to work with other people to help yourself succeed, maybe even go on to extend the same favor to others! You can absolutely participate in shaping society in a positive direction, even if you show up with a just a GED and your dreams.
(You might not even need the GED, because plenty of programs will help you get that, and work towards a college degree if you end up wanting that too!)
Plus, any taxes you pay -- whether in sales tax or taxable income -- will go more towards stuff like infrastructure, public programs, and the like instead of towards the defense industry or, increasingly, police.
There are lots of employment opportunities on the West Coast as well: you can find work at a farm, even an organic one, especially if you're willing to learn some Spanish through Rosetta Stone or something. Picking produce is kind of like a Candy Crush game, and you get to be outside developing mad muscles at the same time. I'm not saying you have to become a fitspo model, but it's really cool to be physically strong no matter if you're wiry or chubby.
Despite higher costs of living on the West Coast, it's also very possible to find affordable ways to survive, because it's not like you'll be trying to rent a 3br condo in San Francisco or anything. The affordable digs won't be glamorous, but you'll make do and don't need all that high-end stuff anyway. You'll probably end up living with a bunch of other young people, like other commenters have said, and that's fine as long as you pull your own weight in the household.
In general, I would avoid moving in the same dwelling space with people who aren't around your age, if only because you'll have more in common with peers. But you might meet an older lady who's renting out a spare room or whatever, and that's like striking gold. Again, if you can pull your own weight around the place, that will make you invaluable to a good landlord and give you a sense of personal satisfaction too.
As for interpersonal advice ... I'm kind of a standoffish person and somewhat of a weirdo myself, so that's probably out of my depths, but you can absolutely find mentors and friends to help you without harming or exploiting you. If nothing else, get on public health insurance and find a therapist if you feel like you could be doing better in any way -- you can absolutely find a practitioner who can help you be the best you *without* compromising your ethics or molding you into just another drone in squaresville.
You can trust me on this, because that's what I did, and I'm also a very strong-willed person with very firm convictions in my beliefs.
Most of all, I hope you know there is nothing wrong with asking for help and being open to learn new things, like a skill or trade or chore. You might not always love it or agree 100% with everyone around you ideologically, and it will be hard no matter what, but it's hard to do basically anything worthwhile anyway.
I swear, if you plant the seeds of a life you want, it WILL grow.
If you've read this, even just for the sake of finding something to argue with, you're already on your way.
Good luck, and I know you can do it! Even if only to stick it to anyone who didn't think you could.
Believe it or not, even most authority figures, including members of the Armed Forces and cops! Most of them just want to do their job in the least stressful way possible and go home, like the rest of us. Leave them alone and they'll leave you alone in return.
Things might be very different by the time you're old enough to make these kinds of choices, but for a start: I strongly encourage you find some way to earn money as soon as you can -- yeah, capitalism and all, but you can find a way to support yourself without totally compromising your ethics. You can find nice shit at Goodwill and flip it for a profit, for example. Cannabis is probably legal in PA by this point, so you could get work at a dispensary once you turn 18. There's always an organic grocery store or food co-op looking for employees, etc. etc.
You will want to hold onto as much of your own money as you can, even keep some secret from your folks if possible, because it will allow you a measure of independence they already enjoy as adults and they're fascists if they disagree.
I also recommend you move out West, because PA is a shit hole. The culture in cities out here is much more welcoming to left-leaning people and there are social programs widely available to help you get on your feet. It's really rewarding, and will give you a great sense of accomplishment, to work with other people to help yourself succeed, maybe even go on to extend the same favor to others! You can absolutely participate in shaping society in a positive direction, even if you show up with a just a GED and your dreams.
(You might not even need the GED, because plenty of programs will help you get that, and work towards a college degree if you end up wanting that too!)
Plus, any taxes you pay -- whether in sales tax or taxable income -- will go more towards stuff like infrastructure, public programs, and the like instead of towards the defense industry or, increasingly, police.
There are lots of employment opportunities on the West Coast as well: you can find work at a farm, even an organic one, especially if you're willing to learn some Spanish through Rosetta Stone or something. Picking produce is kind of like a Candy Crush game, and you get to be outside developing mad muscles at the same time. I'm not saying you have to become a fitspo model, but it's really cool to be physically strong no matter if you're wiry or chubby.
Just try to avoid working on cannabis farms, especially in Humboldt and the "Emerald Triangle", because as of 2020 that whole culture is a clusterfuck. People get disappeared like it's Argentina in the 1970s, and having a vagina = being especially vulnerable.
Guess that's probably true, to some extent, of most agricultural work ... and you're probably really good at handling yourself in sketchy situations already because of your street smarts and life experiences ... but it's still better to minimize certain risks and go easy on yourself in that respect.
It's still totally fine to get a dispensary job though, or even help out an up and coming edibles company or something, since the industry as a whole is almost definitely not going out of style any time soon. In general, it's better to be on the payroll somewhere, because at least then there's a paper trail, they're accountable for paying the wages you've earned, and they have incentive to not let you go missing. Not trying to demonize anything or freak you out ... Just saying.
Guess that's probably true, to some extent, of most agricultural work ... and you're probably really good at handling yourself in sketchy situations already because of your street smarts and life experiences ... but it's still better to minimize certain risks and go easy on yourself in that respect.
It's still totally fine to get a dispensary job though, or even help out an up and coming edibles company or something, since the industry as a whole is almost definitely not going out of style any time soon. In general, it's better to be on the payroll somewhere, because at least then there's a paper trail, they're accountable for paying the wages you've earned, and they have incentive to not let you go missing. Not trying to demonize anything or freak you out ... Just saying.
Despite higher costs of living on the West Coast, it's also very possible to find affordable ways to survive, because it's not like you'll be trying to rent a 3br condo in San Francisco or anything. The affordable digs won't be glamorous, but you'll make do and don't need all that high-end stuff anyway. You'll probably end up living with a bunch of other young people, like other commenters have said, and that's fine as long as you pull your own weight in the household.
In general, I would avoid moving in the same dwelling space with people who aren't around your age, if only because you'll have more in common with peers. But you might meet an older lady who's renting out a spare room or whatever, and that's like striking gold. Again, if you can pull your own weight around the place, that will make you invaluable to a good landlord and give you a sense of personal satisfaction too.
As for interpersonal advice ... I'm kind of a standoffish person and somewhat of a weirdo myself, so that's probably out of my depths, but you can absolutely find mentors and friends to help you without harming or exploiting you. If nothing else, get on public health insurance and find a therapist if you feel like you could be doing better in any way -- you can absolutely find a practitioner who can help you be the best you *without* compromising your ethics or molding you into just another drone in squaresville.
You can trust me on this, because that's what I did, and I'm also a very strong-willed person with very firm convictions in my beliefs.
Most of all, I hope you know there is nothing wrong with asking for help and being open to learn new things, like a skill or trade or chore. You might not always love it or agree 100% with everyone around you ideologically, and it will be hard no matter what, but it's hard to do basically anything worthwhile anyway.
I swear, if you plant the seeds of a life you want, it WILL grow.
If you've read this, even just for the sake of finding something to argue with, you're already on your way.
Good luck, and I know you can do it! Even if only to stick it to anyone who didn't think you could.
Before anyone asks: I do feel better now.
edited to fix a word and add a duck.
Last edited:
