Letter to myself at 18

So these were getting passed around, and since I didn't have anything else to write about, I decided to give it a heave, even though it's sure to be boring as hell.

Dear 18-year-old me,

Hey, how's it going? College sure is fun, huh? even though you're younger than pretty much everyone at the school. Don't drink too much though, even though you think you're so good at it. Cool kids don't do that.

Baseball's fun, huh? That's pretty good that you were able to put seven mph on your fastball within six weeks of college ball. And don't worry, there's at least five more coming... and who knows, maybe more?

Work hard at baseball, you've really got a talent there, and it'd be a shame to miss the last month of your senior season because of academic ineligibility. Oh yeah, and don't play intramural basketball during the season, dumbass, because some out of control A-hole is going to jump on your back and land the combined weight of both of you on the outside of your right foot, and you'll hear your ankle crunch and miss six weeks right in the middle of junior season. Still, even if that happens, don't be afraid to try some semi-pro ball back in Chicago after college, and don't be surprised if you get named to the college All-stars for the CSBL. And who knows where you could go from there?

Rome is pretty fun, isn't it? I'd recommend that you not break into the castle above Assissi in the middle of the night to climb to the top even though it's hella fun. Have a little respect for your hosts. Ditto for breaking into St. Stephen's Green in Dublin in the middle of the night. Ditto for camping illegally in Killarney National Forest. Ditto for stealing that handle of Jack Daniels from the bar in Rome. Maybe even ditto for breaking curfew to hit up clubs in Greece until all hours of the night. Actually, sounds like you just need to settle down in Rome, tiger.

Relationships? Eh, you're not big into them now, and you won't be anytime soon. There's always the one obvious sort-of one that basically defines how you see love, but you already know there's more to it than that. Don't stress about it now. I'm sure you won't.

So, to summarize, maybe worry a tiny bit more, and don't dick around so much. I know you pride yourself on not worrying about anything ever, but know what? Some things are worth worrying about a little bit. But obviously, I think you've got it mostly right; most of the things that most people worry about most of the time are really insignificant, so it's fine that you don't give a crap.

Don't do drugs, don't drink to much, don't be impure. You can do it. Oh yeah, and work hard. That's going to be the toughest one. Don't sit back on your laurels just because you don't need to work to get by. Peace be with you.

Love,

You