Sometimes there is no time.

[TooManyIdeas]

It's not about age. Or experience. It's about awareness. I am the same me that I was on the day I looked in that mirror in my first grade classroom and felt astonished to see a little kid staring back. I think about how things feel. Good things and bad. And realize that I may not have always experienced them the same way, but the things themselves were always there. Most of my values are the same too. So many things are happening simultaneously. When you deconstruct time, you can live with less regret. You might realize that you actually didn't miss that opportunity to chase adventure. Or take a class. Or immerse yourself in obsessions over music and art. Or simply and crucially, to apologize. There are times when I become acutely aware that twenty years ago is happening side by side with last week. Being a teenager in a band in 1980 coexists with being the parent of teenagers in 2010. I am the same person. I believe in the same things. And yes, kids, I seek out many of the same thrills--spiritual, intellectual, emotional and physical. Maybe even more. So don't be afraid to ask about how things were when I was your age; I can tell you easily because I'm still there. Ignore the lie that so many of my chronies (chronologically similar people, that is) seem to put forth, though not always through their words. That they don't approve. That they had no fun. And most of all, that you should be afraid. Yes, afraid--not merely cautious or even just considerate of their fears. The exact time of life that you are in now will also be occurring when you are a senior citizen, hanging out in the comfort of your bed, listening to Radiohead and getting high. You might even have more time to really get it.