"The girls have two basic stereotypes", he said, "one group are really concerned about money, clothes and IG and showing off. The others sleep around, hang out in clubs and whatnot. Everyone is just trying to fit in." Surely they can't all be like that, I thought. It's hard being a teenager. Life is moving quickly and you're caught in the middle of definitely not being a child anymore but not quite having the wisdom or experience of an adult.
My own teenage years were... difficult. I was filled with anger at being a foster child and all it entailed. Sick of all of it, really. Bored and tired of social workers and therapists and of feeling lucky that things weren't worse than they were. I didn't feel like I fit in anywhere and I just wanted to get away from it all. It was the worst time of my life.
I told my son the above quote from Kurt Vonnegut, which had always resonated with me. I told him that I knew it was hard and confusing. Teenagers are expected to know their life plan and have it all figured out at 16. I'm still trying to figure it out at 56. One thing I am certain of is that we are not meant to go it alone.
Throughout my life I have always found a small circle of close friends to help me get through this thing together, whatever it is. My tribe has been there for me no matter what, thick or thin, always. Together, we have laughed and cried (mostly laughed) and faced everything one way or another. Somehow, we got through. He has his circle and they are an important part of his life, too.
My Kali family (and more broadly my extended martial arts family) has been a real anchor for me. On the mats we work and sweat (and sometimes bleed). Off the mats we share and support each other. Without that element in my life I'm sure I would never have made it. I think you've got to have some true passion in life and share it with others to be truly happy. I'm lucky I found mine so early.
At 32 I was certain I'd always be single. I'm just not good at relationships - too extreme, too many mood swings. Haunted by too many ghosts and chased by too many demons. I just couldn't seem to make it work for more than a month or two. I spent most of my life trying to fix people, maybe in the hopes that it would prove my own self-worth. I couldn't save them, and as such I couldn't save/forgive myself. It was a negative spiral that just kept holding me down.
A year later I was married, now 22 years this year. I had found someone who wasn't broken and didn't need fixing - someone who was, and is, perfect just the way she is. Someone who, for reasons I can never understand, manages to love me even when I cannot love myself. Through her, my life has purpose and meaning and every good thing started with knowing she was by my side and had my back. That has made all the difference. She has helped me get through this thing, together, whatever it is. Because of her, it has been a good thing and worth getting through. Thanks to her I have never given up.
I told Ray that I bet there are lot of other people out there who feel like he does. Wondering and maybe a little bit anxious about what happens next. People who don't know why we're here or how to get through this thing, whatever it is. Just like me, all they really want is to get through it together - with someone they can count on and who will show up for them. If they could get past the plastic facade, the social media, the posturing, the virtue signaling. If they could open up and be real, then they would see him for who he really is - the man I see in him. They would consider themselves lucky to have a true companion in him, a person who can smile and laugh and who can be resilient in the face of hardship. Someone you can always count on to show you empathy and understanding. More than anything, they would recognize him as the best person to go through this thing with, together, whatever it is.
Don't worry son, she's out there. I know.
