To My Younger Self

To a past me,
There are countless things you'd be dying to know
And unfathomably more you wouldn't believe if I told you.
But there are things that I would tell you if we talked.

First and foremost, life won't what you think it is.
Melbourne is not a theatrical wonderland and you won't get into your dream university.
In fact, you'll waste the whole first year of university and fail a lot of classes.
This will lead to a crippling mental breakdown
In conjunction with the best choice you'll ever make in your life.
More on that later.
You won't make best friends on the first day.

You're first show here will be in a cramped theatre and you will have 2 lines

You will lie to get the part.
Your first appearance on national television will be in the background of Neighbours.
Don't worry, you still despise the show.
Especially after being miserably cold all day on set.

Your stance of cigarettes and drugs will change dramatically. Sorry.

You will lose contact with your housemate.
You will break-up with your stupid clingy long distance boyfriend.
He never visits again anyway.
Be hypercritical of his performance in Fiddler on the Roof. He deserves it.
He's thinks he might be gay now.
You know you are.

Yes.
You are a lesbian.
A feminist, polyamorous, slutty, femme-pride lesbian.
And it wasn't an easy road so I think I deserve a few pointers.
Don't be ashamed the first time you have sex.
It's great, and you shouldn't beat yourself up over it not being special
You'll learn in time that it doesn't matter anyway.
Although it wouldn't kill you to know her name.
Keep.
Your.
Nails.
SHORT.Be proud of who you are.
Don't tell your girlfriend "I wish I wasn't gay"
Everything will be horribly shitty at the time but you'll hurt her.
And you're not allowed to do that.
Move in with her after you break up. It's a great choice.
Don't date girls for the sake of having a girlfriend.
Or because she's nice and interested in politics.
That relationship will suck.
The best relationship you ever have is still going.
And will probably forever.
Don't be so dismissive the first time he says he wants to marry you.
He means it eventually.
Don't overthink it, you will and he will support you, but stop overthinking it.

Do not, under any circumstances, use your phone in the laundry. 

You get to understand what's wrong with the world
And you'll be proud to know that you fight against it
Tooth and nail, lashing out against oppression.
Just be careful who you hit in the crossfire.
Sometimes, you need to step away.
The worst part will be the sinking pit in your stomach
When you're reading an article and it's retelling in perfect detail
Moments you refused to think about, to talk about
But with words you never applied to it before
And suddenly it all seems more real and more horrible than ever before.
The best part is being surrounded by loving people
And understanding and getting better
And getting up and fighting.
And never hearing from that scumbag again
After your partner takes the phone away from you to send a final "fuck you"
It's glorious.

Never, ever, trust yourself to get to airports in a reasonable amount of time. Calculate the time it would take for regularly functioning human being and add four hours. That's how much time you are required to leave to get to any form of avian transport.

Non-stick hooks lie

Be prepared to fall in love.
The kind of unconditional, committed, rad old person love you hate.
Because he'll change your life in the best way possible.
Sometimes it will be difficult and soul-wrenching
And you'll write a lot of shitty poems about your feelings.
But you will be better because of him.
Don't freak out about mental disorders either.
Whether they're happening to you or loved ones, shit works out.
So deep breaths, okay?

Electricity and water bills don't work like your phone or the internet. Don't freak out the first time you're payment is a day overdue. It's downhill from here.

Don't be afraid to enjoy the nerdy things you love. You're really bad at committing to them but enjoy them anyway. I guarantee you'll be interested in LARP-ing when you stumble upon it.

And a million other things I could say, because the thing is, I'm supposed to end this with "but everything turns out great and your happy" but that's not how life works.

You're life gets stressful and shitty and sometimes you feel battered and bruised and beaten.
And you still thoroughly enjoy it, because you and the people you love managed to make it into something fucking awesome.
And that's something to be proud of kiddo.