What would you write to your 16 year old self if you could send him a letter back in time? Journalist Jane Graham posed this question to numerous world-famous celebrities – who responded with a lot of heart and frankness.
If we knew when we were 16 what we would know when we were 30, 40 or 50 – we would probably do some things differently. Or at least see it differently. Wouldn’t we, for example, be less afraid of being confronted with difficult challenges or life phases? Because we knew that we would find a solution when it really matters, and at some point it is guaranteed to improve again? Wouldn’t we be much more relaxed about clashing with teachers, classmates or parents? Because we knew that it doesn’t matter to our later life whether we had a four in German in tenth grade, were among the outsiders and were only allowed to party until eleven?
Perhaps our life would not have been quite so exciting and interesting if we had known what we now know when we were 16. But it would probably have been easier. Or just not …?
World stars write to their 16 year old selves
Journalist Jane Graham did as part of her work for the magazine The big issue interviewed numerous world famous celebrities and asked them what they would say to their 16 year old self if they could communicate with him. She now has some of the contributions in a book entitled Letters to the younger me published in the German version by Piper-Verlag.
© Piper / PR
From Campino to Jamie Oliver and Billy Jean King to Paul McCartney and Roger Moore – in the book well-known world stars give extremely intimate insights into their biographies, their lives and their psyche. Whether Mel C, who wished she had lived more in the here and now, Jane Lynch, who would have immediately taken the fluff out of her hand, or Denny DeVito, who would have liked to have known earlier that height is not everything, in these letters the authors show themselves to be vulnerable, authentic and approachable.
In the following you will read three short excerpts from the letters of Mary J. Blige, Viggo Mortensen and Ozzy Osbourne, which, like most of the contributions, illustrate wonderfully: Whether world star or not, in the end we are all just people with similar feelings, thoughts and experiences.
Mary J. Blige
“The first thing I would say to my sixteen year old self would be: ‘Stop making yourself so small, you will be loved and admired later. Yes, you can hardly believe that now, but trust me. Don’t pretend to be more stupid than you are just to please others, because you will never please everyone. Just have faith. Believe in yourself. ‘
I was the typical teenager, didn’t listen to my mother and did everything the way it shouldn’t be. When I was sixteen I didn’t really think about anything except singing. That was my dream, but at the time it was still a dream. I was really just busy trying to figure out what to do. “
Viggo Mortensen
“If a girl cared about me, it panicked me – I wasn’t a party guy and I was quite unsociable, so I was concerned that I would be embarrassing. I liked to wear the tops of my pajamas as a t-shirt, because they were so comfortable – people must think I was totally weird. For a while I even wore a floppy hat. Because when I was fourteen or fifteen, I was hippy with long hair and a big floppy hat with a pheasant feather I got a little more impulsive, every time I had a girlfriend I thought it was forever.
If I could tell my younger self what to look forward to, it would be: falling in love, having a son and traveling. Is there anything I should have avoided as a teenager? Drugs, even if it wasn’t that wild for me. No, you’d better cancel that. I’m not totally against it. Of course, I regret some things that I did or didn’t do, even as an adult, but everyone feels that way. Over time, I’ve learned to live more in the here and now, to learn and to look ahead. Otherwise you will go crazy. “
Ozzy Osbourne
“I don’t want to advise anyone, especially my younger self. If you asked me to help you with something that I actually know about – and frankly, there isn’t that much – then maybe I would suggest something. However, I would add: ‘If you want to try this out, go ahead, but remember: every action is followed by a reaction. ‘ […]
Am I ashamed of anything? Every day. The last time I filled myself up, I came back without a Ferrari. How lucky that Sharon is here and reads the riot act properly, even if I used to hate it sometimes. Then I thought, ‘Why is she beating me up like that? I’m fine again. ‘ But there were also times when I wasn’t feeling well, and I harassed everyone. I was totally crazy.
If I could relive any day in my life, it would be the day Sharon and I got married. I was hooked all day and couldn’t make it to the bedroom. In the end, I was found face down in the hotel hallway, completely passed out. I’d like to go back to that day and end it by going to bed with my wife. “
Source used: Jane Graham, Letters to the Younger Self. Extraordinary people about what really matters in life, Piper, 22 euros