Dear teenage Tim,
It’s funny. I feel like I barely know you. I have a few memories of what your life is like but it’s getting pretty patchy now, so perhaps I could start by saying that much of what keeps you up at night will fade with time and you’ll mostly remember the best parts of your teenage years.
I can tell you now that there is a sense of contentment that comes with getting a bit older, a comfort in your own skin. A feeling where you can walk into a room of strangers and not feel butterflies in your stomach… and that comes as a tremendous relief.
I can tell you also that pursuing that thing that you love most; music – is, in fact, the path that leads to fulfilment. It’s not the heartbreak and disappointment you fear now. I know that fear of failure is sometimes why you don’t allow yourself to dream. But in the end, those dreams will find you anyway. You’ll find your people and they will support and mentor you, advise and champion your work. And not too long from now you’ll end up singing your songs to thousands of people on stages you never dared believe you’d stand on. And the wildest thing of all? They will sing your songs back to you.
So that old acoustic guitar you drag around the schoolyard and on busses and family camping trips and the hours you spend alone in your room learning songs by the Violent Femmes, You Am I, Nirvana and Oasis, will be your apprenticeship. Time well spent – in fact, if you could learn a little more music theory, future you would appreciate that.
Your friends now will be your friends for many years to come. They will mean the world to you and will be one of your greatest sources of happiness. You are lucky to have found them.
Be kind to each other.
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Holy Holy’s third studio album, My Own Pool of Light is out this Friday 2 August. Pre-order here. This September they’ll head out on a massive 15-date jaunt, playing throughout both capital cities and regional parts of the country, including some of their biggest venues yet. Dates and details, here.
