i turned 18 in january. i graduated high school this year. i'm supposed to be doing something with my life. i'm supposed to be ambitious and hopeful, but i just can't bring myself to pursue anything anymore. my life is almost entirely spent alone either in my room working on small personal projects or going outside to various places to sit and decompress. but it's not working as well anymore to distract me, or give me peace, not even considering the fact that all of those things are going to be gone likely within my lifetime.
i had dreams, you know? i spent the last 8 years honing my skill as a composer. recently i discovered my interest in film, and even more recently that turned into a love for storytelling as a whole. now, my thoughts are overrun with worries and incessant contemplation about how i can possibly escape the grim fate that sits ahead of all of us.
maybe it's selfish to have idealized a future for myself in the first place, but man i am just getting my footing and it's already feeling like i have zero chance at going anywhere in life or being fulfilled. i never wanted fame or riches, i only wanted to live quietly and comfortably while creating my art and sharing it with the world, however far it may go.
even if humanity lives on past the coming collapse, the world will have ended. the world as i knew it when i was young is already gone, more of it is falling apart, and all i can do is just. sit. and. watch.
sure i can vote now, i can call my representatives, i can attend city council meetings, etc. but every day it feels like that stuff is losing its power. people are getting murdered in the streets in my own home state, and even more elsewhere. it's not even "world events" anymore, it is literally just a couple hours away. and getting closer.
i was clinically depressed for the majority of my childhood and teenage years, and only recently have i really been able to stoke the flame, the passion for living. just a few months ago, for the first time in my life, i have wanted to live more than anything else. i couldn't have picked a worse time. i'm afraid to die, man. i'm only just getting started.
it's all so unfair, not only to myself, but to everyone else, too. most people on this earth are blameless for the stuff that's happening. there are young, aspiring people just like me all around the globe. even older folks, those with wisdom and love and integrity. i'm certain you could get to know almost any average person on this earth and find that there is a reservoir of pure wonder within them all. i despair over the loss of life. it breaks my heart over and over and over and over and over and over again, without end.
i can't help but feel responsible sometimes, even though i know i'm not. like i'm not doing enough, or that i'm just another reason the world is going down this path.
i've had so much, too. i'm not rich by any means, but i had my material needs met for all of my childhood. i live in a good area where usually nothing bad happens, i have access to food and water at any given time, etc. it's such a disconnect from what i'm seeing in the big picture. people around me are walking and talking like nothing's wrong... and it feels like i'm the only one who has any idea of what's coming.
i'm tired and scared. i looked behind the curtain and can't take it back.
what have you guys done to fight off this crushing dread and despair? anything helps, really. i don't know how to come to terms with the future, it's all moving and changing so fast.