[django]

I'm 17 years old from a suburb in New Jersey. If I'm not mistaken, I believed I discovered PO on the night of my 17th birthday, when I stumbled upon The Anthropik Network, which led me to DieOff, which led me to the whole host of peak oil sites.

I've basically come to expect the worst. At this point in my research, Kunstler's 19th century life would seem like a blessing. I feel that Godesky's "Crash to the Stone Age" may be extreme, but seems well-researched and I consider it a possibilty.

The reason I hold a level of optimism is not even because I find the "primitive" lifestyle unattractive, but because I know I wouldn't survive. So I hold out for solar and wind and algae biodiesel but not too strongly. They always say "Hope for the best, expect the worst", right? Well, that's me.

What I would like from the Peak Oil community is nothing really more than tips. I don't think many of the PO "vets" are of my age, but you were once mine. Many of you dealt with Peak Oil by changing your established lifestyle, buying stocks, joining community groups and such. I'm not in that realm. I'm still deciding the college I'm going to go too. And it's not a technical profession either. It's music education.

I know there are many of you who didn't grow up in the suburbs, but many of you were once a junior in high school. So what would you suggest for me? I know I'm about to grow up in a strange time. It's either going to be a revolution or a catastrophe. If you could do something over with your life, what would you do?

I'm just trying to make it.

Peace,
Dan.

[Chicken_Little]

Not much you can do, buddy.

See you in the FEMA Work Camp - don't forget your shovel!

[rogerhb]

The main trick to growing up in any environment is to avoid the dieing part.

So first of all there's water, food, shelter, security etc.

Then to improve quality of life see Maslow's Hierachy of Needs.

I also strongly to use the wet grey stuff between your ears and fill it with useful content and learn how to actually think.

However you have made the right first steps, recognizing a major problem!

[Jack]

Actually, there are a lot of things you can do.

First, start going to the gym. Do some weights, some cardio, and build yourself up. The college is likely to have a facility that your student fees pay for.

Second, if the budget and the area you live in permits, get a bicycle and start getting used to using it.

Third, if you want music to be your field, try to excel. In so many areas of our lives we satisfy ourselves with just getting by; with a little more effort, we could go beyond the crowd. I cannot know how any profession will fare post peak - but people have always wanted entertainment. If you're good with music, you should be able to make your way in the world.

Fourth, enjoy some of the extra-curricular activities available to you, both within and outside of college. Enjoy the event - but much more importantly, create a network of acquaintances. The person who works at the convenience store might be the very person you need to know at some future time. Build your network.

Finally, your college probably offers a first-aid course. It might be a good idea to take it.

Best of luck!

[LadyRuby]

No one knows how this will all shake out, what timeframe, how bad it will get, how creative and adaptable we'll be. So hang on for the ride with the rest of us!

That said, I'd encourage you to think of this as possibly being something like a Great Depression we may be heading into. Plenty of people grew up during the Depression and lived to tell the tales to their grandchildren. Some would likely say they developed character, resilience, etc. because of it. It may be tough for a while but it may not be all that bad for most people. So keep doing what you're doing, think of who you could count on in a pinch (any adults in your life that you trust with a paid for house, some security, etc.?).

[Princess]

I might suggest learning as many skills as you can to help you survive. Cooking. Gardening. Working with barnyard animals (chickens, goats, etc.). You don't need to be an expert in all the skills, but a little knowledge will put you ahead of the rest when TSHTF.

You asked what we'd do if we could make over our lives. I'd never have gone in to credit card debt. EVER. Biggest mistake I've made.

Good luck, Dan!

[azreal60]

Ohh, I'd second that one. Avoid those big bad credit cards. Cause they will cause you a big bad ulcer trying to figure out how to pay them off.
The seduction of easy money has killed civilizations, don't let it kill your personal finanances.

[seldom_seen]

Don't become rigid, fixed, inflexible.

I heard a woman being interviewed about one of the power outages, and she complained about how she couldn't believe there wasn't any water or something and then said "this isn't a third world country."

Well the truth is the US is fast becoming a third world country. It's happening so fast most people can't even see it. When people's pampered life of abundance and entitlement is shattered, which it surely will be. I think many people will die from the sheer shock and trauma of reality setting in.

I like what Lao Tzu said:

Men are born soft and supple;
dead, they are stiff and hard.
Plants are born tender and pliant;
dead, they are brittle and dry.

Thus whoever is stiff and inflexible
is a disciple of death.
Whoever is soft and yielding
is a disciple of life.

The hard and stiff will be broken.
The soft and supple will prevail.

As well as Darwin:

It is not the strongest of the species that survives, nor the most intelligent that survives. It is the one that is the most adaptable to change.

[NEOPO]

CL - hahahah ...ok stop it!!

Hmmm if I were 17 again and knew about PO yet also knew what I know now...........

Avoid rat race all together - dont even try - its unsustainable

Yet if you want to run for the money for a while then dont believe the B.S. that you need a degree to make 50-60-70k - 100k etc etc.

I think that is part of the "dream" - yes the unsustainable one
The federal government doesnt screw around either - when you owe them you pay them so careful with student loans.

Some sheeple make 60k basepay + yet spend 59.99k to live the lifestyle.
I know - I was one of them.
I helped build suburbia.
Swimming pool - 4 toilets in my house hahah never thought I would have that
I loved my brand new triton v8 and my 45 mile one way commute each day vroom vroom....etc etc - all unsustainable bullshit.

Learn organic gardening/horticulture/permaculture/sustainability etc etc...

Buy some good farm land in what you believe to be the safest area to live in post peak.
IMHO food will be worth something in the future.
Not sure if it will be dollars, gold, silver or goats but it will be worth something

So I am thinking greenhouses, large gardens , orchard and other crops.

Find a good mate - someone who is not so materialistic - with an open mind - able to think critically like yourself.

Now there ARE resource wars to consider - and MOST believe the globe is warming - anyone besides me thinkin Canada??

Oh almost forgot - 9/11 was a setup - the Saudi's are liars - this is a Republic not a Democracy - the only real Democracy existed in ancient Greece - the US did not have to drop a bombs on Japan and this was probably one of Einsteins greatest regrets - there were no WMD in Iraq - The federal reserve is not Federal - We trained Osama - Thomas Edison thought AC was stupid, was kicked out of school said to be "unteachable" was them homeschooled by his mother - WE killed Kennedy - the strange anomally between Kennedy and Lincoln prove the existence of a Matrix and a program!!!!
wake up Dan . The matrix has you.
We must wake the "others"

<cue music: rage against the machine "wake up".mp3>

[aldente]

As always, I would suggest to go for the "mind stuff" first. Fear of personal extinction is rudimentary and benign. My formula: Keep going as if nothing unusual ever happened (correct, disregard the conclusions upon which you get worked up so much).

Not that any of us who post longer are in a better position, it is just natural wisdom. Don't pull a Savinar and leave society in other words. The departure is scheduled with or without you anyway.

[128shot]

The simple suggestions I can give you that have helped me (and i'm younger than you, BTW)


1. learn to work with your hands well. As long as you are willing and able and understand how to take things apart, put them back togethor, and how to generally fix things is a good skill to have. If you have any mechanical inclination at all, this will help alot.

2. Brush up on alternative lifestyles. It doesn't take all that long to learn how to make a house out of mud grass and human shit. Gardening is actually quite simple, and learning to work with animals isn't all that hard (then again, it wasn't all that long ago I lived the farmers life) if you think things are really bad in near term future, you should invest in some seed so you can grow plants on whatever patch of land you get ahold of.

3. Can't stress this enough, build people connections, and learn how to work well with people. Being persuasive is a good skill during any period.

4. Someone already mentioned this, any type of medical knowledge or first aid is great. Learn it effectively.

5. If I was you, I'd brush up on my carpentary and mathematic skills. You never know when this will come in handy, as strange as the latter sounds.

6. Learn basic survival techniques, and if you dare, learn some advanced survival techniques, and remember to learn them without modern conviences! (Tents or propane heaters for example) starting a fire without a match or lighter is harder than it looks...

[WildRose]

Hi, django.

I have just a few snippets of advice. Stay out of debt, if at all possible. If you can work through college and pay your tuition and just squeeze by, that's preferable to huge student loans. Follow your heart (with your music), it will bring you the most joy. Keep your life simple, and by that I mean look for pleasure and contentment in simple things - you don't have to spend a lot of money to enjoy life. Keep loved ones close, if possible.

Try not to worry too much about the future and the unknown. Do what you can so that your life will be manageable with less. A lot of things in life are out of our control, and this is true in good economic times and bad. People, however, can be incredibly resilient. In the 25 years I've worked in the medical field, I've been amazed at how people can come back from very serious hardships, often when the odds were really stacked against them, physically and psychologically.

One last thing - just keep reading, learning, keep an eye on the world. Hope I haven't gone on too long.

[ONeil]

$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('django', 'I')'m 17 years old from a suburb in New Jersey. I've basically come to expect the worst. At this point in my research, Kunstler's 19th century life would seem like a blessing. I feel that Godesky's "Crash to the Stone Age" may be extreme, but seems well-researched and I consider it a possibilty.

What I would like from the Peak Oil community is nothing really more than tips. I'm still deciding the college I'm going to go too. And it's not a technical profession either. It's music education.

I know there are many of you who didn't grow up in the suburbs, but many of you were once a junior in high school. So what would you suggest for me? I know I'm about to grow up in a strange time. It's either going to be a revolution or a catastrophe. If you could do something over with your life, what would you do?

I'm just trying to make it.

Peace,
Dan.

[Ayoob]

Kill as many people as you can.

Just kidding.

Not really.

No, really, I'm kidding. Don't kill anybody. Be nice to everybody and hope for the best.

[Doly]

$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('django', 'I')'m still deciding the college I'm going to go too. And it's not a technical profession either. It's music education.

I know there are many of you who didn't grow up in the suburbs, but many of you were once a junior in high school. So what would you suggest for me? I know I'm about to grow up in a strange time. It's either going to be a revolution or a catastrophe. If you could do something over with your life, what would you do?

[vision-master]

Resist becoming a debited consumer.

[LadyRuby]

One other thing, try to keep all of this in perspective. Civilizations and societies have always had periods of struggle, collapse, adaptation, adjustment. If we are facing major struggles, it will be far from the first. Think of this as a challenge for society and humanity, not "the end of the world." Good may come out of it.