{"id":47441,"date":"2017-04-18T20:18:20","date_gmt":"2017-04-19T03:18:20","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/erickimphotography.com\/blog\/?p=47441"},"modified":"2017-04-18T20:18:20","modified_gmt":"2017-04-19T03:18:20","slug":"5-things-i-wished-i-knew-when-i-was-18-years-old","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/erickimphotography.com\/blog\/2017\/04\/18\/5-things-i-wished-i-knew-when-i-was-18-years-old\/","title":{"rendered":"5 Things I Wished I Knew When I Was 18 Years Old"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"\"<\/p>\n

Dear Eric,<\/p>\n

You are 18 years old\u00e2\u20ac\u201d here is some words of wisdom I would drop on you:<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

First of all, the world is a crazy-ass place. You are going to wonder in life\u00e2\u20ac\u201d \u00e2\u20ac\u0153Is the rest of the world crazy, or am I?\u00e2\u20ac\u009d<\/p>\n

The answer is the rest of the world is crazy.<\/p>\n

Here are some things I\u00e2\u20ac\u2122ve learned in the last 11 years of my life (I am 29 years old, so listen up) \u00e2\u20ac\u201d here are some ideas to wipe away your false reality.<\/p>\n

1. Imagine yourself on your deathbed at age 90<\/h2>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

Okay, so one of the best ways to live life is to imagine yourself at age 90\u00e2\u20ac\u201d thinking about your life. What are you going to regret doing, or not<\/em> doing?<\/p>\n

You\u00e2\u20ac\u2122re going to die. I\u00e2\u20ac\u2122m sorry but it is true. Your loved ones will die. The death of your grandfather is going to create a deep impression on you \u00e2\u20ac\u201d the fleeting and emptiness of \u00e2\u20ac\u02dcfame\u00e2\u20ac\u2122 and \u00e2\u20ac\u02dcwealth\u00e2\u20ac\u2122 \u00e2\u20ac\u201d you can\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t take the dollar bills with you when you die.<\/p>\n

Be like Benjamin button \u00e2\u20ac\u201d live your life in reverse.<\/p>\n

For example, you\u00e2\u20ac\u2122re not going to care what care you drive. It is easier to just play video games, and much cheaper. It don\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t matter what clothes you wear\u00e2\u20ac\u201d just wear all black everything, it looks cooler anyways. It don\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t matter how much money you have\u00e2\u20ac\u201d all you need is a laptop, camera, enough food to feed yourself, to pay rent.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

What will matter is your love for your future wife (Cindy). Your love for you mom, sister, family, and close friends. Nobody else matters.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

And your creative work. Never let bullshit get in the way from you writing, thinking, meditating, designing, following your curiosity, and photographing.<\/p>\n

And of course, share what you learn with others.<\/p>\n

2. Don\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t censor yourself<\/h2>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

When you are 18\u00e2\u20ac\u201d remember all that shit you used to say? All that politically-incorrect stuff you said?<\/p>\n

You\u00e2\u20ac\u2122re going to become softer the older you get. At age 29, I\u00e2\u20ac\u2122m sorry to say \u00e2\u20ac\u201d I\u00e2\u20ac\u2122ve become a bit softer. Society, the company you worked for, college, \u00e2\u20ac\u02dcintellectuals\u00e2\u20ac\u2122 have silenced you. Or muted you.<\/p>\n

Don\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t censor yourself. Stay true to yourself. Say what is really on your mind. Don\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t care what others think of you \u00e2\u20ac\u201d listen to your inner-voice. You\u00e2\u20ac\u2122re actually pretty enlightened at 18.<\/p>\n

3. Create and share<\/h2>\n
\"eric
Portrait by Junku Nishimura<\/a><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

You are an artist. An artist of life. You love building your body, you love building your mind, and you\u00e2\u20ac\u2122re going to spend the next 11 years of your life figuring out \u00e2\u20ac\u02dcWhat is the purpose of life?\u00e2\u20ac\u2122<\/p>\n

You\u00e2\u20ac\u2122re going to find out the answer at age 29. It is easy: create art, information, and help empower others.<\/strong><\/p>\n

That means two things:
\n1. Create
\n2. Share<\/p>\n

Don\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t be afraid to create. And when you create something, don\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t be afraid to share it.<\/p>\n

If what you create can help at least 1 other human being\u00e2\u20ac\u201d it is worth sharing.<\/p>\n

4. Don\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t live for yourself<\/h2>\n
\"ERIC
Homies in London from your first backpacking trip<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Love all, and live for others.<\/p>\n

\n He who lives for himself is truly dead to others.\n<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

You\u00e2\u20ac\u2122ve never really been greedy \u00e2\u20ac\u201d but just as a reminder, don\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t be greedy. Don\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t just live for yourself. Live for others.<\/p>\n

Be grateful to all those who taught and guided you. Be grateful for your mom, your family (DJ), your sister, your friends (your crew Justin, Robin, Isaac, Chang, Alan, Michael, Tae, Aaron, Dave, Jaeman, Grace), your church Sunday School teachers (Christina Kim, Linn Huang, Michael Kim), your Boy Scouts scoutmasters (Michael O Connor, Pat Ransil, David Dial) your tennis coach (Coach Lowe). Never forget how your mom cried when you became an Eagle scout, and how she thanked everyone.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

You\u00e2\u20ac\u2122re going to get hella help from the government. You are going to get scholarships, grants, and work-study loans at UCLA. You are going to hustle your ass through school, working 20-hour weeks at UCLA Undergraduate Admissions as Tech support. You\u00e2\u20ac\u2122re going to meet other great minds, and other creatives. You\u00e2\u20ac\u2122re going to co-start the UCLA Photography club with your buddies John Son and Daniel Jeong. You\u00e2\u20ac\u2122re going to meet a great community through UCLA Kyrie (and meet your future wife, Cindy). You\u00e2\u20ac\u2122re going to be active in the Sunday School program at St. Agnes\u00e2\u20ac\u201d where you are going to learn to put your leadership skills to work.<\/p>\n

You\u00e2\u20ac\u2122re going to hustle, hard. You\u00e2\u20ac\u2122re going to hustle through school, hustle to get your internship, and your job.<\/p>\n

\"Jeroen
Portrait by Jeroen Helmink<\/a><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

But somewhere along the way \u00e2\u20ac\u201d you\u00e2\u20ac\u2122re going to get a bit lost. A bit confused. Trying to impress others. This stupid thing called Facebook is going to kind of fuck up your life. You\u00e2\u20ac\u2122re going to out-source or crowd-source your self-esteem.<\/p>\n

One day you\u00e2\u20ac\u2122re going to realize it is all bullshit. You\u00e2\u20ac\u2122re going to go into Zen-monk mode, silence everything, and finally have time to think for yourself. It will be good for you.<\/p>\n

And you will realize the truth: the purpose of your life is to empower others.<\/strong><\/p>\n

5. BE HUMBLE.<\/h2>\n
\"ERIC
With your first Canon Rebel XT 350D<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Never forget what your momma said\u00e2\u20ac\u201d to be humble. No matter how successful you get, never forget where you came from. Never forget the days in high school and college where you pretended you weren\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t hungry \u00e2\u20ac\u201d just to save some money. Never forget how much joy you had modding your 1991 Sentra SE-R (and disdained those tools with BMW\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s). Never forget how simple life was\u00e2\u20ac\u201d playing Tekken with your homies, driving around bumping heavy beats in your car and free-styling with Justin, and the McDonald 1-dollar McChicken drive-throughs at 11pm after playing $5 buy-in Texas Holdem with your buddies.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

Remember your humble beginnings. Don\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t let money get to your head. Keep your car, clothes, and lifestyle simple and humble. Know all those other folks suffering and struggling. Be a shining paragon for them \u00e2\u20ac\u201d that you can live an epic, noble life\u00e2\u20ac\u201d without much money or resources.<\/p>\n

Conclusion: You got this<\/h2>\n
\"Good
Good times as kids: Anna, Hyunja, Me, DJ, Jaeman, Alan<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Just have faith in yourself. You always had. Don\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t get soft\u00e2\u20ac\u201d stay strong.<\/p>\n

Keep hustling, and keep that 18-year old hunger alive Eric.<\/p>\n

Be strong,
\nEric<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

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