Young Aaron,
You are a smart young man who just lacks one thing. Motivation. Do not fret because you will gain it eventually later on down the line. But if I could warn you about some things that are coming your way before it is too late.
When you are in 6th grade take some time and read that book Mr. Dunstan allows you to read in class. It might sound crazy. I know you want to become a Marine Corps lawyer and move onto politics later down the line. Why would you want to read Stephen King's book about how to write? You may not realize it now but 12 years down the road you are going to decide to write a book and stamp your name on some blog pages across the world wide web. You have a different style of writing than most and with some proper education the writing you write can influence how others live their life.
Moving onto middle school you're going to find yourself in some bad situations. Do what ever you can to avoid them. Listen to your intuition. You will get into fights, you will make new friends, you will lose old ones. It is all a part of growing up and you will learn from your mistakes. But do not allow it to get in the way of school. You will still have your love for history but you need to actually apply yourself. Do not allow your test taking skills make your head big. Do your homework and study. The test grades do not matter as much as your commitment to the class. You will have an awesome history teacher in 7th grade but she will not take anything less from you just because you are knowledgable in history and the social sciences. You have a gift when it comes to historical facts and the study of people, use it to your advantage in this class all through your years of studying it.
7th Grade will come and go by fast. But not with out some trauma. You will lose your favorite teacher in choir and you will see two very important buildings go down and lives shattered on the TV screen. It is not a movie and it is not a dream. Never forget those men and women because they will determine your chosen path. You will fight in their honor in the different wars supporting Operation Iraqi Freedom and Operation Enduring Freedom. It is part of your destiny.
8th grade will come and go just as quickly as the last. Yet again you will still have some heart ache. Do not worry because Aunt Stephanie will always be with you. Do not stress over what happened to her or what didnt happen to her. Do not worry about the lifestyle she was involved in, just remember that she was more than an aunt to you. She was your friend. Time will go on without her but she will always be there in your heart.
The beginning of freshman year is when everything starts to change. If you just keep your head up this year and do not screw up in school you will stay at Carman - Ainsworth and stay with the friends that you have made from 5th grade on up. But lets face it, you are way to social to actually keep your head in the books. When you get kicked out of Carman - Ainsworth keep your head up and just learn from the experience. When you start to go to Grand Blanc use it to your advantage. You will meet some great people there, most of them you do not talk to anymore but it was an experience none-the-less.
Your sophomore year is going to be awesome. You will learn how to channel your frustration with the world and with other people. You will channel it through debate. You already know that you want to be a lawyer and a politician; your success with the debate team will just encourage you even more. You will learn how to organize your thoughts and be able to use your words, that are already sharp and hurtful, more like controlled weaponry. You will use them and hurt people. Be careful of who you hurt with these words. Some people deserve a gnashing while others your emotion tends to control what you say to everyone. Control it. You are definitely an Aries though. Fiery and fierce. Try and control your Mars like personality and more people will stay around.
When you go back to Carman - Ainsworth for your junior and senior year these will be the best years of your high school career. You will be united with people that you still talk to half way across the world. You will meet an Italian foreign exchange student. She will be a great friendship that will be helpful when you are stationed in Italy. She will help you make new friends in Italy and learn the culture the most. After all that is what you love to study, the culture and languages of societies.
Senior year is the year you decide to enlist in the Army National Guard. It is the best decision of your life. I know you wanted to become a Marine but you get an offer that you could not refuse. That $20,000 you receive, do not blow it the first chance you get. The tattoo you get is cool and represents yourself pretty well, and the computer you get ultimately makes you become a Mac guy. But the rest of the money needs to be put up into a savings account. Let it settle. I know you grew up with not having much money and not getting the things you wanted in life, but in the future you will wish that you still had money saved somewhere.
Overall your life is pretty awesome. The ups and downs will happen. Just remember that somethings you can not control. Others you can. You may feel that everything is controllable like you always have, but life just happens. You may hate the phrase, "It is what it is", but it is very true and holds true all through your life. You will lose friends to the war and you will want to go complete Rambo on the people who took their life. Just remember that even if you were there these things happen. Joe Johnson was a great man from school that you knew, but nothing will bring him back. Even your dying hatred towards the Taliban. If it is one thing you can control that needs controlling, it would be your emotionally driven life. Do not let hate or fear get in the way. It will cause you to lose sleep, it will cause you to screw up relationships with people you care about.
Listen to the older generation, Don't just listen to them really listen and apply what they say to your life. They have been where you are now and are warning you like I am today. Keep people close to you no matter how many times you get burned. Your wall you build is a good one but sometimes it is too good. There are good people out there that you wont give the time of day and it could be a great opportunity for yourself. Regardless of what happens in the future, know what does happen to you makes you who you are. It is a life full of changes and life is meant to have its ups and downs. Keep strong in what you do, love those close to you and never forget about those who use to be.
Live Life. Conquer goals. Be Compassionate.
Your Older Self
AG
