i need hippie advice :/

so i feel like i am VERY different from everyone in school im a bit of a non conformist im a true pacifist and anarchist but beileave in god and have strong beleifs and im not unpopular im somewhat good looking but i got my own style (i mixed grunge and hippie looks) and hang out with just about everyone plus i smoke weed im a sophmore and my parents have been wanting to know what i want to do in my life.... i dont have much talent exept my bass playing skills and lyric writing skills which im working hard on... but i told my parents im not interested in college (my gpa isent too well anyways) i told them im gonna save up money through high school and when i move out im wanting to live on the streets for about 6 years and travel the world and do what i want and when im ready 6 years later i can start my new life... i figured i could play bass (or guitar if i learn) and sing (but i have a slight lisp and cant do high notes very well) this is how i truely want to live life but my dad thinks im stupid and im ruining my life and wont do it for 6 years... i also plan on living cheap and hopefully becoming a rockstar or joining a band at some point... i just have so many people doughting me... i feel like it is what i want im a free spirit and HATE being told what to do or having people think they are better than me...

so please all the great hippies/hobos out there please give me your wisdom... give me advice encouragement or something todays my 16th b-day and i feel my life is different than others... most of my thoughts are deep and a bit trippy and i havent found one person like me and the only person who even resembles me is ironically bob dylan in his youth... where do i go from here what do i try to excel in... i need guidence from some elders
ENLIGHTEN ME!

 

Here's my advice, though I expect you won't much like it:

Finish high school and get the best marks you can. Decide what you're going to do after that. The world will still be waiting for you and you'll be better equipped to deal with it when you're 18 and have a high school diploma in your pocket.

Hang in there. You'll be all right.

 

school will make your life a lot easier in the long run. At 16 the best thing to do is exactly what LoneDeranger said. Although Im kind of having a similar problem in college. I am in my 4th year and am barely hanging on due to my lack of interest. I think we both just gotta stick it out man

 

I completely agree with LoneDeragner. In my case I went a step further and got a Bachelor's degree and now I'm going out to experiment the world.

 

i am finishing highschool but i dont plan on going to college... my GPA is like 2.4 or something

 

you're young. High schoolers get it in their head that they need to have their entire future worked out, but life doesn't quite work like that. You aren't going to be quite the same person at age 18 that you are at 16 and you may not want the same things.

I agree with Deranger about getting good marks in school. Even if you don't think college is your thing right now, you might change your mind by the time you're a senior and then you'll be kicking yourself for not doing better in school.

As far as traveling, if your parents don't support that plan then youre going to have to figure out a way to finance it. Get a job and start saving now.

Its very difficult to make a living from music. You're going to have to pursue it with a single minded focus if you ever want to make a living from it, and by that, I mean a living. I don't mean make millions, I mean make enough to live relatively comfortable. Just because you want to be a rockstar does not mean it will ever happen.

the best thing you can do is show your parents that you are serious about pursuing a career in music. Practice 3, 4, 5 hours a day. Focus on it and take it seriously and they'll start taking you seriously.

 

My thoughts as an old hippie to a kindred spirit is to know yourself well. Part of knowing yourself is getting that foundation piece of education through high school and then see what the world offers. University is good but not always for everyone. The man or woman who can take wood and craft a house is always valued. The man who can make an engine run is needed as is the person who can work with electricity. The sculptor, singer, writer, herdsman or any number of non-college skills are always valued.

You are too young to say what you CAN'T do. You have some ideas of what you can do and your job in life right now is to figure out how many more things you are capable of. As a parent I understand your families concern. You have a limited dream of music. Expand your dreams...find your heart. Be open to the moment when you stumble across something that turns your soul electric. You can't always pursue enlightenment, often you just need to be ready for it when it happens. If you do travel, go to where the poor people are, the people who live closest to the earth. Their lives are not cluttered with the glittery trash of material wealth. Open your mind, your heart, your eyes, listen to what you hear on the wind of dreams. Smile on your voyage and show respect even when you don't agree with or understand what you are experiencing. Enjoy the trip.

ps; I had a 2.2 in high school before making honors in my post graduate studies

 

One of the best things that you can have is conviction of conscience – being true to yourself is commendable though as a person on experienced years, I would temper ambition with a degree of restraint. Smoking weed should be a choice, not because it is the ‘non-conformist thing to do’ – and maybe the degree of your partaking may have a bearing on your uncertainty (?) -> An observation, not a judgement.

Living on the streets means no fixed abode, regular income and access to material/s that you may later be reliant upon (Perhaps you could explore the feasibility of a commune) (?) - To have a plan is always a prudent thing to do, so having the foresight to look ahead shows a degree of such.
That being the case, I think that travelling may open your eyes to many things, though not all of the things you will see and experience will be rosy, and, without wishing to sound condescending, there are a lot more people in worse positions than ourselves. Whilst this may give good material to write upon, to do so in a productive manner would be better served and though being a Rock ‘Star’ may seem to be a distant dream, being a musician is a commendable aspiration – for they are the storytellers of the day, and one should never lose sight of their goal.

At 16 years, you have a World of cosmopolitan wonder for to explore, be part of and indeed change – whatever decisions you make, should iThink be taken with consideration – for there is plenty of time in which to do so and it is always better to take it on with a degree of educational achievement. Schooling gives the basis and foundation for life, and even when it seems tiresome provides a sound grounding for the future. When 18,20 (+) comes along you may have a different focus on things – especially if a partner comes along – and when a specific goal is identified, you’d be better placed with qualifications sat in your back pocket - Hope this at least gives food for thought
eace:

 

Also you are not alone or awkward in your leaning toward spirit, as it is at your age when these issues begin to arise. Other than your inner life you will appreciate developing marketable skills, They could be as simple as having a strong and healthy body.

 

OK kid. I am a 35 year old bass player who interns in a recording studio. Cold water in the face on the rockstar dream.

Only 1% of performing/recording musicians make enough doing it to make a living. Out of that 1% only 1% are rockstars.

The good news for you chumley is that we live in the information age. Just being a musician and "Good" are not enough. I would suggest that you thoroughly digest every book you can find on music theory and the music business. There is a term for those without any business sense it's "Easy Meat". You will get screwed over easily if you don't have a fucking clue what is going on. Read "Everything you need to know about the music business," by Donald Pressman. While you're at it read "Confessions of a Record Producer."

Also stick with the bass. It is the ultimate non-glory position. Everybody want's to be the front man, drummer or lead guitarist. Everybody needs a bass player and nobody want's to do it. Every guitarist thinks they can play bass but very few can.

Also generally speaking Rockstars are self centered egotistical assholes. At least the ones who state their goal in life is being a Rockstar.

See the movie "Almost Famous". Cameron Crowe was writing for Rolling Stone magazine when he was 16. The band Stillwater is a combination of Led Zepplin, The Eagles, Yes and the Allman Brothers. If you listen to the background music in the film it gives you Hints to which scene is which band.

Stay Brown,
Rev J

 

Once again I'm just blown away at the quality of advice given here. What an amazing lot you are.

Sent from my Droid using Tapatalk

 

I would invest in a good bag, wouldnt live on thd streets for six years, just crash at ur mates house and swap it around so not to become a burden, if ur on the streets were are u going to keep ur strings safe?, keep it on the back burner finish school and re-evauleait then, chill man,

 

thank you everybody keep them coming?

 

My advice - as an old hippie - if you want to kick around after high school - don't look at 6 years - give it one and pack in everything you can. Backpacking across America is so much cooler than living on the streets.
High school - you may not see it now, but at 23 it'll be as important as hell. And college - it ain't for everyone - but OMG it can be such a blast.
Being tied down at 18 isn't cool - but neither is bumming quarters on the street corner.
Hippies weren't bums - they were free spirits who did what it took to survive - being a free spirit does not exclude earning enough to get by - or blowing off school.

 

im not saying hippies were bums im saying i want to be a bum so i can live life and do whatever i want for a while even if that means being poor

 

I think your idea of a bum is a bit romanticized. Being a bum is not freeing at all, your whole focus will be on how am i going to eat today and where am i going to sleep tonight. money doesnt buy happiness, but the more you have the easier it is to live the way you want to.

 

I knew Stillwater was based on those bands but I never realized the background music gives clues..I'm going to have to watch this movie tonight and figure it all out

yeah...you can't do whatever you want if you're a poor bum. Not having any money pretty much means your day will consist of trying to get spare quarters off of people. You wont have any money for transportation so you'll be stuck on whatever street corner you find yourself on.

at least wait tables or something. No one should aspire to be a bum. Its sad enough that people find themselves in that position by circumstance, don't add to the problem by making it your life goal.

 

Here's a hint the scene where he first tries to get backstage before anyone knows who he is in the background "I've seen all good people" by Yes is playing. Also in one of the arguments between the singer and guitarist the singer uses a really famous quote from Robert Plant.

Stay Brown,
Rev J

 

My 2 cents is that education is not just for getting a job. The more you learn,the more you will realize the inter-connectedness of most everything around you and you will be able to evaluate and figure out situations that life will throw at you as you move along --in a clear manner. A strong curiosity and a desire to educate yourself about anything and everything that interests you, will help you more than you now know. Eventually,everyone has to do some kind of work,whether it's sloppin' pigs in a commune, typing numbers in a cubicle or flying a plane. Plan on it. I know a musician whose father was as BIG as one can get in show biz--I mean huge. The son is a good drummer and singer,lives in Nashville--and he hasn't"made it" yet with all the connections he has. The rev had it right.

 

yup. A friend of mine is a musical genius. He has the technical skills down and he plays with intense passion. He's at least as good as some of the people I consider to be the musical Greats. Anyone who hears this guy's music falls in love with it but he's still slaving away just to get some exposure locally. He treats music like a full time job, spending hours every day writing and recording, playing shows on the weekend. Yet even with his talent and drive, theres a chance he'll never make a decent living from it. If his chances aren't that great, then people with less talent and drive really don't stand a chance.

edit: on second thought, people without talent stand a much better chance, considering bands like Nickelback are world famous.