As I age, I find it is important to appreciate Time.
I try to spend a couple minutes a week just appreciating the passage of time, reflecting on past events. The reason humans perceive time so slanted is (IMO) we remember not the passage of time, but "events". Anything that blends into our monotony is, well, blended. Can you remember what you ate twenty-five days ago? Can you remember what you ate in the best day you ever had? One is monotony, the other is an event.
As a youth, all you have are Events. I jammed a nail through my hand last year by accident. I also, most likely, got any number of papercuts and bug bites. But I don't remember those, at least with any clarity. The nail I remember the entire scene, AND the aftermath and medical follow-up. It was an Event. But to a youth, being riddled in bug bits, or sliced up with aluminium foil cuts, they might be events. You'd remember them, the first time.
I remember every one of my sexual partners. But while I remember each one, I don't remember every single time with each one. I remember enjoying (or not) it, I remember some highlight best and worst parts, but not every action: it's all in the umbrella of the event that is their relationship. I could say I sexed "P" an estimated 45 times in that relationship, but it would be an estimate. A happy, satisfying monotony that blends together into the nostalgia of times lost.
My life began at 18, I was a reclusive shut-in. I had very few Events earlier than it compared to many. I had few friends, minimal excursions, life was "learn, eat, sleep, repeat". For me, the memory of 18-30 will likely be the "half my life" memory as I sunset.
What I'm trying to say in my rambling, is that the youth may be more resilient than you think. They may look back at these two years as one Event, but with many more to come later they will reflect upon more fondly. Assuming this madness actually ends, new events can broaden their horizons.
As I age, I find it is important to appreciate Time.
I try to spend a couple minutes a week just appreciating the passage of time, reflecting on past events. The reason humans perceive time so slanted is (IMO) we remember not the passage of time, but "events". Anything that blends into our monotony is, well, blended. Can you remember what you ate twenty-five days ago? Can you remember what you ate in the best day you ever had? One is monotony, the other is an event.
As a youth, all you have are Events. I jammed a nail through my hand last year by accident. I also, most likely, got any number of papercuts and bug bites. But I don't remember those, at least with any clarity. The nail I remember the entire scene, AND the aftermath and medical follow-up. It was an Event. But to a youth, being riddled in bug bits, or sliced up with aluminium foil cuts, they might be events. You'd remember them, the first time.
I remember every one of my sexual partners. But while I remember each one, I don't remember every single time with each one. I remember enjoying (or not) it, I remember some highlight best and worst parts, but not every action: it's all in the umbrella of the event that is their relationship. I could say I sexed "P" an estimated 45 times in that relationship, but it would be an estimate. A happy, satisfying monotony that blends together into the nostalgia of times lost.
My life began at 18, I was a reclusive shut-in. I had very few Events earlier than it compared to many. I had few friends, minimal excursions, life was "learn, eat, sleep, repeat". For me, the memory of 18-30 will likely be the "half my life" memory as I sunset.
What I'm trying to say in my rambling, is that the youth may be more resilient than you think. They may look back at these two years as one Event, but with many more to come later they will reflect upon more fondly. Assuming this madness actually ends, new events can broaden their horizons.