Nashville, TN: Last week, Lennox Wilson came over to my house to spend the morning with her Godmother while her parents went to meetings about their fab TV show. When her mom was dropping her off, she pointed out to me two fairly large bugs perched on my porch. "In 3 weeks," L's mom warned, "this porch is going to be covered with cicadas."
First, I thought she was trying to scare me (not that I'm typically scared of bugs, but anything COVERED with insects might make me jump a bit). Then, I thought she was simply lying since I had never heard of a bug called a cicada before. But, low and behold, as soon as she preempted my porch's fate, I confirmed it with Facebook (the real source of all news, naturally) and it was true -- this rare bug and all of his friends were starting to resurface.
But the most interesting part of this otherwise boring story is that these bugs live underground and only come out
every 13 years. That is just crazy to me! What I think is what happens when they return. Do they wonder what happened to the landscape post flood? Or perhaps do they think people are fatter/slower/meaner?
I was wondering what it would be like to go back 13 years and tell those cicadas what to look out for in 2011. Or, better yet, what I tell myself to look out for in the next 13 years. It was 1998, I had just graduated college the year before and was just about to go on my very first tour. There are a thousand things I'd like to tell 23 year old me, but I've narrowed down a few choice ones here (and am obviously in list-mode):
1.
Lilith Fair will be the best tour you'll ever work on. Probably because it was your first and you're not quite jaded yet. Enjoy it. Love it. Remember it fondly, but also know it will never happen again in the same way.
2.
Lilith Fair will try to come back again, but it won't work. Don't let that get you down. Because you were a part of it when it was great.
3. You can really only live in LA if you have money. You should live there to say you lived there, but get out before you get miserable.
4. Your career is really important to you, which is awesome. But you know what else is important? EVERYTHING. Don't get so caught up in climbing the ladder that you miss everything else going on around you.
5. You're going to date. And fall in love. And have your heart broken. And won't be sure how to function again with a broken heart. And doubt you'll ever find anyone else to date.
6. You're going to repeat #5.
7. The gym will always suck. But you've gotta keep going. Oh, and wear your mouthguard when you sleep. Otherwise, you'll grind your teeth down & your jaw will ache.
8. People in your life who you thought would never stop talking to you or cut others out of their lives will do just that. It will hurt. But it's not your job to fix them. Just keep praying that hopefully someday they'll do something different.
9.
NKOTB will have a reunion tour!!!!!
10. Acrylic will help you stop biting your nails (and will make your fingers look
fabulous).
11. Your passion for social justice / cultural diversity / sexual equality will continue throughout your life. Make sure people know how important these issues are to you.
12. You know that amazing
singer/songwriter duo that you just recently discovered? They're going to be your friends and you're going to be hanging out with them while they're in the studio, recording their album.
13. Create a social networking website and call it Facebook. It will change the world and make you a ton of money. Do it now before some really smart kid at Harvard does it.
14. You're not going to have any kids just yet. And your parents will be fine with that -- especially when you send them on international vacations.
15. When it comes down to it, God will still be the biggest driving force in your life. You're going to struggle with this and question your faith and lose relationships over it. But it really does matter and you've got to do your best to stay on the path.
Not sure if any of that will do 23 old me any good, but it would be nice to know that she'd at least listen. Now if only 49 year old me would pay me a visit and let me & the cicadas know what to look forward to for the next 13 years....
