Dear Monkey,
When you finally figure out how screwed up I am, you may decide to never take advice from your old man. Nevertheless, there are a few pieces of advice I want to pass to you. I hope they will make you happier, or if they don't make you happier, I hope they make you more true to yourself.
1. Don't worry about coloring in the lines. For that matter, avoid coloring books generally. Draw for yourself. And don't worry about getting the colors "right" either: grass isn't always green and the sky isn't always blue.
2. Don't worry about sitting in chairs "correctly." There is no such thing. If someone tells you there is, s/he is just trying to get you to sit in a chair the way s/he thinks you should. As a matter of fact, try to sit in chairs as many ways as you can.
3. Sing a lot. And dance a lot. If someone tells you, "Now isn't the time for singing and dancing," they just don't know what time it is.
4. Make friends with the weirdos, the freaks, the geeks, the losers, the queers, the drop outs, the nerds, the fatsos, the ugly kids, and the outcasts. Those are just labels someone else has given them. That's not who they are.
5. Play like it is your job. Because it is.
6. Don't be afraid to ask, "Why?" If someone gets annoyed when you ask, it's because they don't know or they don't want you to find out. If they don't know, go find out for yourself.
7. Get an education. That's not the same thing as school, though you might be accidentally educated at school sometime. Try to learn all the time.
8. Read lots and lots of books. Don't be scared of books. Don't get the idea that reading a book can hurt you. It can't. Not reading books can hurt you a lot though.
9. Think for yourself. Don't get the idea that because you are a certain type of person that you have to think a certain way. Don't get the idea that because you think one thing, you must think another.
10. Avoid following people. I won't say that you should never follow others, but do it with an open mind and the knowledge that they are human, too.
11. Listen to as much music as you possibly can, and when the man gets you down, listen to a lot of rock and roll.
12. Be brave. This is the hardest one. The problem with being brave is that you really need to do it when you least feel like it.
I already think you are the bravest person I've ever met. You were brave to even come into this world and you meet every day, every person, and every challenge with a openness that I admire so, so much. I hope you are able to keep that.
Love,
Daddy
