well, as i have suffered my share of hardships, i have some inspiration for anyone else going through rough times. first, i want to say that EVERYONE goes through hardships.. not just punks or skins or street kids.. everyone. ive learned that even the rich kids and the wannabes go through stuff. i believe that no ones experiences are worse than another persons - just like no sin is different than another persons. the whole thing has to do with how you precieve it. i know tons of people that could say truthfully that they have shitty lives - but they won't... why? because they honestly dont think they do. and im not talking about the lower class kids in high school, im talking about down to earth, hardcore gutter punks that are stuck everyday shooting up and living under bridges. now if those guys can stay postivie anyone can. the thing about life is that its constantly wonderful - nothing in life is bad, only the circumstances within it are. you're friend dying has nothing to do with life as it should be, its a circumstance within. poverty and destruction arent life, they are circumstances. and the thing about circumstances is that they always have a positive and a negative - its scientific, everything has an opisite. so if something terrible happens to you there are thing you can do with it. why? because everything bad or good that happens is an experience, every experience is an inspiration, and every inspiration is an opprotunity. now life will only take you so far - it will give you the shit or the good times, but its up to you to SEE the inspiration in the situations you live through. looking outside can be an inspiration, writing can be one, listening to music, working, getting sick or wounded, friends dying, drug addiction... anything. i mean, being homeless has inspired my entire life's career.
those of you out there reading this that are real punks, you know what im talking about. why? well obviously, you have an attraction to punk rock because you feel it. i want any of you to take my advice and know that you probably wont be trapped like this your whole life. i have kids all the time ask me what i think being a punk is, what a real punk is, what is a "poseur". and i tell them the same things everytime - i dont think being a punk is to be desired, i mean, i love it, but if i could do it all again id change my life. the hardships and generational curses in my family have led me to be a punk and I did not choose this life. dont get me wrong, i love it for the most part, but its also a trap and a curse. however, i wont be like this the rest of my life, and hopefully you all wont be either.
anyway, this is my personal philosophy.. take it as you wish