Letter to My Teenage Self

Chris Judd is a former professional Australian rules footballer, and captain of both the Carlton Football Club and the West Coast Eagles in the AFL. Judd has twice won the league’s highest individual honour, the Brownlow Medal, and is a dual Leigh Matthews Trophy winner as the AFL Players Association’s Most Valuable Player.

Dear Chris,

Your teenage years are an exciting time to be alive, as is every other year of your life as none of us are around for all that long. Try to both recognise and enjoy the good moments in your life when they arise.

I write this letter to you as your senior by 19 years, but unfortunately at the ripe old age of 32, there is still much to learn, and still plenty of answers I’m waiting to find. Whilst not holding all the answers, there are a few things I’ve picked up since I was sitting in your shoes that may be helpful in your journey from boy to man.

The first is that kids are terrified of being different from everyone else, while adults are terrified of being the same. While it is tragic to see a kid pretend to be someone they’re not purely to fit in, the same can be said for people who pretend to be something they’re not purely to be different. Being different or common are neither good nor bad character traits: being authentic is what matters. Doing things that you’re passionate about while spending time with people who you like, find interesting and trust, and who treat you how you want to be treated is the best way to go.

Secondly, what gets respected by your peers is transient and constantly changing. Don’t chase it. When I was your age, the guys who were most respected (as measured by the amount of interest they received from girls) were guys who wagged or dropped out of school, got into trouble, etc. But by the time everyone was 18 they were less impressed with these guys, and the crowd was after a different hero. Depending on what age you are there is always a new hero to be revered. In your thirties and forties it may be the entrepreneur with the biggest bank balance who’s most respected by others his age, but while being an entrepreneur can be a noble pursuit, if it has come at the cost of his family, then maybe the pursuit wasn’t worth the cost. From what I can gather, there are very few things you can confidently do to excess without paying a heavy price for it later on. The few things that spring to mind are spending time with your family, being healthy (not to be confused with being vain) and learning. Every other pursuit should be weighed up as to what the cost is against these three things.

And lastly, enjoy your hair, you’ll start losing it in six years!

All the best,

Chris