somewhere between an introduction and a plea

[oxyhemoglobin]

hello. my net handle is oxyhemoglobin and the name my parents gave me is conor but i havent decided my real name yet. i'm 17 and i live in a tiny apartment in downtown manhattan with my dad. i realized recently that i'm not happy here, going to school and feeling guilty because i never complete their menial tasks and feeling stressed about college. i want to get out and have an adventure. i'm a writer and i plan on producing a veritable library of content while i'm out.

no matter where i go all i seem to get is resistance on this (dads not very supportive of the idea, never shouldve told him in the first place) so i'm hoping i've found a discussion board where people are supportive of teenage liberation.

i've been reading a lot of stuff online (cavegrrrl's "DROPPING OUT for students" comes to mind, pdf attached for the unfamiliar) and i'm ready to do this, but i feel pretty alone and im admittedly not sure exactly what to do so what i need is some assistance. i'm pretty sure i want to go west. whether thats by freight hopping (how? where?) or hitch hiking (safe?) or biking (dont even have one!) or a combination thereof i havent decided. i just want to get out and see this shitty country i'm supposed to love. apart from that my future is an open book. i want to take the road less traveled by and have it make all the difference. help me out?

 

[sharks77]

fuck what everyone else says! i know exactly what you're talking about, but fuck everyone who tells you what to do, and fuck everyone who tells you your ideas are stupid. fuck those people.
if you want to travel then fucking go for it, you've come to the right place for advice. dont live a shitty life because some brainwashed fucking asshole tells you you should!

 

[Ravie]

okay, first dont ever rely on what some 12 year old writes about anything. "dropping out for students"... yeah i read that and if anything it pressures youth into being homeless. leaving home may find you a new shade of freedom, but not the perfect kind you look for. check out the runaways thread: http://squattheplanet.com//general-discussion/general-banter/5089-runaways-minors.html


but in the end man, your family will never support you because it scares them. but i cant sit here and tell you not to when i'm 17 and hitching. i just want you to know it's no walk in the park. it gets cold, you get hungry like you never have before, you get sick, and sometimes you get lonely or feel like no one cares. so why do i do it? because i love traveling and meeting new people and seeing new places. i connect with runaways because ive been one for three years, but remember, no one is going to take care of you if you leave and dont expect anyone to help you. some might and will help you out, but dont get your hopes up. But in the end, if you can handle it, it's the best life you could ask for. bitter sweet.

 

[Angela]

Welcome, hope you enjoy the site. I met a conor last year while traveling but your probably not the same one.

 

[katiehabits]

ya listen to what Ravie has to say! i'm even younger than she but i live in canada so things are a little easyer for me to get by legally(but the winters are much colder) if you don't have to be homeless don't make yourself unless some whacked out shit is going on in your life. always remember that someone's got it worst off than you. your suffering is not the most terrible thing to happen on this planet.

 

[Ravie]

If I ever met that chick who wrote "dropping out" ide beat her ass up and down the street. who the fuck is she to write a shitty zine and influence thousands of kids into thinking being homeless is some fucking game? ive heard this from several kids saying "well i decided to leave because she said it was realy easy and fun!" then they wind up getting the shit beat out of em or something fucked up because they didnt realise that "hey maybe not everything i read from a computer is true..."


arg. kid, if your going to leave, go for it. but get better advise than that. this is the site to learn from though, you came to the right place. lots of wisdom and good tips floating around. and you can allways send me a private message if you want to talk about whatever. i have no life at this time....fucking rain.

 

[oxyhemoglobin]

thanks to everybody who replied. im sort of awed at how fast this thread filled up.

i have a lot of choices ahead of me, a lot more than i had before i started considering these alternatives. the obvious choice is to stay fucking put and quit complaining about life inside the box, but its not the life i want and no amount of brainstorming about how it could be worse is going to make me want to get the fuck out of this apartment less. i want this freedom so badly and the choice i want to make is to get out now and start learning, but at the same time ive talked to a few people about getting them to come with me and it doesnt seem like many kids are willing to abandon their comfy homes with the tv and the shower. my best friend out-of-state says he'll go with me either this summer when he comes to visit or after he finishes high school but i feel like the wait will kill me. the only thing holding me back from doing this now is this strange feeling i have like if i go out into the world, i'll find myself completely alone, looking for travelers and never seeing anyone, looking for punkhouses and people with crew change manifests and never finding a god damned thing.

i want to start my real life now more than anything else ive ever wanted but i know traveling alone as a minor is practically suicidal. the logic and reason in me is telling me to wait until i have a partner. anybody want to weigh in on my choices?

re: do i have the balls to live like a street urchin? yes. i have no reservations about sewing patches on my clothes or dumpster diving. honestly, to me, it sounds like the kind of life i dream about. to have the kind of freedom that means i dont even know if im going to have something to eat tomorrow? i could cream my pants just thinking about it. and hell, if it comes down to staring down some asshole, i can deal with it. who would leave the house without their pepper spray and a tazer?

i love that pamphlet by cavegrrrl because she's got the same mindset i do: doing what you have to do to survive is fun as hell and it sure beats the shit out of a school day.

 

[Ravie]

sure sure. well dude, i would advise you to take a bus to somewhere like portland, a squatter mecca in my eyes, and meet up with someone. the only way to find em is to get out there. and trust me, we arent that hard to find.

 

[finn]

I have to say that certain ways of living aren't for everyone, and that zine is outdated and over-romantic, I mean who doesn't want an adventure? Anyway, learn some useful skills and practice them! Do you know first aid? How to ride a bike? How to fix/make things? How to shake off someone who's following you? (okay maybe you shouldn't practice that in full reality) How to play an instrument? How to balance your nutritional needs? How to camp? You're not going to last very long if you think reading the interweb will prepare you.

 

[Ravie]

another thing is being prepared. i could have kicked myself in the head. the first time i left all i had was a backpack with clothes and food. DONT FORGET A SLEEPING BAG haha
it sounds dumb but i didnt have the resorces like i do now to know how fucking cold it got or how important vegatables are to stay healthy. My first trip almost killed me, literally. i got sick and after a couple days sleeping outside with nothing and eating nothing passed out in front of a gas stated and woken up to "do you need an ambulance?"

turned out i had the stomache flu, bladder infection, urinary tract infection, and strep throat. tell me that didnt suck haha and i didnt have toilet paper, meds, money, food, water, nothing. thats just one thing to worry about. DONT GET SICK.

 

[oxyhemoglobin]

Do you know first aid?
no but ive had to perform it at least once anyway and its pretty intuitive.

How to ride a bike?
yes. learned as a kid.

How to fix/make things?
sort of. i can mend clothing and fix up gadgetry but my overall DIY knowledge is a little lax i suppose. good thing theres a lot of literature on this.

How to shake off someone who's following you?
absolutely. im going to sound like an idiot for this, but i used to protest scientology once a month. ive had to lose their people about 3 times. easiest way is to just go into a movie, but i always have my board on me and its easy to just skate away too.

How to play an instrument?
yes, i can play drums and the harmonica (fitting for the lifestyle, no?)

How to balance your nutritional needs?
not really, i just eat what's there. guess i should work on that, eh?

How to camp?
yes, ive been camping a few times in my life, i can pitch a tent, start a fire, and keep vermin out of my supplies.

these are good questions. now i know what to work on! keep em coming if theres more important stuff.

and ravie, im working on preparing a full pack before i leave. i think thatll probably be the easy part

 

[eatmonksus]

i don't know about that food issue. i always had more food on the street than at "home."

 

[Ravie]

very true. but there's a big difference between wilderness squatting and city squatting.

 

[mkirby]

I've been in the same situation as you, and did decide to "stay fucking put". But soon after that, staying put wasn't an option anymore and I had my first experience on the street.

I know from experience, being inside my own head and knowing so many kids like me, that telling you not to go anywhere isn't going to be effective. Nor do I think it's the right thing to say, anyway. While I do think that preserving your relationships with your parents is a good thing, I also think that it's not worth sacrificing another year of your life to give them peace of mind.

The only thing I can really do is to reiterate what everyone else has said. BE FUCKING PREPARED.

Definitely check out all the threads mentioned above. You might want to look at backpacking sites, and places like freegan.info for tips on free food and other stuff.

Another thing that would be good to do is reading up on the philosophical arguments behind the feelings you're feeling. It can be a big help in explaining your chosen lifestyle to friends and family. These books usually have tips on general survival as well.

I'd go with:
Steal This Book by Abbie Hoffman (An oldie but a goodie."To steal from a brother or sister is wrong, to not steal from the pillars that support the pig empire is equally immoral.")
Ishmael by Daniel Quinn (Tribalism, the fundamental flaw of modern civilization, it's all there)
And maybe some essays by Ran Prieur, I've been really into him lately.

Good luck, and don't forget to bring extra socks!

 

[macks]

I say if you want to do it, go for it. If you're confident in your abilities, quick witted and not a jackass you should do just fine. Most (certainly not all) of the stuff you need to know is going to be pretty intuitive but it sure would save you a lot of trouble to get some info from more veteran travelers (see most of the DIY, packing, hitching, trainhopping, camping, etc. threads on STP; some great info in those). But yeah, everyone does things a little different so don't be afraid to try new ideas if they make sense and aren't dangerous. Although, if you want to hop freight trains I would say spend some time reading, talking to people and watching trains before you waltz into the yard. Also - some advice people give is BS - make sure it makes sense to you before you do it. But that should be a no brainer.

I think doing your research so you can have a good time and be semi-comfortable (not freezing/starving to death, beaten up or lost) will increase the chances that you'll get what you want out of the experience.

Disclaimer: I started traveling after 18 so probably best to heed the advice of the people who know more about that shit than me!

 

[Angela]

very true. but there's a big difference between wilderness squatting and city squatting.

Thank you for noticing, there's a huge difference between city and wilderness squatting! And somewhere in between are the rural squats, those places that are not within sight of neighbors yet have four walls surrounding them.

 

[oxyhemoglobin]

i think im going to finish this year. after that... who knows. maybe ill leave this summer. maybe ill waste another year in the education coffin. im going to spend this time getting ready. i think i'll probably end up reading everything on this site. thanks for the warm welcome folks.

 

[Ravie]

aww your welcome. and thank you for being so open minded so i dont have to yell at you! <3

 

[bote]

if you decide to stick around your parents home, don't waste your time. I don't know how much your dad supports you, but if he'll get you music lessons or classes of some kind that you're interested in, or even if you just want to go skate everyday and not worry about finding food and shelter, just enjoy it. It'll be over one way or the other soon enough.

 

[drunken marauder]

My best suggestion to you is to get your whole life savings find the dirtiest squat you can and buy everyone booze so you can make cool friends oh yea we like drugs too.