Over the years, as I've posted on message boards and become the co-founder of a House, becoming more visible in the community, I've been asked by an inordinate number of people if I would turn them, or if I could direct them to someone who would. Almost without exception, these people were under 20 and unhappy with life (many either lacking a significant other, or having just been dumped by one). The statement which I have heard most often from this type is, "My life is unbearable! Make me a vampire so I can live forever."
"So let me get this straight," I say to them. "Your life is horrible, you hate interacting with people, so you want to become what you think is a creature that lives forever and depends on human contact for survival. Have you really given this any thought?"
They don't want to hear that we're not *physically* immortal. They don't want to hear that we still have to pay rent, do laundry, wash dishes, hold down a job, deal with the outside world, bathe, and find a way to keep food on the table and electricity in our homes. None of this interests them. They want Lestat or Vlad or Mrs. Blaylock. They want excitement. Most of the time they don't even think about the gnawing hunger, the fundamental need for the energy of another. They don't want to hear about how if you avoid feeding it can mess up your body and interfere with your day-to-day life. They've no interest in the world in general, yet they somehow feel that being 'undead' would help things.
This baffles me.
I tell them, "Do your research. We're not what you think. While you're doing that, go outside. Enjoy the day or, if you prefer, enjoy the night. Yes, parts of life may very well suck. However, there are plenty of good bits to life as well. It's all in what you're looking for. Start looking for the positive. Enjoy the moment-- the blooming of a flower, the scent of the air after a storm, the feel of the evening breeze against your skin. And for God's sakes, go out and live a little-- take up a hobby; take a course in something that interests you; join a club or go out and dance... whatever you like doing, go out and do it. If you have no hobbies, be daring and try something new.
"If you're depressed by the state of the world, do something about it. Look for places in your city that need an extra pair of hands. Stuff envelopes for a fundraising campaign. Volunteer somewhere. Make someone else's life a bit better. If you can't find any good in the world, *be* the good in the world, so that someone else can find *you*.
"Before you decide you want to live eternally as a dead guy, go out and live for a few years as a human being. Research us, find out what we really are (insert standard dispelling of myths), but above all, take time to live. You're young yet. The best parts are just around the corner."
Sorry if that sounded a bit too peppy and inspirational, but it's how I feel, and it's the answer I give. Usually gets people thinking, at the very least.
Author: Shishain Kaleanen
Link: Unity Through Diversity -- House Quinotaur
