What's up, Nathan?
For obviously selfish reasons I hope you're doing well.
25 years old.
That's a quarter of a century.
I hope you're not freaking out and going through a quarter life crisis.
Please do not dye your hair blonde.
We're off to a very millennial start to this video.
For the record, I'm gonna refer to you as you and me as me
because, I think we both know how much a person can change
in the span of three years.
In fact, in a weird way what that kind of means
is that I don't exist anymore outside of this video.
This version of you is no more.
I'm not sure how I feel about that.
Really quick question. Are you still taking cold showers or was that just a phase?
I recognize that what separates you and me are probably
some of my best years in terms of health and energy,
and I'm gonna do my very best to capitalize on that.
But, I think you and I both know,
I have a tendency to sort of overthink things
and you know, just take things too seriously.
Being the try-hard that I am,
probably what's going to happen is I'm gonna cross the line of working too hard
at least a dozen more times over the next few years.
You already know this because you've lived through it,
but I wanted to include this in this video because
I want it on the record that I know it's gonna happen.
In a weird way your fate is in my hands.
You trust me?
This is getting kind of weird.
I just want to say congrats on the hit Italian song that you made,
I am speaking that into existence right now.
I also hope you enjoyed Tokyo, and your first photography exhibition.
It would be amazing if you've written a book already.
But I'm gonna stop listing things off
that haven't happened yet, because that's enough pressure already
for the next few years,
and it might be wildly inappropriate for me to be writing a book at my age.
I guess we're just gonna have to see.
I know there's a lot that you and I want to get to...
but, dude, It's not a race to the finish line.
I hope that you're taking time every now and again to take stock,
and smell the roses and s**t.
Super cliché, but whatever.
Finally, I wanted to share a few of the things that I'm currently going through,
so that you can remember this period of your life.
I hope that you don't feel like it went by too quickly.
I'm doing my very best to squeeze the drop out of every moment, and my God!
I sound like a millennial, don't I?
So I moved to Mexico about four months ago, and
It's kind of hard to tell how you're gonna feel about things with the benefit of hindsight,
but at this vantage point, this feels like it was one of the best decisions I've ever made.
I'm so glad I took the leap,
and there are so many people that cannot seem to fathom
why I made this decision.
But I'm not complaining.
It is so underrated down here.
Slowly improving at my meal planning process,
which means I'm going to the supermarket a little bit less often,
which is kind of cool.
Like once or twice a week,
I don't know, is that good?
How does that stack up to other people?
By the way, I recently made the discovery of
"Plátano frito"
Oh my god!
I don't even...
It's not so much that I eat them,
it's like I inhale them at this point.
The combination of sweet
and salty.
So good!
This is it.
Oh my goodness!
So good!
This has been a really eye-opening year so far.
On one hand, I feel like I'm right on track
and doing exactly what I should be doing.
I'm lucky beyond belief to be able to make a living doing this
and I'm really hoping that this lasts, but I also have moments where
I feel like I just do not have the emotional maturity
to handle things.
Honestly.
I've been really struggling to find the balance between
creating and letting myself go at my own pace.
And I certainly hope that you have things a little bit more figured out than I do.
My natural impulse is to just sprint ahead,
and keep going and keep pushing.
But, I'm realizing that
I mean I already knew this right?
On some level,
but I really am NOT a machine.
What this is telling me is that I still don't have
the best relationship with myself,
because I'm clearly trying to make up for some perceived
inadequacies that I feel about myself.
There are a lot of new eyes on my work.
As of me recording this right now,
we just passed like 270,000 people which is insanity.
That's like two entire "Ibizas".
I'm just doing my best to sort of adapt to this new lifestyle
and the pressure and responsibility,
which is far beyond what somebody like me should have.
On one hand,
I think is just all in my head,
But on the other, can you imagine if there was a second Ibiza?
I just started taking painting classes,
that's been fun.
Not exactly the next Picasso,
but working on it.
All right, painting time!
This is quickly becoming like one of my favorite parts of the entire week,
but I'm late every time!
Here's what I think I look like when I'm painting,
and here's what I actually look like.
I bet you're dying to see what I'm working on.
Well, guess what?
Inspired by Henri Matisse,
I'm painting naked French women so I can't show you.
Sorry.
Oh! You think I sound pretentious?
Now I'm definitely not showing you what I'm working on, you hater.
I'll tell you what, you can look at me looking at the painting.
[laughs]
Currently I'm dealing with some emotional issues that I have around money.
Again, I hope that maybe you have things a little bit more figured out than I do.
Finally, I'm spending a lot of time alone lately.
I think I'm just trying to figure out the kind of life that I want to live throughout the rest of my 20s.
I know that friends will play a big role,
I just haven't quite found those people yet.
It's okay.
I'm more than willing to be patient.
It's just been hard finding people that I can click with.
But again,
I know they will come.
I'd love to have more photographer and videographer friends,
and also people that just don't feel uncomfortable with depth and rawness.
I'm not really sure that this is just my reaction to moving to a big city,
or if this is just a phase,
but it's where I'm at right now.
I'm just doing my best, and...
That's gonna have to be enough.
Alright, I think I'm gonna end things there.
Please take care of yourself, and...
I'll see you soon.
You