Hey, Im young from the Southwest Ontario region, Im in highschool my parents are not awake, Im just begginning prepping, I have no part time job yet. Im planning to move somewhere away from my parents, for SHTF. All this shit is overwelming me and I need to be around like minded people like me, not my parents.
Now, I like/love my parents but I've come to terms that they will not wake up "as Rome is burning". Since Im young and not used to this, I will need somebody exprienced to help me. Of course Im not going to rely, on the person (and there's the Interenet)
So, I hoped you liked the intro.
Hey there newprepper, welcome to the forum.
First of all, I understand the overwhelmed feeling you have...there is a lot to absorb and sort out.
The first step is to join a forum like this one, where there are lots of level headed people ready to help.
I can understand the frustration with your parents, but you have to be patient. They truly mean you no harm, and I am sure you are their number one priority.
I do hope that you plan to stay in school until graduation before moving away from home...it's a lot tougher out there than you think.
Ya, I know, you get that a lot, but remember, I was a teenager too once and my folks didn't GET IT either, so I know where you're coming from.
The next step is to sort out the rubbish from the real threats.
There are a lot of websites out there that are set up to frighten you into thinking the sky is falling just to make you buy all sorts of "stuff". Don't fall for the Alex Jones types. By the way, if you haven't looked up Alex Jones yet, don't bother...he'll just scare and confuse you. If you have, well, try to forget it.
The best thing you can get now is knowledge. Know how to produce and gather your own food, how to collect and purify water, and maybe start setting up an emergency kit that would get you through a few days.
Above all, hope for the best...it isn't all doom and gloom!
Hi and welcome to the forum. Your awareness of the need to take prep seriously is a major step forward in itself. In prepping knowledge is as important as any pursuit you can undertake. It sounds trite, but knowledge is power. And I can't stress enough my belief in what Denob has said. As you search the internet learn to smell the scammers who by my definition are those who want you to stock up on their expensive "stuff" or are out to scare the crap out of people for their own political or religious agenda. Much of the stuff you need can be gotten free, or traded for. Network with posters from across the country on this site, read their posts. I know you will find some you can relate to.
Above all else finish high school. There are many ways to do this. I have lived a long time, made some right decisions, did some really foolish things. All under the bridge now. Do I like your intro? Sure do! Hope to hear from you again.
Hello and Welcome;
stay in school
take First Aid and First Responder courses
St. John Ambulance Cadets/Main aux force
Canadian Forces; Cadets, Reserve Force
SAR (Search and Rescue Groups in your area)
Ham Radio club in your area
Martial Arts Training
Local Shooting clubs
learn Bush Skills
take care, have fun
Howdy newprepper,
Welcome to our little Forum. By joining and posting you obviously believe what you seek can be found here. I think you could be right. This Forum has a wealth of knowledge and knowledgeable folks. Some are old and weathered but well experienced, some are much younger and maybe even more experienced. Any answer you receive, give it your gut check, before you accept the answer to be true. Some folks, although meaning well, may not pass on truthful information. But, your comment about the internet makes believe you already understand that.
Respect your parents. Love them. They are doing the best they can. No parent is given a "how-to raise the perfect child" handbook. Do adults have flaws, of course. What can you do about them - nothing. You can only change you. Or in this case, you can only learn more. And maybe, at some point in the future, you can teach your parents. Help them awake. But you cannot and should not force them awake. Just my opinion of course.
To get the most valuable replies, it will require you to post your questions. The more you post the more information you will receive on things you need to know about. We on this side of the screen can all guess what types of information to start you with, but we are just guessing - based on our own personal life experiences. We will need some help from you to. Help us to help you.
You are young. Some will try to tell you that is a disadvantage. "He is young, he can't know anything, baahhh" Ever heard crap like that?? Don't ever believe it. The youth advantage = TIME!!!!!!!!!!! You have it. If you are willing to listen to some old farts and the mistakes we have made you can use time to your advantage. You can hear our mistakes and avoid those pitfalls. If you want we will continue to share our mistakes so you can avoid them........
Education. Stay in school. If the school sucks and you have the option to transfer to another school that has a curriculum that works with your learning style. Investigate what would be involved in moving to a school where learning is enjoyable. If you like what or how you are learning you will put more effort into your studies because YOU WANT TO. The WILL to learn is the same as the Will to Survive. It has to come from inside YOU. For you to have the most options later in life, you need to get at least a High School Diploma.
But not all education comes from school. There are other places that teach skills and other forms of knowledge that will be useful on the road to life. WildE, has already given you a concise list. I think the only source missed might have been Scouts Canada. If there is a good Scout Troop near you, with great leaders who get the Troop out in the woods, mountains, lakes, etc. It might be worth a look. Cadets. The Militia or Army Reserves. All great places to learn.
If you are not bothered by the sight of blood, I would suggest you take a 90 or 100 hour Wilderness First Aid/Emergency Responder Course. Use the internet and you should find courses near you. These courses are less expensive than college - both in time and $$$$. However, once qualified you can get employed at camp jobs as a site EMR/Medic. Many of these jobs pay well for the amount of time you invested in getting qualified. Working in a remote camp setting is a learning experience too. But it be an option when you are 18+ years old, the minimum age to work at camp. This will allow you to be employed and get out of the house.
Word of caution about leaving the family home too quickly. Although there are rules at your parents home, please understand, out in the world there are rules too. The rules in the world do not care about YOU. Your parents, as tough as their rules may seem, they do care about YOU. Please remember that. There is one real big advantage to being awake and young and living at home.......YOU DO NOT HAVE ANY BILLS. That means the money you earn from working odd jobs, can be invested in YOU. You are interested in being prepared, invest some of your earnings in items to help save your butt in the event of a big wildfire evacuation or a severe storm. Not to raise anxiety, but natural disasters can arrive anywhere and with little warning, but I suspect you have already researched possible natural disasters that could occur near where you live. If not, the Government of Canada has an Emergency Preparedness website. Check it out. Nothing fancy, but some good basic information.
But being young, your mind is like a sponge. Ready to absorb knowledge. Google "Steve's Pages" and you should find a resource of PDF books to keep your mind busy for a few years. Just don't download all the books at once, LOL.
Search and Rescue units, may take you under their wing. Awesome experience. I was 14 going on 15 when I was given the chance to become a junior member of SAR. It was some of the best training I got, from some of the best experts. Tracking. Mountain Climbing. First Aid. Casualty Evacuations. Wilderness Survival. One other bonus, volunteering with a SAR Unit should count for community volunteer hours for graduating High School.
If you enjoy reading books, visit the library. Maybe start with wilderness survival books, read as many as you can. No one book has everything you need to know. Make a list of books that made a difference to you. Slowly start to buy books. If buying books is not possible due to a lack of funds. Send me a PM and I will suggest alter methods of building your personal knowledge library. Of course, to use PM's on this Forum you need to post 12 posts. But you can probably do that at your next visit. I am sure you will have a few questions for us.
I just finished a cross-Canada roadtrip this past summer (2012). There are many old skills that will be needed if our modern technology ever fails us. Weaving. Blacksmithing. Cabin building. Farming. Ranching. Tanning hides. And the list goes on and on. Research some of these old trades and skills. Try to find a few that interest you. Be prepared for an uncertain future is not all guns, shootouts and the rest of that Mad Max stuff. The rules of three. You can survive three minutes without oxygen, three hours without shelter/clothes, three days without water, and three weeks without food. It does not matter if you can out shoot all the demons from hell if you cannot find a drop to drink!! To be successful you need to have well rounded skills in many areas. Use your youthfulness to your advantage. Learn as much as you can now. Even if you forget half of it by the time you are an old fart like us, you will still be miles ahead of your peers.
One last point before I end this long diatribe. Skills and knowledge. Do you know the best way to ensure you have learned what you need to know??? The very best method is to teach those skills or knowledge to someone else who does not know. The act of teaching skills or knowledge will re-enforce that knowledge in you. The more you teach it, the easier it is to teach it. And of course, the more you teach it the harder it is to forget. 🙂
When you have time poke around this site and do a little reading. Avoid the apocalypse topics for now. As old farts we can explore those topics, it gives us something new to argue about. There is time enough to get exposed to those topics later. Focus on your immediate needs - air, shelter, water, food and fire. Become an expert in those and then expand.
Take care. And get back to us. We hope to hear from you soon.
Mountainman.
PS - Stop watching cable TV. It is poisoning the minds of the youth in this country. Use Netflix if you need a TV fix. No commercials!!
newprepper,
Here is a thread you may find interesting.
http://internationalpreppersnetwork.net/viewtopic.php?f=13&t=1048
Cheers,
Mountainman.
Hey there newprepper, welcome to the forum.
First of all, I understand the overwhelmed feeling you have...there is a lot to absorb and sort out.
The first step is to join a forum like this one, where there are lots of level headed people ready to help.
I can understand the frustration with your parents, but you have to be patient. They truly mean you no harm, and I am sure you are their number one priority.
I do hope that you plan to stay in school until graduation before moving away from home...it's a lot tougher out there than you think.
Ya, I know, you get that a lot, but remember, I was a teenager too once and my folks didn't GET IT either, so I know where you're coming from.
The next step is to sort out the rubbish from the real threats.
There are a lot of websites out there that are set up to frighten you into thinking the sky is falling just to make you buy all sorts of "stuff". Don't fall for the Alex Jones types. By the way, if you haven't looked up Alex Jones yet, don't bother...he'll just scare and confuse you. If you have, well, try to forget it.
The best thing you can get now is knowledge. Know how to produce and gather your own food, how to collect and purify water, and maybe start setting up an emergency kit that would get you through a few days.
Above all, hope for the best...it isn't all doom and gloom!
Yes I understand about my parents, but I don't think they will wake up. There just that brainwashed. For example, my Dad said that "I (me)will never experince a collaspe in my lifetime." Like, how deluded can you be? Does he not realize that Cyprus just conficated bank accounts?! Sigh.
There is also a problem that I think a collape is due very soon. Could start in 2013- but no later than 2015. I am a 2014 graduate. Maybe I could do an online education but Im not sure if "they" will allow it. I could pay for it, but there is also a problem of getting gold or silver. And imagine what will happen durning SHTF. With riots? FEMA camps, drones? Brainwashed people? Desprate parents (including my own?) I know I sound dramatic, but I need to move somewhere else. A small town, or village, maybe.
Oh and Alex Jones is a loon 😀
why is my comment delivery taking so slow
Welcome to the group. I agree that one must prepare and being prepared means being educated. Finish your schooling and get and part time job to earn money (it takes money to prep). Take whatever training you can get (SAR, Military cadets, firearm, hunting, gardening) like the others mentioned earlier. Remember, the quality of your future job depends on your education. You can't stake your future on a SHTF scenario. The SHTF scenario will eventually end and things hopefully return to normal. When they do, you need the training and education to get a job and earn decent money. Your parents may be unable to comprehend a collapse, but they will be one of the few people you can trust to have your back. Good luck and think long term cause some poor decisions can affect you for the rest of your life.
GM1
Chance favours the prepared mind
why is my comment delivery taking so slow
Sorry about that. The first couple posts need a moderator to approve. That is now done. We mods try to approve ASAP, but we don't always live here on the Forum. 🙂
Cheers,
Mountainman.