Letter from Ray Bradbury to William Stanhope

ray bradbury enterprises
[Redacted]
los angeles, california 90064
dear william stanhope:
most important decision i ever made came at age 9…i was collecting BUCK ROGERS comic strips, 1929, when my 5th grade classmates made fun of me. I tore up the strips. A week later, broke into tears. Why was I crying? I wondered. Who die? Me, was the answer. I have torn up the future. What to do about it? Start collecting BUCK ROGERS again. Fall in love with the Future! I did just that. And after that never listened to one damnfool idiot classmate who doubted me! What did I learn? To be myself and never let others, prejudiced, interfer with my life. Kids, do the same. Be your own self. Love what YOU love.
Best wishes,
(Signed, ‘RAY B.’)
Bradbury
10/28/91

**Ok, I know the whole “be true to the person you are” is a common theme on this blog, sometimes overrepresented, but sometimes I feel that the rest of the world says it so little, that it’s a good thing to be reminded over and over. 

via Letters of Note

~ by cjt on April 29, 2011.