letters to my future self

Five years ago, one of my best friends gave me this book for my birthday called “Letters to my Future Self.” Contained in the book are envelopes with specific topics -- the obvious point to write a letter to your future self about that topic, seal the envelope, and open on an arbitrarily chosen date in the future. I chose 6/14/2021 as my date to open the letters which was three days ago. 

I wrote 7 letters to myself. One about what “home” means to me, another about who I am, one about my hopes for the future, another about romance, one about travel, another about my life’s calling. The last one was a letter of advice from then 25-year old me to now 30-year old me. 

Reading the letters was… so cool. You’re probably expecting me to say how much I have changed in 5 years, and I was expecting that too, but reading those letters proved the exact opposite. In how I view myself, the world, my purpose in life, my friendships and my family, nothing has changed, and I’m so thankful. I realized how solid I have been over the past 5 years, and it was a grounding experience and powerful reminder of who I am and who I always want to be. 

Our world is pretty chaotic right now and I often feel caught up in the drama of it all. These letters showed me that though I have branched out, grown, and spread myself and my interests in different directions over the years, my roots haven’t been dug up. They are still firmly planted. I am strong in my convictions, beliefs, morals, and passions, and I hope to be so 5 years from now. And 10. And 20.

You get the idea.