Dear Bailey,
It feels so odd to think that 10 years have gone by. The year is 2019 and you are currently a freshman in college. By now, you'll have graduated from this university and are hopefully doing something you love. I am here to write to you and check in, as well as inform you of your past life here in 2019. Here goes nothing...
You've set some goals for yourself in 2019. You want to be the strongest version of you that you can be. You are done with negative self-talk, although it still happens from time to time. You're really focused on being a badass. You also turn 19 this year, which is also odd because that means that in one more you'll be saying goodbye to your teenage years and saying hello to the wonderful decade that is your twenties.
Eighteen has been good to you, and so has college. You have met so many amazing people that I hope you still keep in touch with. Your roommate is just as crazy as you are, if not more. 2019 is going well. We're almost three months in, and so many new opportunities have presented themselves to you. You are taking time to focus in on what drives you, what heals your soul, and what you love love love doing. You are also working on cutting out toxic things and learning from your mistakes.
2019 is the year of BOLDNESS, and it's been very good to you so far.
How is 2029? Do people still talk on the phone? What goals have you set for yourself this year? I hope you are still making time for people who love you and those that you love in return. I hope you are really, genuinely, truly happy. You've wanted that for so long.
Are you doing what you love? In 2019, you made it a point to focus on what fuels you. I hope you haven't forgotten that. You are one year away from being 30, which is insane because thirty is so...grown up. You haven't grown up yet. Not really. You have all of these aspirations now. I wonder what you want to be now. I wonder who you've become.
I hope you haven't lost your sense of wonder and curiosity. I hope you are still kind. Have you been in love? Who are you becoming? Ten years is a long time...what has changed and what has remained the same?
I want you to know, future me, that I am so proud of you. I don't know where you are or who you'll be, but I am proud of you. And I know you can do anything you set your mind to. The 2019 version of you is just starting to figure that out. I also want you to know that you are loved, exactly where you are. You are brave. As your friend once said, "Be brilliant. Be fearless. Be kind." Keep that in mind. Call your family often and love them well. Hold your friends close.
And remember where you were in 2019. Remember the things you valued and the experiences you had. Remember who are and who you were and who you are becoming. Remember that no matter where or when you are, in 2019 or in 2029, that you are a badass and you are capable of so so so many things. If you have kids already, remind them that they are wonderful forces to be reckoned with. Remind them that they are loved well and can be whoever they want to be. Remind them to never lose their childlike sense of imagination and creativity.
Live each day one day at a time. Keep on keeping on.
Much love,
2019 YOU.
