A letter to my future self in 2035

Hello old friend,

I write today to my future self, the person I will become ten years from now.

I know things have not been easy for you. They never are. But I hope that you overcame all that crossed your path. I hope that you are standing tall over all obstacles and disadvantages. We have worked hard so far in our lives, and I know that you have had to work even harder to get from here to where you are now.

I write this in hopes that you have finally achieved something worth cherishing. I hope that you don't have to work so hard anymore. I hope that you can finally afford to let loose and enjoy life. As I write this, I know I am exhausted, and I would like a few days off, but as things stand, I cannot afford that. I pray that things are different for you.

Today, I am in my late 20s and by the time you read this, you will be in your late 30s. I know that our priorities and goals are different. Whatever your priorities are, I implore you not to forget who you are and where you came from.

It's easy to forget. The surroundings make it easier to give in. But please, remember your roots. It might seem like it is the better option to forget and forsake, and I am afraid that with all the goals we have set for ourselves, with all that we have convinced ourselves are important for us and with all the challenges in front of us, it will be easier to just forsake. But please do not abandon your roots.

By the time you read this, I know you have gained much more experience than I have at the moment, so I trust you to make the right choices.

I don't know what your routine will be like ten years from now. But I know this — there are a few things that we never wanted to give up. The first one on that list is reading. We have always wanted a neat little library, and if you are still on the path that I have been travelling, we should have a nice little library by now.

Please do not be complacent about having a collection of books only. Please read and continue to read. We never planned on stopping reading, not till our eyes gave in, and I hope you are still continuing this odyssey.

I pray that you have not lost your compassion and conviction. It is easy to lose compassion when you live in a rude city, but that is no excuse. That is the city's real face, and we should not stoop to that level. Politeness is an invaluable blessing. I remember when we were only ten. We used to look at all those loud and rude people, and we vowed that we would never become one of those people. Please do not be one of those people.

I know life can be hard, I know life can be exhausting, but that is no excuse to just give in and become a terrible person. Be kind. To people and animals. If it's too much to ask for, at least don't be unkind.

I imagine you have changed a lot. Hopefully, you are probably more sagacious, more patient, well-read and well off. You might even be complacent, comparing yourself to your old school or university friends. And it may be true that you are in a better position than our friends X and Y.

But honestly, I don't care that you are better than X and Y, because X and Y were never even in our thoughts. After all, it is an irrelevant comparison. What I care about is this: Are you a better person than I am? Have you achieved more than I have? Are you happier than I am?

These are the only three questions that matter to me, and if all the answers are "yes", then my friend, you should be satisfied with yourself. Because here in 2025, that is all I am hoping for. Things are chaotic here. And challenging. Physically, mentally, morally, and I am struggling.  

I am healthy and alive, but there are a lot of things on my mind. I don't have to explain them to you because by the time you read this, you will have resolved every single one of those issues. But I will say this, I hope you are less confounded by life and its drama than I am. Because I am utterly and completely confused. And it terrifies me. I know what my goals are, I know how to get there, but I don't know how to start getting there. I am lost, I am scared, and I really could use a mentor.

But there's also the issue that a mentor will not be able to help me unless I can help myself, which makes me think that I should start this hustle all by myself, and whatever the outcomes are, either I will win or I will learn some lessons. I do not know how many lessons you had to learn in ten years, but I do hope that you never gave up.

I do wish I could tell you all about my life in more detail, and a magic mirror that connects us through time would be amazing. But since we don't have that, I am using the second-best thing — a letter through the ages, in hopes that you, too, will write to your future self.

And on that note, I bid you farewell for today.

Live long and prosper.

Sincerely,

Your past self from 2025.