Dear Future Self,

I hope you’re doing well. If you’re reading this, congratulations, you’ve made it to the ripe old age of 31 – everybody has told me that my twenties would be the best time of my life. So I have to ask, how was it? Were you happy? Did you enjoy yourself?

This past decade was full of milestones. You left elementary school; you graduated high school. You went to college, and you even graduated. You got your first jobs. You fell in love. You found some good friends. You lost quite a few people as well. You started climbing and working out, and you started to truly love your family.

I remember feeling like I was on top of the world in high school, but then struggling in college. You learned what it was like to face difficulty; to be challenged; I hope you continue to seek out not necessarily the easiest path forward, but instead the path you’ll find most rewarding. I hope you continue to do what you enjoy. That’s what I’ve always considered to be special about you. We’re dreamers, aren’t we? We’ve always dreamt of changing the world, and so now it’s about time you started working towards that goal. You don’t have time to be afraid or to worry about matters as trivial as self-confidence or capability; you just only have time to do.

I hope you finally learn to practice a growth mindset, you’re able to tame your sometimes volatile and fiery emotions, and that you continue to learn and become a formidable engineer. I also hope you continue to find yourself: there’s fragments here and there that have slipped out behind you, a trail of breadcrumbs that lies at your feet. Pick them up. There’s a narrative about you that you control, you – the protagonist of your own motion picture. Drawing, writing, piano, singing, gaming, and reading are all things that exist harmoniously with science and reason. Don’t pigeonhole yourself, learn about this world, and find a way to express and contribute to the torrent of narratives rushing past you. There’s a direction in that current that you uniquely can control.

For this next decade, my decisions will shape your reality. Whether you are satisfied, happy, or still yearning for more is still up to me. For both of our sakes, I hope I do well. I hope you can take my hands, smile, and thank me genuinely for your current life. If not, I know you’ll keep working and you’ll seek out that happiness and satisfaction that’s waiting for you in this world.

I hope you’re fearless in the future, Grace. I hope you never stop demanding anything but the best from yourself. I wish you the best. I’ll do my best to make the best decisions for us, and I’m rooting for you.

Love,

Your Past Self