Hello (in Raymond Reddington's voice)

RE: Your letter in 2008 (as follows) Dear FutureMe, Hello! Today is 9/19/2008 and you've been procrastinating again. It's been six years. How are you? Do you have a boyfriend? Are you married? DID YOU FINISH COLLEGE? Have you been back to the Philippines? Are you still addicted to Monk? Is Monk still airing? Do you miss me, your past self? How much have you changed since you wrote this e-mail? See you in the future, self. I hope you're still alive. -Grace DDC 2008 _________________________ Dear FutureMe, Today is October 6, 2015. It is 11pm, and you are still awake, because you work straight weekend night shifts. I am pretty sure that when you wrote that letter in 2008, you were in the middle of writing a paper for school. You would be happy to know that you did finish Nursing school...and with flying colors too, I might add. :) You still do not have a boyfriend. You are turning 26 in 6 days and you are starting to feel scared that you will never have one. Hopefully, by this time, you are seriously considering online dating. If this website is still up, you will be receiving this letter sometime on October 2016. By that time, you better have tickets to a plane going to the Philippines, because that's what you've been planning for more than a year. Monk ended in 2009, most unfortunately, and you ended up getting hooked on Psych, which aired in the same network as Monk and gave you the same comedic relief. I have changed so much, my dear 2008 self...and I miss you. I miss you so much, that I would like to see you just to hold you again. Earlier while cleaning the house, I found a disc containing pictures taken around the year 2008. There was still a sparkle in your eyes. There was still joy and hope. It has only been 2 years since you've been away from the Philippines, and life has not yet siphoned the happiness out of you. Mom was taken away earlier this year and it has been very hard for you and dad...and I don't think a year would make any difference. Every night you stay awake, you wish that you would wake up from this. The sadness is inescapable. Silence and solitude are no longer your friends. You spend most of your time seeking for distractions, which usually work. You are currently catching up on The Blacklist (hence the subject) and will later on watch Aldub and Kalyeserye...two of the most effective distractions you found. Dewey is lying right beside you. It will only be a year that has gone when you read this. I am not optimistic. The only thing you are holding on to, is that when you get back to the Philippines, you will regain some of your happiness back....but you know Mom is irreplaceable. But I hope you will reach that point when it doesn't hurt as much as it hurts now...because I do not know how one can live with that kind of pain. Three very important people were taken away from you this year. I hope that by the time you read this, you are in a better place...wherever that might be. If that doesn't happen, I would ask you one thing...please hold on. If not for yourself, at least for dad. Grace D.C. 2015