Ten Years Later.

Dear FutureMe, Today is March 8th of 2010. That means that I’m writing to you from exactly ten years ago. Are you surprised? I’m nineteen now, which makes you almost thirty. I want to know who you are. I wish you could tell me. Ten years is a lifetime to me. You could be anyone in the world. You finished school, right? Did you stick with business or did you change your mind? I hope we did well. I’m trying my best to make sure you’ll be happy. Did I make you happy? You’re probably married by now. You’ve got kids, too, right? Are they beautiful? I’m sure they are. I can’t wait to meet them. I know we’ll be a great mom. I want to tell you about me a little. You’ve probably forgotten me, right? That’s okay. I’ll fill you in. It’s the Spring break of my freshman year in college. No, not the university we ended up going to. That rinky-dink community college in our hometown. You remember it, right? I wouldn’t blame you if you’ve forgotten. I’m not even finished and I’m trying to forget. I’m not making close friends there. I have a best friend, the one we’ve been friends with since 5th grade, but other than her, there isn’t really anyone. I don’t let anyone new get too close to me, and I’m not really sure why yet. I hope you’ve figured it out and fixed it by now. I’ve not been in love yet. I’ve never even had a boyfriend. By now, you’ve fallen in love plenty of times, right? I hope it was wonderful. There’s bound to be a lot of pain in my future, but I hope it’s all made you into a beautiful person. Are you a ‘business woman’ yet? What kind of job did you get? Is it as stressful, time consuming and amazing as I’ve wanted it to be? Did we ever get to go to Japan? I sure hope we did. If we didn’t, and you have the money, you should really take a trip down. Come on, you owe it to me. Haha. Is the family doing okay? We’re all really close right now. Times are hard and we’re pretty poor, but we’ve always had each other. I love my family so much. You haven’t lost touch with any of them, right? Family is important, so if you haven’t talked to all of them recently, pick up the phone and ask how they’ve been. Tell them you love them and make sure you visit every chance you get. If you have children, are you taking care of them well? Remember everything you learned in psychology. Child rearing is more than buying them things. Shape them into amazing people, alright? Let them know that they have every opportunity in the world, and work hard to make sure that they do. You’re probably married. What’s he like? Did you end up marrying an Asian like you wanted to? Haha. Is the man you married cute? Looks are always good, but I hope you’ve married a genuinely good guy. Someone who will love you and take care of you forever. If you’ve found someone this amazing, hold on to him, okay? And make sure he knows how much you love him every day. I know as you’re reading this you’re probably thinking how immature you used to be. That’s okay. I am immature. You’re at least slightly more mature than I am, but don’t get too carried away. You and I will always be a little kid at heart, so we’re on the same page. Always. So even though you’re a lot older than I am at this point, I want to boss you around a little today. First, I want you to call everyone in the immediate family you haven’t talked to in the past three days and talk to them all for at least thirty minutes each. I know you probably still hate talking on the phone, but it will mean a lot to them if you haven’t talked in a few days. Don’t forget to say “I love you” when you hang up. Then, if you have kids, I want you to go buy them something special. Something thoughtful and funny that they’ll get a kick out of. When you give them the presents, make sure you tell them you love them and how important they are to you. Oh, and take them out at night sometimes. You remember those 3am drives you went for with mom when you were little? You should take the kids on those, too. Driving around in the middle of the night at that age makes you feel like you’re the only people in the world. It’s amazing. Trust me, they’ll love it. If you have a husband, surprise him. Out of the blue, turn to him and tell him exactly how much he means to you and thank him for the life he’s made with you. Make sure he knows you love him every bit as much as you did when you met him. Also, in case you’ve forgotten, smile. It doesn’t matter how you feel. Smile a lot. Smiles don’t have to be endearing or earned. They don’t even have to be real. Just smile, okay? Smiles make the people around you happy and you should never forget about the happiness of those around you. Never. I hope these ten years have treated you kindly. The good times and the bad, I want you to look back lovingly on them both because they made you who you are today. Don’t look back and be embarrassed, be proud. Be inspired by the love you’re remembering right now. Don’t lose all that love, okay? If it’s managed to survive these ten years, make sure it survives for ten years more. And maybe write thirty nine year old us a nice letter when you’re finished with this. Make sure you tell her all the wonderful plans you have for her and what kind of person you want her to be. Tell her about your dreams and hope they reach her. Have a wonderful, beautiful day. Love, 19 year-old you.