a letter from may 25th, 2022

dear futureme, is it really already may? somehow, it still feels like march… 2020. but it’s not, and we’re turning 14 now, going into high school for the 2022-23 school year. and in a pandemic. we’re growing up in a real-life dystopian world. do you remember everyone panicking about the end of the world in 2012? probably not, because i your past self doesn’t, and also we were 4 years old. but it feels like the world has just gotten worse since “the end of the world”. that could also be because it just seemed worse as i grew up and learned how fucked up the world is. but, how are you? when you receive this, you’re 14 and starting high school and that’s incredible but also slightly terrifying. when did i become a teenager? covid started when we were 11. we went through all of middle school wearing masks and staying virtual. how was pride month 2022? did you go to pride or were you afraid of covid? i think i won’t go this year but things might change! i hope grade 9 brings you new friends and great subjects and i hope it’s not wrecked by a pandemic (monkeypox is starting to look a bit suspicious… god i hope that it won’t become a pandemic too. is it bad in september 2022? is there a vaccine for it, has it stopped spreading, what?) all the love in the world, your past self. ps. j’s 6th birthday is coming up! he’ll be going into grade 1 when you get this letter… wow, time flies. last time we saw him he was 3!