A letter from May 26th, 2020

Wednesday 27th May, 2020. The year that never was. Dear Future Me, First and foremost, seasons greetings. If you aren't currently living in New York living your dream, I'm not disappointed. As long as you are happy and satisfied with yourself. But I ask you, is this what you really want? Why did you not go after your biggest dream? It's unlike you to not push past every single hurdle to get where you want to be. The city of fulfilled dreams, the city of life, the most restless city that never sleeps. Remember the burning passion you had. Find it. Harness it. Book the flights. Adelaide is the city of nobodies. It's not to say nobody makes it here. But this is a place where people are born and they live and die in the same suburb. Don't be like them. You are better than that. If you ARE in New York... Wow. How I envy my future self. How do you feel? Do you look out of your apartment window in the mornings and see the empire state building standing before you boldly like I always dreamed? Do you eat bagels for brunch and visit jazz lounges in your free time? Is your job satisfying you? Did you ever end up working for the New York Times? And most importantly; is this still what you want? If you are unhappy, don't feel as though you have to do this on behalf of me. Don't throw your happiness away for my sake. I will understand if you change your mind. Just remember my thirst to be remembered, and think carefully about how you will achieve what you want. But I imagine you feel so alive. How is it riding on public transport at rush hour? Do you ever stop and think as you're walking through the street; holy ****, I'm in New York City? Do you think of me? I hope you're someone I can't wait to be. Do you have someone special? Or maybe you did, but you lost them somewhere along the way. Don't worry about the people you lose. The right ones will stay, or find you again. If you have no one, that's okay too. Just be happy. Don't seek love; let love find you. Do you remember Henry? I'm still getting over him. We weren't even anything, to begin with. I really need to be more careful with my heart. I hope you have learned from all the mistakes I have made and am bound to make in the next few years, especially in my last two years of highschool. Remember that video I made of my friends? Ribs by Lorde as the soundtrack? You probably don't. Evie cried. It's on your old Macbook Air that you got in year 8, in your chat with Ella and Maddi and in your chat with Evie and Liv. Are you still friends with any of them? Is Maddi still with Jack? I'll be amazed if she is. Don't forget to be the maid of honour at their wedding. If they aren't, what's Maddi's new man like? Is he similar to Jack? Did you and Maddi ever get to see BTS? What's the world like in your today? I hope you exercise your writing muscles every day. If you're still on the multiple-year writers block, don't sit around and wait for your inspiration to come back. You need to find it yourself by writing every day. Even if it's just more letters to your future self. Never forget the love you felt and the love you feel. Hold on even when it hurts. Stay active, live hard, love hard, love yourSELF, listen to music, listen to BTS' entire discography for the memories, eat well, work hard, always do you best, stay ambitious, set goals for yourself, be kind to yourself, be bold, don't be afraid to open your heart, and never, ever forget me. Go eat a peanut butter and grape sandwich for old times sake. And listen to Empire State of Mind. In fact, here's a couple of playlists for you, see if these links work: https://open.spotify.com/playlist/3f1Sngf30BLlqs7OBcvhF1?si=QIpnnsx7Ssmh2fVpwJLyrg https://open.spotify.com/playlist/56ObGMfsSLczhB64cWkV1d?si=Vqs3h6mZTDS2CWvQBPljYQ https://open.spotify.com/playlist/015Uk6cRHRctGayeZgNsQB?si=13p61AORS-O0aRAbJa_flg https://open.spotify.com/playlist/0BH59lWwz729wFPoaNPZFW?si=lj4fWqipQba_5UBiTj5JkQ I wish you could write back to me. But I guess this is proof that there are no time machines yet. With lots and lots of love, 16 year old you.