A letter from May 10th, 2021

Dear Future Me, I hope you're doing well and that you've had a great couple of years. The past 14 months have been really difficult and bittersweet. I got my second COVID-19 vaccine on Thursday which feels like a giant relief after over a year of anxiety related to the pandemic. However, this year has tested everyone. It started with hope and that was crushed by almost 600,000 deaths in the USA. Despite that, it also started with despair, Donald Trump, and will end with some hope, Joe Biden. Don't forget the insurrection. Ugh. I am writing this in my apartment in Bryn Mawr. My lantern is sitting in front of me and more throat is sore from practicing my oral defense on repeat. I finished my thesis! I wonder if I will have nightmares about it by the time I'm your age? I also graduate in 19 days, prepare to take Wolof classes over the summer, and move to Senegal in September. Does that still happen given the pandemic? It's hard graduating into a pandemic and recession. In a time where everything is already up in the air, everything is even more up in the air. To be honest, I'm really scared. I haven't really allowed myself to feel that pain and sadness since I've been so busy, but I guess writing a letter to my future self (a self that makes it through) brings some comfort. On the other hand, I'm really proud of myself. I feel smart for the first time in my life. I hope you still talk to Elise, Kiki, and Saskia, and I hope you can appreciate Maddy but from a distance. I wish you health, ((well-being)), self-love, selflessness, and selfishness. Love, Anna (age 21)