A letter from Sep 12th, 2021

Dear Mae, Greetings from the year 2021! This year is pretty hard. You've had a lot of breakdowns, crying about academics and not being enough. But there are good things that happened too. You made a lot of internet friends but I don't know if you'll ever meet them. They made you happy during the tough times. I hope you're still in touch with them. Thank them for being your company during this pandemic. You colored your hair, got piercings but you have social anxiety now. You're not used anymore to talking to people in real life. The pandemic made you like this. But I hope that by the time you're reading this, you're a lot better than your 21-year-old self. Note: Your internet friends used to call you Hope Marie. Don't forget that. Let's have some catching up! How's life? How's it going? Are you finally achieving your dreams in life? Did you graduate in college with a Latin honor despite all the difficulty? I know you wanted to make your parents proud, so you did everything you can to make them proud of you. And I hope that you're proud of yourself too, for what you have achieved. Did you pursue law? Does your name have an Atty. before it? If not, I hope you tried. I really do hope that you tried going to law school to know if you can do it. I don't care if you'll quit after a year or after a sem, I just want you to try. I don't want you to have regrets. There's no wrong in trying. Aside from being a lawyer, have you reached your other goals in life? Do you already have your own coffee shop? Like what you always dreamed of? Have you watched Paris 2024? You promised your 21-year-old self that you'll be there in your dream city watching the Olympics. I hope you fulfilled that promise because that will make you so happy. You wanted to watch SEA games and other volleyball games live too, do it if you still haven't. Support all the Filipino athletes! Have you visited Switzerland, New Zealand, South Korea, and all the other places you've dreamed of visiting? Have you been traveling a lot? If not yet, I hope you'll have time to travel by yourself. Please also travel with your family and friends. Especially with your mom since she hasn't tried going out of the country. Travel with Sheena too! You always wanted to go to different places together during college. How's Trek? Is he still the same bubbly boy? I hope he grew up to be a decent man, as well as his siblings that I haven't met yet. I really do hope that you're living the single rich tita life and spoil all your pamangkin. Do you already have a house near the beach and in the bukid? I know you love and will always love sunset so having a house in both places will surely make you happy. I know you're tired of city life so make sure you build a house outside the city and enjoy the serenity of life. Did you do all the small random things that you wished to do before but you can't? Did you get a tattoo? Got more piercings? Having a nightlife and get drunk? Living independently from your parents? Do that while you still can. Live life to the fullest. Are you in a relationship now? If you are, I'm praying to all Gods that you're in a happy and healthy relationship because you truly deserved that. But if you're still single at the age of 25, it only means that you have more time for yourself! Don't sulk just because your friends and batchmates are already in a relationship and some of them are surely married too and have kids. Being alone doesn't mean you're lonely. Enjoy the time being alone. Are you still in touch with your college friends? Mimags, Warris, Renzo, Ame, Alexa, April, and a lot more. They made your college life easier so I hope that the friendship you've built lasts. Don't forget about Sheena! She may not consider you as her best friend but she is to you. Treat her well, okay? I hope you're not hurting yourself anymore by overthinking and by the blades. For sure you've made have a lot of decisions and regret some of them. I know there are times that you failed. But the most important thing is that you learned from those wrong decisions and failures in life. You are not who you are right now without those. Continue living not just for yourself but for the people around you. Enjoy your life as much as you can. Do everything you love and what makes you happy. Please remember that you deserve all the good things in life. Always make yourself a priority and protect your peace of mind all the time. To my 25-year-old self, live your life well. Love, your 21-year-old self. (broken but it's okay because I have coffee)