A letter from Jan 26th, 2022

Dear Jackson in the future, Today’s date is 1/26/2022 and it is currently 5:56 in the morning. I am currently awake because I got drunk yesterday when I started drinking Captain Morgan at 3pm because I was bored out of my mind living at home. Allow me to introduce to you where I am in life at the moment. Well, I just graduated a month ago from Virginia Tech. I’m glad to be done with school and I am excited to find a job so that I can go out into the world on my own. I had a good time at tech, made some good friends, lost some good friends, aint that the way it always goes, amiright? I had a great friend in the final semester in Abby Spotswood who I played a lot of ping pong with. Do you still remember her? Do you still remember Jay? The man who made your VT experience what it was. You still talk to him? I hope you do. I’m actually going to be seeing him in a few days when I take the train up to Connecticut to visit with him for a week! We have a trip planned in the Catskills and we will be sharing a little cabin in the woods. I’m really looking forward to it, mostly because I’m going stir crazy living at home at the moment in winter. I just feel like there isn’t anything for me to do and I’m bored out of my mind. I no longer find joy in playing video games. I do enjoy things; I enjoy exercising which includes doing knee strengtheners. Hopefully your knees are somewhat good. Maybe the work I do now will help me in the future. I life to take the neighbors dogs for walks (the dinks with Captain and Morgan). **** dude, I’m 24 but in my head I’m still like 21. We are getting old, but that’s all right, it happens to us all eventually. Mom and dad are good though, they are in their late 60’s, but they are very happy. I am so grateful for them and that they are letting me live at home as I job search. Currently looking for forestry positions, wildland firefighter apprentice, or anything really where I think I can be happy. My current thing I’m on about is the loathing of the typical 40 hour work week and that the pay is **** and housing will be so expensive and all I really want to do is just have a nice simple life. That is the perfect segway into what I want in life at the moment. I have no idea what you will want, but that’s irrelevant at the moment. I just want a place of my own, with some animals, maybe a dog and a cat that are well trained, a chance to have plants that I can be proud of, maybe a small garden, perhaps something off-grid kind of like a homestead, and a partner. I like being around people and I’m currently seeing a cute girl. Its nothing serious right now, but I have gone back to Blacksburg to visit her for a weekend. Her name is Lauren Kerwin. Remember her? What about Hallie Gordon, your first girlfriend or Kiara Hampton, your first summer fling at summer camp? Oh my, how the time has gone by. I wonder what it is like to be you. Hopefully you moved out of mom and dads basement. I hope they are still healthy, even as they continue to age. Does it hurt every time you see them again? Seeing how each time they get older. What do you think of me? I know this letter has been rambling, give me a break, okay? I’m ******* tired and ****. I also have covid atm so give me some slack. Oh yeah, covid. The thing that has changed the world for the last two years. How serious is in the future? I actually feel fine, with my two vaccine shots and the booster shot I feel just fine. Mom and dad had lost their sense of taste for a week or so. Other things going on right now is the Russia might invade Ukraine. Climate change is still serious, but nothing substantial is being done. We are a pretty stupid animal I would say. But back to you. Are you happy? Did you ever find the job or the city or the person or state of mind that made you happy? Do you miss being young, I’m sure I take for granted how my body feels in the moment. Sure things hurt, knees are banged up, feet hurt, shoulder is ****-y, but things will keep slowing down and wearing out. I’ll try to appreciate it more, for you my friend. For myself, the future looks a little bleak. I worry I wont be able to live a life that I find acceptable work-life balance. I want to have safe finances, but also the free time to live my ******* life. I mean, you only get one life to live, why waste it working something you don’t care about. Maybe you should start a homestead. Its never too late. One of my current dreams is to have an off the grid cabin that I can go to on the weekends to be at peace and away from all the ****. Take my family there and relax. Yeah, I want a family, how times have changed since when I was 18 years old thinking about getting a vasectomy. I will say I only want kids if I have achieved the aforementioned happiness in life somehow. Yeah, this is a lot of rambling, but I’m only doing this in one take to keep it authentic! I hope you are taking care of yourself. I think I will be proud of myself in the future. Try to do good, meditate if you can, keep doing yoga, stay active, and for the love of god I hope you have your sweet tooth in check. How do I end this? I don’t know, but I do know that I wish you the best in your trials to come. Love, Jackson A*** Clark 1/26/2022 6:23 am Fairfax VA Oh, happy birthday btw *****