A letter from Sep 10, 2022

Dear Future Giulia, Right now, I am at High School Canada in, English Writing class with Mr. Acuña. Although we sill have a couple of months until the program is over for the summer, I am already sad and will have toto be saying goodbye to it. All I have learned, the friends I have made and the experiences we have lived together. It has certainly helped me to become who I am today, and I hope that you have nothing but good memories about this timehere. It is quite funny to be writing this while imagining you reading it.: Yyou are probably laughing about how immature you were and about how you always think you sound dramatic when you are writing, only to find out, after going through it again, that it was completely terrible (it happens to me every time I read my old textswritings). So, instead of trying to write an inspirational and emotional speech, I will just say what my values are today, which I hope you never forgot andnor will never forget them. Firstly: do not let responsibilities and worries take over your life. Right now, the whole high school life has been pretty hard, with a busy schedule and endless activities to turn in. However, I also have absolutely amazing friends, with whom I want to spend my time, and a beautiful family that supports me and makes me feel loved. Although school is one of my priorities right now, putting inranking it as my absolute number 1 favorite would make me forget to enjoy the rest of the journey. Instead of seeing every bad grade as the end of the world and thinking you will not succeed in life because of it, remember that life is much more than this and that you are a human being, not just a student. Secondly, here is something that I have had to remind myself of about every day therefor the past months: it is perfectly fine to not be the best at everything. The school environment can have a really competitive atmosphere sometimes, when you start to look at your classmates not as friends, but as just another player in the game of getting into college. However, some bad experiences have only proved to me that doing this is not good for anyone.; Tthe only thing it will do to you is put you under an absurd amount of stress and anxiety, as you will be thinking of how others are more productive than you are and how you should be working harder. As mom always says, what counts is not that numbergrade on the paper. What counts is whether you truly learned it. Never forget that it is not a crime to do something you love instead of using all of your time for your obligations.; Nno one is ever 100% productive and being so would only make us machines. Lastly, surround yourself with people that you love. Right now, you have incredible friends, a wonderful family and the best dog in the world, and spending time with them is your favorite thing. I hope you have not changed that. There is something that I have always believed in, which is that the people in our lives make us who we are. And the people (and animals) in our lives have certainly shaped our character and our values. People are important and relationships must be meaningful. Superficial connections will not take you anywhere, and there is a higher chance of you will getting hurt. Please, never waste your time with people and relationships that you do not deserve. We accept the love we think we deserve, and we do deserve the love that we expect. Excited for the future! Hope everything has worked out well.