A letter from Dec 03, 2022

Dear 20 year old Darby, Hello, it's you. You found this on a YouTube short and have probably forgotten about it by now. Anyway, it's December 3rd, 2022. You're 17 rn. You're staying at grandma's house, but the closing date on the new house in Las Cruces is in January. A couple things I picked up and don't want to forget: California is not where you wanna live some day. It sucks, so remember that. Remember, birds DO NOT make good pets. Charlie never shuts up. If attention is on you, don't forget to suck your stomach in. I haven't needed this yet but I feel like this is sound advice. FAKE PLANTS! Always get fake ones, cause you can barely remember to water yourself. Maybe you changed in three years, but doubt it. Life is still kinda meh right now. You plan to get your passport and driver's license as soon as we move to New Mexico. You also wanna get your first job there. Fingers crossed for a book store or something cool like that. But that's closer to me news ( or rather, history). So here's a checklist for you. 1. Get a TWIC card. 2. Get an MMC. 3. Get a job with the merchant marine. (If you get this far I'm proud. If not, I always knew I sucked lmao) 4. Fall in love for the first time. Wow my aspirations suck. You should probably get an associates degree at least cause you KNOW you're an unreliable *****. Sorry for the cursing. I don't know why, I'm kinda in a mood. You are required to send one email to 25 year old me and if you don't, cause you don't want to or your (my) lazy *** was "too busy", just know... you're letting yourself down. Haha, guilt trip, now you have to. Just a tibit I heard. Your face in this life is the face of the person you loved most in your last. Read Charlotte Brontes poems. Don't forget to call mom and dad. I'm sending this to you right after your birthday. Did you drink? I want you to have, but I'm also judging. But really. Not everyone deserves your trust. It's OK to draw boundaries, and you don't have to put up with people crossing them. These two are the real ones. Maybe you learned some more but this is where you start. I believe in you. Sincerely, Darby