A letter from Jan 1 2023

Dear FutureMe, It's 14-year-old Ash. 8th grade sucks for the first semester. These crazy gen z middle school kids are irritating. I'm lonely. I don't get to see my best friends that often anymore. My grades are falling when I'm usually an AB student. I'm not on good terms with our mother. While we value freedom; she values our future. And money. I feel like she's not seeing my efforts and always wants more. My work and play aren't balanced; yes I'm 14 but I want to have fun. Mom keeps telling me to study study study and THEN do whatever I want once I become successful. But...I want to make my life worth it. I'm very aware of our family background and status and my responsibilities but...I don't want to have any regrets. Should she really be stopping me from that? But I feel like 2023 is special. I celebrated it again without my family; in a dark room, greeting my friends a Happy New Year. I've made a friend online. His name is Haruki from japan. We used to zoom a lot but then his computer broke. I became friends with my crush Will... well confirmed we are friends- through a phone call. Best moments over. Cringe moments ever. This second semester will be lit. I'll work harder this time. Grades, mental health...social. My grades will reset. Both Ella's will be here with me. People started talking to me on my snap. I gained followers on instagram. I'm moving classes. Track & field season is coming. Yay? Here are some questions for ya. How was the first half of high school? Which high school did you end up going to? How are your grades? How are things with Will did you confess or did you like somebody else? Are you still in touch with Haruki? Are we more mature? With love, 14-year-old Ash.