A letter from Feb 12, 2023

dear future carley, alright, time check: it's currently february 2, 2023. last week, i officially committed to ohio state. today, mom surprised me with my third car (i ******* know it's ridiculous, you don't need to say anything). in three months, I'll graduate high school. in six months, I'm going to start my freshman year of college. even just saying that sounds absolutely insane. i feel like high school has just absolutely flown by. that's always what adults say when they talk about high school. "savor it, it's not going to last forever." "it feels like the time just goes so fast, make the most of it." i remember freshman year when it felt like high school was going to last forever and the months just dragged on and on and on. now? i feel like i just got back from J-term last week. time goes so unbelievably fast. the SuperBowl is tomorrow, actually! it's the eagles vs. the chiefs, i think. I'm not going to cheat and google it because i honestly do not care. I'm going to annelise's tomorrow after work to watch the game, and i think it'll be fun :) how did that work out, by the way? did annelise and I ever become roommates? or did she actually end up going to seattle? for now, i have hope. sooooo how's college? is it everything i hoped it would be? who are your friends? how's being a business major going? do you even know what you want to do when you graduate? are you partying hard? (i hope you are) alright, i always end up talking about my little love interests in these ******* emails, so I'll stop resisting. did ricky and i ever get together? how did that work out? do we still talk? did we fall in love? did either of us ever just grow some balls and ask the other out? (answer is likely: no) the last one of these i got, i was all hung up over colin eppert. reading back over it, i was doing all i could do not to gag at how ridiculous i sounded. (I'm sure you remember. not a good era). i was 100% convinced that i was in love with him and that him dropping me for lindsay steele of all people was just the absolute worse thing that'd ever happened to me. looking back on it now, it's just like... i just had a crush on a stupid, freshman boy. what else did i think was gonna happen, honestly? but anyways. not to sound too gross, but i do really, really like ricky. going into this year, i was really sure that i wanted to keep all of my options open going into college. hookup culture is calling my name, I'm about to enter my party girl lifestyle, etc etc etc. however... if he and i are both going to be at the same college... what's the harm in a little commitment? but hey, that's just me. i have no idea what this kid is even thinking. what's up with work? are you still a slave to the green mermaid? in all seriousness, working for Starbucks is kind of a dream. the benefits are insane, the free **** is great, and everyone is usually super nice. but you know all of that. myk told me today that before i transfer up to Columbus, he's making me a barista trainer and I'm going to train at least one person. that's pretty cool!!!! now on to the thing i MOST want to hear about--how is my new car surviving?? if you've crashed her already i swear to ******* god. i haven't even named the thing yet and I'm honestly a bit terrified to drive it. three cars in two years is... not a great track record, I'll be honest. how's aussie? is she still doing alright? she turns eleven this summer :) i think she's one of the things I'll miss the most when i go to school. her and dad. i don't really know what else to say, tbh. i feel like i should be dropping some super cool advice that'll somehow be crazy applicable to some super specific life situation you have going on right now, but honestly i don't have anything on my mind. I'll just say this: put out the kind of energy you want to receive. what goes around will ALWAYS come around. keep up your good karma. everything will work out the way that it's meant to. oh! and my horoscope for today says, "avoid arrogance." you can probably use that too, idk. power in thinking & creativity, social life, and self. pressure in routine and *** & love. trouble with spirituality. do: maps, screen off, mountain drives. don't: red shoes, day off, fruit cup. hopefully you get something out of that as well. hope you're partying hard and working harder :) you got yourself here, and I'm already proud of you. hell, I'm kinda proud of me right now, to be honest. you're not too bad, millette. much much love, a younger carley.