A letter from Jun 06, 2023

Dear Future Me, This is a letter to myself in the future, that side-note; I'm being graded on. If I had to tell you something about freshman year, it would probably be that it sucked, kind of, it wasn't bad but it wasn't good either. So having that in mind, I hope you ( future me ) have had a much better high school experience by the time you're reading this. It would be kind of sad if you haven't. Looking back on Grace's advice from her letter to the incoming freshman, I'd say it's the part where she says not to sacrifice your own well-being for school. High school really isn't that hard and I don't believe sacrificing my mental and physical health is worth a small achievement. That part of Grace's letter will probably always stay with me though, for personal reasons. Currently I'm kind of a hermit, I'm not going to lie. I probably should get out and do the things I talk about but just, not do. I'm hoping that I open up, not force myself to open up but open up in the sense that I stop sticking to myself because I'm afraid of what others will think of me. In the sense that I find people that like me for me and that I finally manage to be/find myself. I've learned a lot about how I should take a step back from whatever messes with my health ( both physically and mentally ). Something I find common when it comes to advice for high school would probably be not to let it overtake you. You need to realize that although academics are important, they are not worth sacrificing your personal well-being for. Career and financial happiness, for me currently that just means being at a point both financially and career wise in which I don't feel stressed and like I can't just live my life. I've seen first hand what being financially unstable/absorbed by your work looks like, and I want to make sure to never get to that point. I want to have a career that I enjoy doing, that doesn't feel like a burden I have to hold. Financially, I want to be at a point in which I don't have to worry about whether buying the shirt I liked from that one store will cut into my budget for the month. I want to like without stressing about if I can afford something. So, future me, if you ever see this, just know that you're doing fine. Everything will work itself out eventually, don't let the negatives flush out all the positives that will eventually come from all your hardwork and struggles. And good luck, I'm rooting for you. sincerely, your past-self ( Me? Myself? I don't really know how that works ) PS- The letter you ( Me? I ? ) actually put effort into is sitting at Gabrielino high school in Mrs Lydon's class, go get it, nerd.