hello from 2006

hi... this is your 17 year old self. im pretty much terrified at the thought that you will receive this in 8 years (you'll be 25. it took me a while to get that... do you still suck at mental math?) i can't even imagine me at 25. i'm horrified at the thought of ever being 25. i hope you're more kind, more generous, more beautiful and more at peace with yourself than i am now. i hope you graduated from harvard ok and that you made lifelong friends there. where do you live right now? i hope it's in an overseas country, and if it's not, that you have plans to move soon. i hope you wake up excited at the prospect of another day. i hope you're still excited for the future, as i am right now. was the chili peppers concert amazing? you were 18... remember being 18? ok at this point i cant even fathom turning 18, i want to be 17 forever. seventeen sounds young and vibrant and curious and infinite. it sounds vivacious and excited and invincible. it sounds lovely for someone as simultaneously excited and terrified of the future as i am. does high school graduation no longer feel like such a big deal? are you still in touch with r, h, c, j? with mlee? with the boy who took you to homecoming junior year? please i hope to god you are. how about js, ct, ms? how is ms's little, d? please remember to laugh, laugh a lot and worry little. laugh lines are so much more attractive than worry wrinkles. stay young and take care of yourself. are you still running and swimming every day? have you completed a triathlon yet? i hope you've lost your baby pudge, heh. do you still have fat cheeks? :) is your ipod still your savior at times? remember to listen to music and dance, even if you suck at it. dance dance dance. be happy. you'd better still be alive, by the way.... just thought i'd mention that... are you working towards a law degree? do you still have dreams of working as a diplomat in the state department? what are your dreams...... how will you save the world? are you married? ew i can't even imagine finding a boy to marry who would also actually want to marry me. it seems impossible right now. i hope you've loved though.. even if you've lost too..... i hope you've loved.. i hope you're happy. with life, with yourself, with what's ahead of you. god i hope you're happy. soo... i send this off to my 25 year old self.... even though i don't really believe that i'll ever actually be twenty five. it's an age that doesn't exist for 17 year old beautiful creatures. twenty five is a quarter of a century. you old geezer. love m