A letter from Jun 26, 2024

Dear Kelcey, Happy 20th birthday from your 19 year-old self! It is currently June 26, 2024 as I am writing this, but you should get this on June 19, 2025. I don't really know what to say about myself, but as a refresher, I am currently taking a summer class in art history. The amount of reading and notes I have to do is already kicking my *** but I really want to finish this class and move on to other things I need for our 2-D art associates. I have my prosthetic leg now and am working on getting used to the "therapeutic" way of walking instead of the functional walking we learned two decades ago. I didn't know where I would be on walking half a year ago, but I really hope that by now you're able to just walk without having to hold onto anything for balance. Friends-wise, it's still just my two childhood friends and my friends at youth group. No boyfriend but I'm okay with that as of now, since I really need to focus on myself anyway. I still don't know where I want to go after community college, but I guess my disability kind of narrows it down now. I'm not sure if I still want to go to LA now, but the schools there are supposed to be really good. If I find anything good here for character design, though, I'm probably just going to stay in San Diego. I might take it a bit easier than I have been on classes and avoid intersessions so I still have classes to take while I figure out my plan for the future, plus that's good for insurance reasons. A few weeks ago I saw Inside Out 2. I think it reignited that part of me that really wants to work in character design; I'm starting to question some things about the characters I already have. One of my friends told me that Mila sounds a lot like Mary Jane from Spider-Man and when I saw Nimona it sounded way too much like Nova's story, so I still have a lot to learn on making my characters more original, but I don't want to give up on them. I just hope I actually have something to bring to the table. I don't know where you are now but I just hope you're doing well and making the progress you want to make. Whatever progress you're actually making, I hope you're moving on from October 18. I've been able to stay calm while talking about it(thanks to therapy) and while it changed my life forever I don't want it to define me. I hope you're not just going through the motions while waiting for your grief to end; there's still so much you can do without your leg, and more now since you have a prosthesis. I'm not gonna get super preachy so just remember to pray. Check in with God every now and then because He's got your back whether you remember that or not. Stay safe and say hey to 21 year-old me, okay? Love you. - Kelcey, 19 years old