A letter from Mar 16, 2025

Dear FutureMe, I hope all is well to you, I just turned 17 today and I dont know why I am feeling mixed emotions. Im happy but also sad as I kept getting older and I know there will be a time I wont be able to celebrate it without my complete family. I am beyond grateful on what we currently have, we are currently facing a lot of financial difficulties but I know for a fact that we will be able to finish off every debts and bills we have to pay. Just so you know, you are affected by it, it doesn't matter if u feel bad. But the little things you did, showed you truly care, the way you reasoned out "tinatamad" everytime you dont want to go to school, but the real reason is you just do not want to ask for money from your parents. The way you starved yourself just to make sure that the rest of the family is full is beyond what a 16 year old have to experience. You experienced heartbreak before even starting your grade 11 senior year, and yet here you are standing up with a chin so high up and even a better version of yourself. Just to remind you, it's okay to fail. Its okay to be sad. Its okay to cry. Its okay to feel emotions. Its okay to feel tired. Its okay as long as everything is about you. You matter. And you are important. You are brave. You are pretty. And you are very intelligent, those little actions you did for your family is beyond what a normal teenager thinks. The way you make sure that you have reasons for every actions you do to help your parents out is beyond what a teenager would do. So just rest and be happy. Happy 18th birthday chel, you're loved. - 17th chel 031725