A letter from Mar 17, 2025

Dear 21 Year Old Sonia, Girl, you are legit in your twenties! Legal age for so many things, though it really doesn't change anything about your life. It's hard to think you're as old as you are because I still feel very much like a kid. Childhood is getting further and further away and that's terrifying, but I think you'll always have Siddarth and Sharraadh as a 5 year yardstick to kind of imagine where you'll be. Right now, you'll be almost done with your second year of uni which is insane. I hope in the past year, you've really made use of your resources and are proud of where you've come academically. I know you are so capable of smart, original and thoughtful work. You just need to fall back in love with learning. I think it all just feels a bit trivial and you can't see the meaning in it, but at the same time there's no much real value to your degree, you just have to make the most of it to be able to utilise it in a real life way. As of this moment, you've been in a bit of a slump. I always kind of thought that with age, you'd grow out of this steady depression, but I'm starting to realise that this is a forever thing, but you can manage it by Doing Things and making the most of your life. Easier said than done, but also easier done than not done. Takes more energy to think than it does to stop thinking, go outside, and be a member of society. You are a social creature, Sonia, and you thrive when you are challenged. These things are nothing new to you and yet, here we are. 20 and sad. At 21, I hope you're happier. I hope your life is more full. Honestly, only 4 months truly of being here in London, I think you've done well for yourself, but I do hope that life is significantly different by the time you read this. But also, don't be disappointed if it isn't. I love you, my girl. Cringey to write that to myself, but it's important to know that your past self is excited and hopeful for you at the moment you read this. Happy birthday, sweet girl. The world is wide and life is daunting and you're doing the best you can. You are loved and appreciated by the people in your life who mean something to you. No one else and nothing else matters. Do right by yourself this next year, alright? Do it for me, for us.