A letter from August 31st, 2025

Dear FutureMe,
You turned 26 a few months ago and you're really struggling at the minute with feeling uncertain about everything. I suppose you feel stuck in a job you don't love, in a city away from your family and with no clear direction on what to do to change how you feel. I hope this feeling has passed and you're on the path towards your future with a sense of certainty - if not that's okay (just please tell me you're at least working towards it!). 
Your Nan got diagnosed with cancer a couple of days ago, it didn't come as a shock and they caught it in the early stages which is great news all things considered, but you can't help but worry about her and if she'll recover without any hiccups. This has only added to your home sickness feeling but you don't know what to do about it, do you stay in the same job and transfer offices? This means staying in a job you're deeply unhappy in but is a quick way to get home. Or do you think longer term and get a new job that's remote or based in the north? Maybe you got the Lloyds Living job you interviewed for last week, that'll mean you're still in London. No matter what you're doing - are you enjoying it or is it just a means to an end? 

You will have just returned from a trip to Thailand with your mum - how was it? was it everything you hoped for? I hope you both had the trip of a lifetime and that you got to spend some real quality time with your mum that you'll cherish for the rest of your life. Remember to be kind to her, it's her first time living too and she's honestly the best. 
Hoping you haven't let me down and have spent the last 6 months working towards creating a life that feels happier and more focussed on the future. 

So what do I hope you've achieved in the last 6 months? 

I'm hoping you've moved back home by now or are at the very least making plans to do so within the next 6 months. Maybe you got a new job in London and love it or maybe you've met someone and want to stay to be with them - that's okay, things change but as at this moment you want to go home to be near your family and the girls who you've been friends with for so long. I imagine you will definitely leave your house now at the end of the tenancy in August so if you're still in London do you have a plan for what next? If you've moved home, are you getting ready to buy your own place? 

I hope you've got a new job - this is a big one, please don't let me down, I hope I've followed through on this one! I honestly have no idea what you might be doing which is crazy to think I'm only 6 months in the past but I'm so uncertain at the minute, you could literally be doing anything! How was handing in your notice? I hope people were nice to you. What's the new job like? Do you have a good work life balance? Maybe you're working for another bank but doing it remotely, or maybe you work in sales for a proptech firm, or is it something completely different? Honestly good for you no matter what, the applications and the rejections are hard work so I hope it paid off in the end. 

My main hope is that you're feeling more sure about your future and the 'what next', this feeling of complete uncertainty and unhappiness but not knowing what the cause is and what to do to get rid of it is horrible so I really hope you've got past it and are happy where you are no matter what you've changed to get there. 

You'll be training towards a marathon, don't worry I know you'll have just had some time off on your holiday so might not be feeling at your fittest right now but I hope we're on track for a sub 5 hour marathon (4 hours 30 would be the absolute dream!) - that would be amazing if you achieve that in a few months time, it's going to be hard work but I believe in you - keep going! 

I hope you've kept up with posting everyday and have grew your TikTok account to 15,000 followers. The hard work should have paid off and you should be making a good amount of extra income from this by now (is hoping we earned £1,500 this month over ambitious?). My main goal for you with this is to put the embarrassment aside and do it anyway, I hope you've put yourself out there more and came even more out of your comfort zone to create something amazing. 

I hope you've got another side hustle, I have no idea what it'll be but I hope we've got multiple streams of income - they'll start off small but that's okay, it's putting in the hard work now to set us up for the future. 

Something that I know you're struggling with at the minute is the thought of dating. Lou got engaged recently and it made you realise that if you want the family you've always dreamt of you need to stop closing yourself off to the idea of being in a relationship, you're happy on your own but know that you want a relationship in future and have put off the idea of dating for too long because you're so comfortable alone and don't want to open yourself up to being hurt. I really hope you've got over this and have been on some dates, maybe you're even seeing someone right now! 

This is so weird to write, I feel like I'm writing to a friend that I haven't seen for ages, I've got so many questions for you! how is everyone? how's your Nan? how are you? are you feeling more settled? where are you living? what are you working as? how much money have you made outside of your salary? did you have a nice Christmas? 
Sending you a big hug if you need it, lots of love from Hollie in past xxx