A letter from Oct 19, 2025

Dear FutureMe, THIS IS FROM APRIL 2025 BUT IT DELIVERED ON THE WRONG DATE LOL How does it feel to be 20?? Congrats!! You did it!! Day one of being nineteen and things are already getting creepy. Anyways, right now we love UCI a lot, and I really want it to stay that way. A part of us feels that the only reason we like it here is because of Noraleigh, our best friend at UCI, but let’s see how that plays out. Noraleigh is the best part of UCI, and she really did save us. Yesterday she gave us a birthday crown that she made herself and a banner with 12 cyanotypes each representing something significant from our friendship, and it’s the most beautiful gift I’ve ever received. You’re rooming with her right now (hopefully!!!) and I hope that’s going as well as I want it to. That banner better be hanging in your room as we speak. This summer is looking pretty good, but I’m scared I’ll be miserable. I hope wasn’t as bad as I expect it to be, and I really hope we ended up going on that camping trip with charlotte tegan luiza sofie and ryan, and that we made that Seattle trip with charlotte happen. Also, I’m kinda worried that the summer will cause nora and i to drift, so I really hope that we spend time together and get to go on trips or just around here and there. A little part of me is afraid she will leave, because I feel like the closer I get to someone the closer I get to them realizing they don’t like me, and after the peak comes the fall, but prove me wrong! Please don’t let go of Nora and keep her in your life even if it’s rocky. Try to not take her for granted and remember how lonely you were before you met her. It can be easy to forget how much people mean when they’re around all the time, but take this as a reminder to cherish every moment. At this point, you’re nearly halfway done, and before you know it it’ll be over and you’ll have to say goodbye. Every meal you eat with her, every memory you share, every walk you take gets you closer to moving out and seeing her a few times a year, even if it feels like there are infinite days left of the same routine. Also, don’t forget about that one thing we were really worried about that starts with i and ends with nfatuation….hope that worked out! Keep in touch with charlotte miranda lily and maleah, which you already know. I also need a job, and I’m not gonna say hopefully that happens because at this point it has to. I’m sure the political atmosphere will be very different than it is now, maybe not for the better. It’s not looking good right now with the tariffs and the restrictions happening with higher education/lack of protection for student protestors. Harvard just rejected trumps orders to restrict “woke content” from its curriculum and he ripped 2.2 billion dollars from their funding. UCI has not been as brave. People are still pretending that everything is fine and it feels really weird. I’m scared to end this year and leave behind the dorm, but I hope that when you’re reading this you’ll laugh because I have no idea what’s in store. I like knowing that you know more than me. Go call mom dad and Amanda and maybe try to make it for Easter. Family is fleeting. Time is hard but every day gets better. I hope you’re happy and I love you. Love, Natalie