A letter from Dec 08, 2025

dear future me, happy birthday!! i hope you are doing great. i know its hard, growing up, and i know that you are scared to be on your own. you are so amazing, and i seriously cannot believe that you have made it through seventeen years!! you are the most kind, thoughtful person i have ever met, and you know yourself better than anyone else. you love fully and unconditionally, you care about how you affect others. you are sentimental. you keep every card you have ever received, every fragment of memory you can collect. you are creative and intelligent, you think deeply and learn with curiosity. you are so much more than a gradebook. you have grown so much from the scared little kid in middle school who couldn't talk to anyone, who struggled to branch out. you have grown so much from the kid crying on the bus because she didn't get the seat she wanted. you have grown so much from the kid who wanted to do everything and be everything before her time. you have grown so much from the kid who looked to everyone else to see if she was worth anything. i am so proud of you and everything you have achieved and will continue to achieve. the road ahead of you is wonderfully long, filled with amazing experiences and people who are just waiting to meet you. slow down, enjoy where you are. it's hard not to always be looking ahead, but try to savour this last year as a kid. don't sweat the small stuff, you won't remember it a year from now. i have no doubt that you will grow up to be a delightful and interesting person, no matter where you go or what you do. listen to new music this weekend. watch a new movie. tell someone how much they mean to you. draw something, even if it's bad. hug your parents. take photos. lots of photos. make strawberry lemonade. eat ice cream. i know this is a lot, but trust me, these are the things you wont regret. i want you to open up that bath and body works bag, or wherever you store your memories now. i want you to take everything out, everything, and look back on your life so far. how lucky are you, to have so many people who love you so much, to have so many experiences and memories? look at all the pictures you have taken with your friends. look at all the ticket stubs, metro cards and brochures from your travels. you are a mosaic of everyone and everything you have experienced and everyone and everything that has experienced you. enjoy your last birthday as a kid, and know that i love you so, so much. xxx me, monday 8th december 2025