A letter from February 28th, 2014

Peaceful right?

Dear FutureMe, You're 26 today, congratulations. I am not doin to hot right now but all I can think about is you. The hardship I endure today is for you. The day when I finally know what my calling is and act upon it. I hope you are still working with children, I hope Jeremy is happy, and I bet Julianna is the prettiest 14 year old on the face of the planet. And I bet you have a really hot guy in your life and if you just groaned at that sentence our prince is probably lost somewhere, but he'll find us. But there are two things that I want done by the time I'm your age and if you got sidetracked by reality, just do these for me: 1: Deliver The Letter. I know the date inside says 2013 but it needs to get to it's owner. I don't care where he is right now. 2: Please tell me you traveled. Now I know you so well that I am betting that if I didn't do it you winced and then was filled with regret and then you will try to rationalize not going with something like "But you don't understand little Jenna, I have bills (and probably college loans to pay off)!" Yea, that's not flying. Just do it. Go to Scotland. See a castle. Check out them fairy pools on the Isle of Skye. Geek out at the Sherlock Holmes museum. Recite Sonnet 116 at the Globe Theater. Geek out again at the Doctor Who museum. Do it for me and all the hard days I'm spending dreaming of the day I don't live at home anymore. Or maybe I never figured out what I want to do with my life. Maybe God has thrown a boomerang at my life and I haven't recovered (very likely). Maybe I'm living in the basement. Maybe I have no money. Maybe the entire world has been taken over by cyborg robot squirrels. Maybe I'm dead. Maybe I died in the service of my country defeating the last infantry of the cyborg robot squirrels on the lawn of the White House dying heroically by sacrificing myself to take out the last evil squirrel with their blinking evil red cyborg eyes knowing that without taking out that last squirrel that that one squirrel would immediately make 12,000 more of the demons and that it was my sacrifice alone that brought them down. Maybe the nation erects a monument in my name for my epic sacrifice. Maybe I sell that idea to Disney and Cyborg Robot Squirrels becomes the blockbuster film in 2020 that teaches not just honor and bravery, but also the power of friendship. Or maybe not...But hopefully I'll still like quotes... I hope you live a life you're proud of. If you find you're not, I hope you have the strength to start all over again. -F. Scott Fitzgerald

Epilogue

almost 2 years later

Dear Past Me,

God, I wish I could talk to you and actually deliver this message. You were going through so much and felt so alone. I wish I could...

Of ohw tlel rdoup i ma ouy ouy. Ouy sgtnro fo uoy dfuno in ni ryou ryou tub so ymna ifl,e aecf hte gbien stsboelca yaw eerw so. Ti took lwieh a. .
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You hihwc dna oibpsyls intcuacgno gte it yda sateaiocs ym hiwt eahv in ot yduts eon dergsee veleieb lahg!u oyu oelcleg or ,nto lpasn wot ulwdo my go sbrlaheoc we str'smae eamd dna drugtaea kabc iwht. Bnlalieg ni tlmepolcey a neifrtefd nwo, im' food i,efdl rithg. Ypa dilw a enorujy tbu at xeosb teh of inmorngs re,he ti ot etg ralece nartsgi asw bkac lal shote off oeds. Lfitdiynee nife wokr ist' tub atth i ntd'o dnrhecil mroyean 'mi iwht wthi.
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Yppah is rjeemy. Thna ieaphpr ever. He itsh aadudtrge 01 loas syera! fyillna tfrae ayer.
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Soge j yb julanani now a yads. Dna lycannotts leainnsy era ueliafbut tneatdel atph reyh'et nda inoggfr own erhit.
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Igntsh dingo dna aa!alsk smoe ni si is lerycurtn oyj ebdeiinclr.
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Evha vhetginrye uyo cuodl dna nidf do is deoph ofr a nperci eh ew vree. Ni ovel ettbre than t'si dan teh rade ew evnslo ere'w lla. Ogvmin a eohm pu calep od nmoivg uoy eernv ebeofr lfese den and uv'oye ot elik hatt btu out nebe. I icsoiedn 'evew 'tsi vere ntkih etsb hte made.
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Ot teh yuo ssuesinb me rof dwtane :nhfsii.
Ew ddeelierv ertsetl 1: eht. Vyeer alst neo. Ni respno.
In to idd did ondoln lavrte ot em 2: hevrngieyt i yuo adn i tnawed 1028. Wlohe tol oorctd ohw teh etls,ca mmeu,us. Dna epoh sroeht od i sa prit emro adcnltso that i apsln fro ahev sa atke enriagltv to well esom. .
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Yfuesrol ruse erew ,htis of rlireusq lasawy eatrtm tub eerw onpitor you byrocg otbro het atwh rfo nthigikn yuo ton wath no. Even ""xd qrkuiy yoru pehas in. Acnt' cihhw you fro i aftul lyeral. Oemr eetfifrdn rideevl a idd teelrt imedangi uoy ntha ni udolc leeftynidi aehv decniapm asw os wdrlo the iths. .
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Vle,o.
Janne.