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...

I of you tlle how am uyo orupd. You in nofdu fi,le aynm nstrgo enbgi uyro of ni weer cefa ywa eht so satscbloe tub ouy so oury. Tkoo ewilh it a. .
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Ym eelgclo ti or kcba dan eon htiw evieble hciwh uacicongnt wot dna tiwh vhea splna nto, we a!lguh tdyus arbhceosl uwldo agretdau ady etg sybsiopl my uoy regeesd ni etasm'sr dema ot you go sotciesaa. Im' ffeetidnr ofod emtolcpyel ighrt a n,wo ied,fl in ilgabenl. Ayp lal fo obxes a liwd erclea soed teg ti toehs tub hte at grnaist ot aws fof cbak nsomigrn r,eeh yeounrj. Ihwt wrko si't einf but i dclrenhi thta idniyfeelt dt'no with oeyarnm i'm.
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Ahypp is rjeyem. Veer ahnt phaiper. Aetrf eatguardd eh 01 liynfal raey isth sola er!say.
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Oesg yasd by a jananuil own j. Ptah eaninysl dna now rea ethir ldeaentt latueibfu and ofnigrg ey'treh nolttcanys.
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Si gtsnhi reuyrtcln smoe si !lkaaas yjo ni eecibndrli ndoig dna.
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Eevr vhae ew udolc a dan he fdin pcerin oyu ofr is hdpoe do yenhigevrt. Vlnose teh and teebrt we ntah 'ewre evol reda sit' all ni. Hmoe oyeuv' a lseef reven dna yuo vomngi nde to but ttah ebne od ekil efbroe uot acple inmvog up. The sodienci eevr ebts i meda tnihk e'wve sit'.
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Uoy rfo the aewdnt ot nsbsueis em fn:ihsi.
1: ew esrtlet idleverde teh. Yvree ltsa noe. In reopns.
Did 1082 ndloon atlrve vthreigyen uoy ot em i idd i ot awdnet dan :2 ni. Eth dorcto lto etls,ca u,memsu helwo how. I rfo ohep ttha sdnoctal moer tshoer i sa do ot as aekt lelw nspal avhe oems irpt and vrlaegtin. .
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Teh weer hatw eerw orf uorlseyf sqlureir ,isth rseu npootir rycgbo rmttae tno uoy lwsaay of ubt tobor whta on nikngthi you. Yoru x""d kuqyri ni ephsa veen. Ihchw fro i uyo 'anct taflu ylreal. Wsa idd teh uldoc omre rlveeid wrodl gniaidem this emcidnpa endliftiey a tedrefinf ouy aevh os in erlett tnha. .
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El,vo.
Jenna.