A letter to myself ten years from January 13th, 2016

Dear FutureMe, So I just stumbled upon this website after reading a comment on an AskReddit post titled "What rides would you find at an abusement park?" The comment was a suggestion to use this site after a father of an 18 month old son read a poem written by (I will assume was written by, since the Google search came up with no word matching results) the user poem_for_your_sprog. The poem was the following: I stood before my counterpart, Apart, howbeit, whole - And through his eyes I saw my heart; My hopes; my dreams; my soul. I saw his seasoned face of fear - His choices, made amiss - The life he led that led me here; The steps I stepped to this. I saw the man he'd hoped to be; The ghosts of all before - And thought of all, and all of me, And all of this, and more. And there, beside the polished shrine To all I hoped and had - A shadow held his hand in mine, And said: 'It's my turn, dad.' This was a response to a response, or a response to the answer of "House of Self Reflection Mirrors" to the AskReddit question. Now that I've got the backstory to how I ended up here covered, I can now tell you why I decided to write this. Reading this poem, whilst finishing a bowl of Trader Joe's "Super Premium Coffee Bean Blast" ice cream, it dawned on me how hopeful I am for my future. Let me tell you what is currently going on around the world. The Middle East is still ****** up as it has been for the past decade or so. The wars in Iraq and Afghanistan only seem to have made things worse. There is an unprecedented mass exodus of people from Syria, Iraq, Afghanistan, as well as several countries in Africa escaping conflict. There is a huge terrorist organisation called "ISIS" that has grown out of these wars and is a huge reason for the human migratory crisis that is mainly affecting several countries in Europe but is also affecting the US. Last November, there was a terrorist attack in Paris that ****** 130 people at multiple locations, 89 in a theater during a rock concert. President Obama just gave his final state of the union speech last night. For some reason, Donald Trump is still leading in the polls. [-rolls eyes-] Last month the World Climate Summit was held in a still-on-edge Paris amidst many protests. A Few weeks ago, Space X's Falcon 9 successfully launched and landed. The EPA has apparently just discovered the culprit to the mass Bee Colony deaths or "Colony Collapse Disorder" which is pesticides. (Yes, pesticides, which are meant to **** insects. Huuuuge surprise.) Now let's make it local. At this moment in time, I guess I would give myself a self-diagnosis of mild de-I-really-don't-like-meeting-people-ression. My life right now is primarily filled with work, school, and occasional hang outs or rock concerts. I really suck at meeting people and making friends. I'm a little less awkward as I was in High School and I'm definitely more mentally awake than I was then. I recently started buying groceries for the household more often and in large quantities. I have been trying to go to Whole Foods and Trader Joe's. I still live with the parents. Jessica recently moved back from Petaluma and is now making big $$$ at her Nursing gig. I have worked at Savers for a year and 6 months now. Sal quit last month after working there for 5 years, partly because they put in CDC for full closing days on the weekends (which is what I've been doing now). I've been in community college for about 4 years now nearing 5 and possibly going on 6 before I even transfer. I know, sad right? I have about 3 years worth of Art Major credits but then out of the blue I decide to switch to Biology. Wtf is wrong with me. I'm sure wherever you are in life right now will make all this lagggg seem worth it. I hope you've made more lasting friends and have learned how to maintain friendships. I hope you've met amazing people that have all taught you something profound and insightful. I hope you've found courage and are stronger and more confident. (we're off to see the Wizard...) I hope you have spent more time with nature. (Have you hiked the PCT yet because I really want to hike that.) I hope you've traveled to many places far from home. I hope you've learned and grown to be a person who is as understanding and level-headed as I hope you have ended up being. I hope you've come to a place in life that you are happy with. If not well, let me end this with something that really stylish old dude that's a regular at work told me last night, "If there's one thing life tells you after a long day, it's that tomorrow will bring you something better."