FEBRUARY 1, 1998. The exact date you were born and tomorrow you'll be 20. It seems unreal to you, right? Crazy how fast things and moments changed! You were just a jolly and naughty little kid before and now you're no longer a teenager. Let that sink in! LOL
The purpose of writing this letter is to give you a little perspective. Maybe not a little but a lot. My dear 20 year old self, there are a lot of things I wanna say to you. So don't freak out okay?
You are scared. I know you too well. You know what, the truth is, everything you’re scared and afraid of is going to happen to you. You’ll be poor. You'll struggle. You’ll get dumped. You’ll lose someone you love. You’ll be ridiculous. You’ll make mistakes. Oh yes, you’ll make so many mistakes!!! It will come to a point wherein you’ll feel completely lost.
But you have to remember that whatever happens, you’ll always have yourself.
Your sense of humor, your crazy theories, your love for life, your curiosity about others. Your ever-changing vision of the world, all of these things will stay intact. And soon you’ll realize that right when you think you’re going to fall into pieces and crash on the floor, there will be loving arms to catch you and whether that support comes from close friends, family or strangers, they will be there.
Learn to let go and give yourself over to those loving arms. Learn to see the magic of existence.
It's fine if you don't have a plan. It's fine if you still don't know where your life is headed. All those difficult moments that came before will protect you from being afraid. Stop worrying. You’re going to see the world, meet people and learn to love them. You also need to know that you will be loved and you will be successful. You’ll learn tenderness toward others and toward yourself. You won’t be so afraid anymore. Don’t be so afraid, my dear.
And don’t worry, you who loves nothing more than having a good time; you’ll have just as much fun at 40 as you did at 20. Who knows maybe even more. In the future, life won’t become this gray, serious and full of responsibilities "thing" you imagine.
Life won’t be at all like you imagined, so stop guessing and go experience. Have fun and go live your life!
The more you’ll go, the more your life will take on richer and more vibrant. You won’t regret all the silly things you’ve done, not even for a second. You’ll always be here, the same person, with the same hunger, the same thirst, the same dreams of new adventures and there will never be a second to waste on feeling sorry for yourself. Stop feeling sorry for yourself, YOU'RE ANNOYING.
Work on becoming a good person, and hope that one day, if you have the privilege to get very old and wrinkled, you’ll be able to look back and feel that you brought a little light into the lives of the people around you.
Everything will be fine, dear. It will all be okay.
Years from now you'll still cry in bed BUT those tears will be of joy, gratitude and an immense love for your precious life.
Just hang in there; you still have a long way to go. WHATEVER LIFE THROWS AT YOU, EMBRACE AND ENJOY IT.
