Someday, I Hope My Future Self Remembers This

Hello, future self.

I hope you are doing just fine. Perhaps you already have all the things we dreamt about when we were young – the goals that kept you going and reasons for your hard work. Or well, maybe not.

Either way, I hope you are proud of yourself – I hope you’re happy.

As you know, we’ve been through a lot.

I am writing this to remind you of the things that you’ve been through before you got to that place (wherever it might be). I am writing to you so that you will remember that it wasn’t always pain and heartbreak that you’ve felt years before you read this letter.

At this very moment, you are feeling unsure of the future and all the uncertainties in life. You feel like you’re being left behind. You feel like you are stuck somewhere in the middle of a race and you don’t know how to keep moving forward – you’re also unsure if there is still a reason for you to take even a step further from the starting line.

Right now, the world is in chaos – there are natural calamities here and there, there are man-made upheavals that bring difficulties to mankind, and there is a pandemic taking the lives of many.

Despite all these, you are fine – your family is okay, you have a roof over your head, food is served on your table, and you have resources that others deem to hardly get. In short, you are fortunate – you are among that handful of sand from the shore that is considered lucky and blessed.

Don’t worry, I am not taking advantage of it. In fact, because of all these hurdles, I realized one thing – that life is so precious, that it should never be taken for granted. That life must go on no matter what happens, and life is not something you should give up from.

It’s a lot to take in, to be honest – there are days when I feel tired of it all, desperately wishing for the heavens above to just end all these miseries that not only I could feel. We are all desperate for hope, for change, and betterment right now, but I am glad we’re all fighting to see a better tomorrow.

With all that being said, my future self, I hope this reminds you that you’ve gone through hell and back. Not only from all these obstacles that 2020 has brought forth, but even the years before that. You’ve been broken-hearted, you’ve been betrayed by people you called ‘friends’, you’ve been out of jobs, and you’ve felt so useless and worthless for God knows how long, and yet, you can still smile and you are still trying to have a good life for yourself and for the people you hold dear.

To my future self, if you are in a heart-wrenching situation even during the time that you’re reading this, I want to tap you and say that you can also get through that. You are stronger than you think and you are blessed in all aspects of your life – you just have to search for it again from the deepest corners of your heart and be reminded that all you have to do is open your eyes and your mind. Only then will you be able to readjust your focus and set your priorities straight once more.

My future self, I have come today to make you realize that there is only one person who can take you out of that darkness. I have come today to take your hand and get out of that void (or maybe take your hand so that we can both enjoy that good life that you might be having by the time you’re reading this letter).

Nonetheless, I, your past self, am the proof that you can have anything you set your mind to, that the world is yours to take, you just have to have confidence and belief in yourself. I am telling you, there is no need to have those forlorn eyes because you are deeply loved by the people around you, sometimes you just overlook this fact. I do hope they stay by your side till the end, but even if they don’t, you’ll still have me – we are in this together.

The things I have learned during this time (your past) will be your armor and shield in the future (your present), the keys for facing the years to come (your future) with a warm heart and optimistic mind.

Never give up – I believe your dreams will come true.