Dear Younger Self,
I hope you are well, and I come to you from the future to give you some insight into what will become of you and your life. It’s all good things. When people say it gets better, it’s actually very true in your case.
Middle School
Your middle school years are brutal, as they are for everyone, but you end up meeting a good group of friends and sticking with them. I was very anxious then and overthought every little thing I did, worried that I would embarrass myself at every turn. I don’t want you to follow that path because, truthfully, these are the only things that I can remember about those years; in hindsight, nothing is that embarrassing in middle school because everything’s embarrassing.
High School
In high school, you start to build a life of your own; your weekends are filled with friends and sports, while during the week you focus on school. You take classes that pique your interest in new things like history and art. There is also a global pandemic, and you are stuck inside for the better part of a year with just your family. You end up not minding it as much as you thought you would; you and your sister finally become friends after years of rivalry, and I’m unsure if this change would have happened without the forced proximity due to the global virus. You eventually go back to school and finish out your senior year normally with all the classic high school things, prom and graduation. I encourage you to enjoy these moments where you don’t have any responsibilities and take them in as much as you can.
College
You attend a prestigious university for art and end up hating the school. You meet good people who will get you through the year but in the end it’s okay to start over even if it’s scary. I’m currently in my senior year at Rutgers, finishing out my degree in Public Relations and Media. You will go through about three other majors before you come to this conclusion, but it’s important to explore your options. If I had to tell you anything, it would be: don’t be afraid to make the wrong choices; there is always time to learn and grow from them. In fact, if you always made the right ones, how would you learn anything at all?
Best wishes,
Older Maddy
