Dear Hannah,

I hope that the world is in a better condition than it is right now. Even if it's not, don't worry about it. Remember what (and who) you believe in and everything will be ok.

I hope that you have found happiness in your career, whatever that might be. (Congratulations on finally deciding!)

Do you live in a small apartment in the big city? A cute house in the suburbs? A small cottage in the country? Wherever it is, I hope you and your French Bulldog and/or Golden Retriever are happy.

I hope that you still love jamming out to Billy Joel while driving your beloved 2006 red Toyota Corolla, affectionately named Rosie the Red Devil (Okay, maybe a 2020 red Toyota Corolla, affectionately named Rosie the Red Devil II.).

I hope you still talk with your friends from college (who knows how you got along without them before) and reminisce about the big laughs shared in study lounges, the volleyball games where only two of us could get the ball over the net (myself not included), and all the dinners shared (*In a southern accent*: "I love you. Now say it back or it doesn't count!").

I know you have lots of new memories with friends from college, but don't forget the friends from your childhood. I hope that you make time to meet Susan and Carly to goof around in Walmart, go to lunch at Wendy's (because of their killer 4 for $4 deal), and spend the evening talking about life either around a campfire or in the Wawa parking lot (because F'real Milkshakes and Mac 'N' Cheese are always a good idea at 11 o'clock).

I hope you have learned how to ice-skate, play the piano, and have finally ran that 5k. I hope you still love Claude Giroux and the Philadelphia Flyers and loathe Sidney Crosby and the Pittsburgh Penguins.

I hope you aren't married (Yes, aren't!). I want us to live our own life for a little while. Unless he is super perfect and wonderful and has demonstrated that he is indeed absolutely the one, I don't want us to be married. The plan is, you're only going to get married once, so make it count. Don't rush into anything.

I hope you still write. While I may not like to acknowledge it now, we are pretty half-decent at writing (according to everyone who reads your articles, anecdotes, and essays).

I hope you do things without fear of judgment. Be who you are, whether people like it or not.

I hope that you remember who you are and what you stand for. Your life experiences made you who you are today. While things may not have always been easy, we needed those experiences to become the woman you (we) are today.

Don't forget about 19-year-old Hannah.

Sincerly,

Hannah