What's up future Mackenzie?

I am not sure how far into the future "you" are reading this. Our life could be completely different. What if you are living in Bora Bora married to Nick Jonas? Ugh, I can only hope. I bet you are reading this letter on some high tech gear... like on that Disney movie, "Smart House."

I have a few questions for you; even if you are not sipping Iced Tea with Nick Jonas on a beach, look around you right now, do you like what you see? Are you happy? Is your life exactly how we planned it? Are you a teacher? Do you love the classroom you have and are the students everything you imagined them to be? Are you a mother yet? Did you ever write that children's book that you wanted to write for years now? I have so many questions, but that is not what I wanted this letter to be about. I hope our last years of college are excellent. Knowing myself, I am probably still stressing over every exam that I encounter. Right now, you are still in college. You are a junior and studying to be a teacher. You are getting treated for depression and anxiety but doing a lot better. You smile A LOT and laugh even more. You are, genuinely happy (you know, when you are not super dramatic).

I do have some hopes for you. I hope you are taking time to do what you love. I hope you take a bubble bath today and write in a journal. You have struggled for a long time with leaving time for YOU. Despite everything you go through, you continue to smile and shine. I want you to remember everything we have, we have a fantastic cat (speaking of, how is Bean?), you have a killer relationship, and an amazingly supportive family, and a tremendous group of friends. Please do not forget to be grateful. Realize what you have and the work it took to get there. Do not forget to teach your children to work for what they have, as you did. Be grateful for what you have. The small things add up and become big things. I hope you feel like you overcame a lot thus far. I hope you still smile when bad things happen to you, and I hope you never forget where you came from. Do not settle for less than what you deserve and most importantly, do not let negative people bring you down.

Call your mom and meimal. Tell them you love them and do not take anything for granted. Remember to live in the moment and appreciate what you have. Do not be too stressed to enjoy your life. I am so excited to see how far we have come regarding loving myself and understanding my strengths. I hope you have Gucci in your closet by now, or at least a few glittery yoga outfits. Do you go to yoga? You need to go; it relaxes you. Remember we planned to peak at around 80, so keep thriving because it is only up from here. Most importantly, I hope you are happy with how your life is going. I hope you are just as satisfied as you are at 21 years old.

Love always,

Your past self