I recently received an assignment to write a letter to myself, but myself in the future as I was ready to graduate the very college I am currently muddling through. At first it seemed like a rather ridiculous idea, but as I considered it I thought "well, I'm currently lost on my goals and what I want tomorrow to look like, so this might help."

My hope is that maybe it helps you too, or at least inspires you to do the same kindness for yourself.

So here goes...

Dear Me, Myself, and I,

Ok, well I guess I'll start with hello, and I hope you're doing well! Exceptionally well, in fact. Congratulations on graduating college! That's an awesome accomplishment, no matter what anyone says or regardless of what college you attended.

And if you're graduating, that means you've completed the scary Bachelor's Essay (and also all your math requirements, which for an English major like me is also pretty scary). How was that? I hope you choose an interesting topic and discovered something new.

I hope your coursework throughout the rest of college was engaging and interesting, and that every class you picked you picked with intention and because you are truly interested in learning about the topic. Especially now that after the semester I'm about to embark on, you won't have to take any more general education classes. And I hope you took at least one art history class. It's a subject I know we love, even if we aren't actively studying it.

I hope you strove for excellence in jobs and clubs. I hope that instead of just being a member, you committed yourself to your passions and became a leader in your separate clubs. And at least got ONE promotion in a job. Are you still working at the bookstore? If not, you better have found a really good substitute.

I hope you traveled and traveled and traveled, as much as physically possible. I hope you never passed up any opportunity to go someplace new and experience a culture different from your own. I hope you took advantage of all the study abroad opportunities you could. Did you get into Semester at Sea? How much time have you spent in Norway? Did you find an internship abroad? Oh, and I hope you kept up with your study of language, and can write some flawless sentences and/or hold a conversation in Arabic and Norwegian at this point.

I hope you stayed close with your best friends, and you are still together, laughing and having fun and sharing secrets. They (and you know of whom I speak) are honestly some of the best and truest friends you will ever have, and I hope you haven't and won't ever let them go. I hope you have some great adventures with them to look back on. I also hope that you have really invested your time and energy into making many new friends, especially when you are traveling abroad. Spoke with more people who have lived vastly different lives than you, and can help you see the world in a way you never have before.

I hope you've written something. Something real. Ever since we were kids, that was always a goal. To write something that will change lives, or help others feel less alone, or just offer something new to the world. Or I hope you've at least started. Writing is a passion and a hobby I would hate to have to give up.

I hope you were always there for your little sister, that you never passed up the chance to help her or be a shoulder to cry on. I hope you were always in contact with her in some form or another, and that she knows she can come to you for anything. I hope that she has.

There's so much more I'm sure I could say, but this is all I want to write for now. I hope you have had the best of journeys, and that there's so much more happiness and excitement to come.

I can't wait to see all the places I have yet to go, to meet the people I have yet to meet, and to find happiness in new and exciting things.

Sincerely,

Me

*cue the Dear Evan Hansen song that's about to get stuck in my head*