Today, I opened a letter that I wrote to myself on a retreat last year and it was one of the most enlightening yet reassuring things to read. That letter was written at the beginning of my freshman year. It was written during a period of time when I was still transitioning to college, finding my way, and learning the balance between life at home and life at school. It was so nice to hear specific words from myself from a very transformative time in my life and to see how much I've grown since then, yet also, the wisdom I already had in that moment.
This isn't the first letter I've written to myself. I've done this activity multiple times now, and I always seem to find such joy in opening and reading words that a younger me had to say to myself. I always find myself excited to hear what my "younger self" had to say to me now, the things I found important to put on that paper.
It may seem like a very random activity to promote, yet I promise you it'll be worth it. When you write a letter to yourself, you're able to put into words how you're feeling in a certain moment in a very poignant way so that when you open it again, you are transported back into that moment. You are reminded of what life was for you in that time period which often times, may be very different than how you may be living physically and emotionally now.
For me, it's very promising to both write and read a letter for myself.
In the process of writing it, you are given the space and opportunity to remind your future self of certain things you think they might forget. You are also able to remind yourself what exactly is going on in your life at that phase and your stream of consciousness.
In the process of reading it, you might feel a certain separation or distance from the issues that once occupied so much of your energy.
This is good- it means you have grown and moved on from your past and are on to bigger and better things.
You might find that your past self has some things to say that you need to hear (I know in my letters, I always remind myself how proud of myself I should be) or brings up some issues that you are still working through. Whatever the case may be, I find there is always some insight to be taken from each of these letters.
But don't get me wrong. These letters don't always have to err on the serious side of things. In the one I just opened, I asked myself about basketball ("did the Cats win?? We did, in fact :), and classes. It's always fun to see the lighter side of your personality and compare it to who you are now.
Whatever you decide to write about, I highly recommend writing yourself a letter when you have a chance. Make it a yearly thing or a biannual occasion. Give yourself the opportunity to have something to look forward to, to have some words of wisdom (or lack of) to look back on. You never know what you might take from it!
Talk soon,
Sam
