Dear Future Self,

You’re smiling as you read this because you understand that the choices I make today affect you and your daily life right now. You are truly proud and honored to have been me because your overall journey sprinkled with mistakes, hardships, rejections, failures, and heartbreaks became your recipe to the happiness that resides in you in this very moment.

Remember the times when you felt stuck and couldn’t find a way to move forward? Remember how you questioned your existence or your identity, trying to figure out who you really were, where you belong, and what purpose you serve? Remember when you were too scared to leave stagnant relationships and look toward the personal and spiritual growth potential within you? Well, look at you, now. You’ve made it this far.

Although life hasn’t offered the most clarity, you’ve come a long way. You’ve learned to let go of fear and embrace beauty and pain for what it is. As beautiful yet terrifying as it is right now for me and was back then for you, you’ve become your own best friend, yet still manage to have an abundance of love within your heart to give to everyone -- your family, friends, and even strangers. I am certain that this quality of you and me will always remain. But you see, I know that everything happening right now is part of my bigger plan for you. You should know now that all the turbulence and stress was so divinely put into my life to help me become the person I need to be and the person you are today.

You’ve taken a full leap of faith into the unknown and are aware that no matter what life throws at you, you are stronger, smarter, healthier, and more beautiful than you were the day before. Remember, that you are not defined by your struggles or any situation that you find yourself in. You ride the waves of life with such ease now. Sometimes, it makes me want to catch up to you faster because often times, when I hit a tide, I seem to crash. I know that my life in the moment is a web of tangled and intricate experiences and emotions that have helped mold me into you. Trust me, I am working every single day to make myself better for you.

The thing is, I love myself now, but I love the thought of you -- my future -- more. I love the idea right now of growing into someone who dictates my own future, and I absolutely cannot wait to grow into the person you are now -- confident, wise, mature, strong, independent, charismatic, and imperfect.

The reason I’m telling you this now is because I want you to remember how much you’ve already lived in the little moments that have shaped your world and molded your heart in the most beautiful way possible. I want you to accept the wonders of this crazy journey that only you have lived and that you continue to live. I want you to feel appreciative for everything and everyone because I sure am right now.

Although I am the past to you, I still am very much you. In this moment in time, I don’t know where you are or what you do, but I’m still you. What I do know is that I envision you to be the best version of myself. And so when that day comes, I will know, and I will be proud of the person you are. I also want you to know that I am doing just fine and so are you. One thing that I’ve learned so far is that life is too short. I will continue to be “old enough to know better, but young enough to do it anyway.” So, laugh about all the silly mistakes I’m making at the moment and be grateful for that because it led you to be who you are right now.

With love always,
Who am I?