Dear Future Self,

If you are reading this it means you haven’t died yet. Which is good, yet strangely not sobering enough for me to put down my drink (hopefully my liver still works). I am not sure who we will become in the future. I don’t know if your dreams have changed. I am scared of my faults in the past now, so I don’t want you to follow those fault lines in the future either.

At the time you were composing this letter, you were 100% stressed during finals. You were also asking yourself a lot of questions about your future. What toppings are acceptable for pizzas? Do tortilla pizzas apply the same rules as normal pizzas? Is a flatbread with toppings just a fancy pizza? It was a very confusing and dark time in your life.

However, I not going to write a bunch of “I hope ____” fill in the blank stuff because that is boring and stupid. Writing from the past to the future is already difficult enough. I am not going to waste your time by telling you what you wanted to accomplish a year ago – you know what you want and what you don’t, ignorant slut.

However, writing to myself from the past actually kind of blows my mind thinking how insane time becomes. You are solely dependent on my actions. As I am writing this everything is changing. I have no idea what we will do in a year’s time...

You've got to grow up emotionally. You’ve enjoyed being silent and awkward long enough. Now is the time to actually grow up. Talking to people and taking action to develop relationships was hopefully your first step. Trace a path back to the moment you wrote this sentence. You better have a positive slope on that path showing that you’ve grown. If not, you suck, give up now. I hate you.

You've got to stay woke. You never know when something will happen. Keep your priorities aligned so you aren’t caught with your pants down. You know the difference between good and bad. Stop making stupid decisions that can literally destroy your future. You know what is important in this life and never lose sight of it. Life is meant to be lived in the present by realizing the future has an endpoint.

Take more time to say thank you! This goes with number two because recognizing each passing moment as a gift you should be thankful for is a great way to stay in the present moment. Thank the people who helped you get from past to present. No one can do everything alone, childbirth is a great example of this (unless you are Jesus) (you are not Jesus). A simple "thank you" can go so much further to help your future.

I know everything takes time. It is never good enough to just say you are going to do it. It takes a long time to actually get it done. If you have not progressed when you read this letter, then realize its ok. Put the letter back into a time capsule and send it into your future waiting to find you at a better place (hopefully a mansion with a ton of dogs and all you can eat ice cream bars).

Maybe you will read this and you are going to be worse off than I am right now. That is also ok. Nobody is perfect. We all make mistakes, but never stop fighting for your dreams to become reality.

Nobody knows everything. However, it is not always about knowing the right thing that drives us to action. Sometimes, the action in itself is how you learn the right thing. Your boundaries are not set by you. Ignore the obvious physical boundaries you may or may not be able to break (I am looking at you, time travel). Most of your boundaries are created by other people – other people who have doubts, fears, and emotions just like you.

You can desire and achieve goals that other people deem to be impossible because they aren’t you. We are unique in the sense that your future and present is entirely up to how we choose it to develop. Our choices are what create our future. We can create something from our dreams. We can mold and form a life that we want to live.

You can’t get what you don’t ask for. I want to end by asking two questions:

Will I be proud of myself in our future?

Am I happy with that answer?

P.S. You better still love pesto, hot wings, hot sauce, capris salads, late night spaghetti, rocket league, sour beers, and RHCP. I congratulate you if you have successfully skydived, won the lottery, developed a healthy relationship past friendship, won a food eating competition, or bungee jumped while shot-gunning a beer to America the Beautiful. Keep on not dying!