Dear Future Me:

If you're reading this in the year 2020, congratulations, you made it. Are you in a relationship? Is theatre still your dream? Do you still sleep on top of the covers?

I'm writing you from the year 2016, and I gotta tell you, things are going to pieces around here. This was a high stakes election, and honestly I don't know if this is the worst case scenario or not, but a lot of people are scared, including me. The next four years are stretching ahead of me in a sort of dark abyss.

But hey, you're reading this, right? So it can't be that bad.

I hope you come back to this in the years to come. And I hope you remember, every day, that:

You are not defined by the things the president believes about you and the people like you.
You are still beautiful. You are still worthy. You are still valid, and legitimate, and real. And girl, if you aren't a ten I don't know who is.

Your country is not defined by this event.
There are good people in your world and in your life. There are volunteers, and activists, and artists, and scientists, and musicians, and teachers, and social workers, and bakers, and administrators, and plumbers, and, heck, even politicians that are fighting for good in your country.

There is nothing wrong with you.
You are allowed to hurt. For yourself. For your friends. There is nothing wrong with you.

You are allowed to be scared.
But don't let fear stop you from being heard.

No one has the right to touch you or talk about you as if you were an object.
You are an independent human being and you don't have to put up with anyone's shit. Consent is still a thing. You can give it and you can take it away. Punch anyone who tells you otherwise.

You are not alone.
Across the globe there are people standing with you. There are people weeping with you. You are seen. You are heard. You are not alone. Not now, not ever.

You are loved.
You know who is in your corner. You know who your family is. Don't forget to love them and don't forget that they love you, even if circumstance tells you otherwise.

Your friends need you and your voice.
We have to speak up for each other if we want to be heard. Stand with your brothers, sisters, friends - the truth will be heard.

Love is stronger.
Hate is a choice. Love is a choice. Just keep choosing love. Keep being kind. Keep being soft. Love trumps hate. Every time.

This is not the end.
The world does not end here. You are going to keep living, and creating, and fighting for what you know is right. The end is not now. The end is not coming. This is the beginning of a long fight. Don't give up.

If you don't believe yourself listen to the pros...

"You took a step - the world came crashing down on you. And what you feared most of all happened...You've been taking tickets far too long, my friend, watching the world fading past...and there's music like nothing you've heard if you just let it play. There are glasses to raise in the praise of surviving the day. For life is clearly something that I can't rehearse. It's dangerous and beautiful and free as verse. And rather than ignore it, high time I stood in it's way...I am in the world. That should be enough." - A Man Of No Importance

"We live through times when hate and fear seem stronger. We rise and fall in light from dying embers, remembrances that hope and love last longer. And love, is love, is love, is love, is love, is love, is love, is love cannot be killed or swept aside." - Lin Manuel Miranda

"You think you've seen every ugly corner of this whole rotten world but listen: there are an infinite number of things we don't know and, statistically speaking, at least half of them are probably very, very beautiful." - Ashe Vernon, Post Panic Attack

"And she stands against the lighting and the thunder. And she shelters and protects us from above. And she fills us with the power and the wonder of her love...This is why we tell the story." - Once On This Island

“Life will hit you hard in the face, wait for you to get back up just so it can kick you in the stomach. But getting the wind knocked out of you is the only way to remind your lungs how much they like the taste of air.” - Sarah Kay

“you tell me to quiet down cause my opinions make me less beautiful but i was not made with a fire in my belly so i could be put out i was not made with a lightness on my tongue so i could be easy to swallow i was made heavy half blade and half silk difficult to forget and not easy for the mind to follow” - Rupi Kaur, Milk and Honey

"People can be hard sometimes and their words can cut so deep. Choose the one you choose love and don't lose a moment's sleep...There's no fault in loving. No call for shame. Everyone's heart does exactly the same." - A Man Of No Importance

And when in doubt....sing this

.Spoiler alert: You make it. You live. You thrive.

To be continued.