The past was a strange time, though no stranger than the present and no more confusing than the future. Some people live in the past, some want to forget it, some wish they never left. Some people don't remember who they were once, they think they’re the same person they've always been because of the narrative we tell ourselves. I’m sure plenty of you understand that people grow and change over time almost to the point of becoming a totally different person. This article came about when I was on my computer and stumbled on something in my files. During my senior year of high school, my philosophy teacher asked everyone to write a letter to their future selves that she was going to mail out to us in a few years when we wouldn't be expecting it. Well I wasn't expecting it and I came across that letter that I hadn’t seen in almost two and a half years. What resulted was an array of emotions ranging from sadness to pride. I wanted to talk to my past self and tell him what had become of my life since he wrote the letter, as if he were a separate entity. At that moment of realization, when I saw my past self as separate from myself, I realized that’s what growth is, that's what change is. I’ve always been one for embracing change, just maybe not recognizing it. I urge all of you to write a letter to your future self and in two years or more open it and see yourself in a way you might not have ever before.

Without further ado I’d like to share with you all what was going through the head of 17-year-old Josh:

“Dear Future Josh,

This is the ghost of Christmas Past! Hahaha i kid, of course. It’s just you on Jan. 12, 2014. How about I start off but just telling you about my life. Who knows, maybe you haven't thought about this time in your life for quite a while. I’ll give you a refresher. Well perhaps you haven’t thought about Emily in a while. It’s been about 12 days since me and her broke up. I’m still feeling the affects but life is too short to dwell on the past. Kind of ironic because i’m writing this from the past. What else? Well this whole thing with Kelly is going underway. I’m not sure where this will lead but as you might remember, my New Years Resolution for 2014 is to have more adventures and let life take me where it may and not sweat the small stuff (not that I ever did but with new adventure potentially comes new complications).

Again, I have no clue what your situation is like or even if you’ll ever get this letter. For all I know you’re in college and you have a new girlfriend whom you love with all your heart and plan to someday marry and you have a job or and internship at some studio somewhere in New York or maybe you took a trip to Paris or maybe you made a film and entered it in a festival and got second place or maybe you’re taking all the classes you've ever wanted to take and expanding your mind beyond what you could have fathomed in high school or maybe you found a new passion like ceramics or skateboarding and maybe, just maybe, you're living you’re life with the right balance of spontaneity and planning while discovering something new about the world as well as yourself everyday... then again, maybe none of that is true. Maybe you’re down on your luck, you got a girl pregnant or something, maybe you’re failing the classes because they’re too hard, maybe you can't find work because the jobs you want are so competitive, maybe you wanted to enter a film into a festival but it got rejected, maybe you haven't been proud of your work in a very long time, maybe you sit in your room all day and do nothing, maybe those adventures you wished you’d have are fairytales to you now, maybe you haven't been making friends, maybe you forgot about all your beliefs and morals the minute you stepped onto the campus, maybe you live in the past now because the present and future don't look too promising, and maybe you’ve lost your sense of wonder.

Sounds like sh*t, doesn't it? If that second part is true you better snap out of it! Do it for me. Do it for us. I have a plan and if you’re f*cking it up I’m sorry but I don't think I’ll be able to forgive you. Though there’s not much I can do about it.

Oh I just had a thought! You know what I find so fascinating? The fact that Alex and I have stayed friends since kindergarten. That’s crazy. Promise me something? If by the time you’re reading this you haven’t seen or talked to Alex in a while, go see him. I’m sure you guys are still friends but i just want to make sure. He’s really helped a lot. We’re like bros. Same goes for Chris. I know me and him have never been bros like me and Alex but he’s a great kid. Love him to death. Make sure the Three Amigos stay that way.

What else? Well right now i’m still trying to get over the fact that I'm going bald at age 17. I mean, seriously?!?! I’m 17, this shouldn't happen. I guess I’ve accepted it but that doesn't mean it doesn't bug me like hell. I hope by the time you read this we’re over it.

Also, f*cking go somewhere!!!! Take a trip! go on a road trip with a couple buddies. Get the hell out of the east coast for a little while, man! Go to California, go abroad, go experience some shit. Go meet an old guy on a journey across middle America that will tell you stories that will forever change the way you look at your life! You got legs, man, so use them and go somewhere!

Another thought, I need you to really learn from your mistakes. I know that we’ve been pretty good at it so far but this whole thing with Emily really opened my eyes. I’m still trying to find out where it went wrong. But the past lies still. As I was saying, learn from these f*cking mistakes. Don't stop learning about yourself. Take all the criticism with a grain of salt and use it to your advantage.

I don't wanna be all cliche and be like “don't take no for an answer” or “don't let anyone tell you you cant do something” because when the f*ck does that help people. The purpose of this letter isn't to make you think about your life in any different light, unless you’re f*cking it up. The purpose of this is to remind you where you came from. I like to think i’m an intelligent kid and i’m very well-rounded and kind-hearted and open-minded and other hyphenated words and I’d just hate to see that end somewhere. All that said, I have faith in you. I think that’s something I either have a illusion for or an abundance of, depending on who you ask. I either have so much faith in myself, so nothing bothers me, or i have so much faith in myself that i think i’m invincible.

When the time is right, write a letter like this one, hopefully without as many grammatical errors. And please, please tell me that you still want to go to Thailand and drink snake blood!

Adios, Future Josh. See you in another life.

Sincerely,

You.”