REACTING TO A LETTER I WROTE TO MYSELF TWO YEARS AGO

Two years ago, during Religion class, my teacher told me and the rest of the students to write a letter to ourselves. She would keep it and send it to us in two years time. The idea of being able to talk to my future self was something I never thought of, so I was really excited. I remember wanting to write a very long letter, with loads of details in order to capture what was going on during that stage of my life. If I'm not mistaken she let us bring the letter home, finish it and then bring it back to her the next day.

I wanted this letter to be something that would make me think about myself and reconsider my goals in life. When I finished I sealed the envelope and wrote my address in front of it. I was sure that the day I received my own message I would feel proud of myself and I would realise that I had accomplished some stuff that looked as if it was impossible at that time. The next day at school I gave it to the teacher and then waited. For two years.

A week ago or so, my letter arrived to the mailbox, and believe me when I say it was an extremely awesome fantastic moment. I had very high expectations to read my own advice from a younger and less wiser self, and guess what? When I read it I kind of felt a bit disappointed. Everything I wrote back then didn't make me question anything about my present situation. The pages were filled with anecdotes and other stories that I thought were important by the time I was writing them, but now, they barely made sense. Of course I was glad to read it and I got a bit nostalgic, I also liked knowing what my thoughts were about certain people and other aspects related with studies, family and life in genera, but at the end of the day, the message wasn't "that big of a deal". It was good to know that I had accomplished some stuff I was planning on doing back then, and that I also wished that my future self would be as happy as I am now (which is a big achievement). 

I feel great knowing that I haven't disappointed the young girl who had big plans (and is still working on them).

The point is, even if my intentions were good, the result could have been better, but I don't care, because all the enthusiasm was worth it. I don't know many people who can say that they have received a letter from themselves and after reading it they are proud of who they are and who they used to be. One of my biggest fears when I started writing mine, two years ago, was to aim to high for myself, to write things that could make me feel bad depending on the time that I read the letter. However, nothing of this happened. I wrote everything I wanted and still, it turned out fine. 

Now I'm planning on writing another one... Anyone wants to join?

18 THINGS I'VE LEARNED IN 18 YEARS

I did this kind of post when I turned seventeen last year, and I think it is time that I do it again, because now I'm one year older, so here it is. These are some of the things I've learned in the past few years (I'll try not to repeat myself):

1. You can do anything but not everything: you are capable of doing lots of things, but in order to accomplish what you really want you need to prioritise. Choose what you want to do and focus all your energy into it.

2. Working hard isn't always enough: yes, I contradict myself. You can't be good at everything, even if you put a lot of effort into it. Sometimes it has to do with talent, sometimes it doesn't. Example: I will never be an amazing football player, even if I try my best because I have never been a sporty girl and my body isn't appropriate for these kind of games. The point is to find the things that you can be good at if you work hard on them.

2. Sing out loud until you have no voice and dance like nobody is watching until your feet hurt, because, why not?

3. Quality over quantity: would you rather have a diamond or a bunch of trashy jewellery? I think you all know what I mean.

4. Don't take anything for granted, work hard to keep what you already have, whether its people, your job... Take care of your friends and family, let them know that they are more than "just another friend", that they really matter to you. Make everyone you love feel special.

5. Be the best version of yourself.

6. Read novels and poetry, Sometimes you'll discover a side of yourself that you weren't aware of before.

7. It is okay not to have everything figured out at the age of 18, even when you're 25 and you have no clue about what you want to do, there's no need to panic. Life is a process and (as I always say) the best is yet to come.

8. Do good and good will come to you: no matter what, be nice to people, even if they were rude to you at some stage in their lives. I'm still working on that, but I think it is very important to be "the good one" since you never know when you're going to need someone in a determined situation.

9. Take care of your body: eat healthy, drink water and all that kind of stuff because you're going to live "inside" it until you die (does that make sense?).

10. "Having fun" doesn't involve getting drunk. It's okay to have some crazy nights or whatever you want to call them, but that doesn't mean that it always has to be like this. Get out and find something amazing to do and enjoy during your teenage years: climb trees, have deep talks on a rooftop, throw yourself into a pool fully dressed... Be creative and live life to the fullest.

11. Don't be afraid to take risks because at the end of the day, you're most likely to regret the things you didn't do than the ones you did do. Follow your intuition whenever you feel like it.

12. Changes aren't easy, but the more you change, the easier it will be for you to get used to new situations. 

13. Put yourself first, and no, it is not selfish. You have to be okay with yourself before loving others.

14. Listen to people, it is the key to learning. It's very hard for me to say that, as I am a very talkative person, however, when you take time to listen to other people's thoughts you see that (sometimes) they have very interesting things to share.

15. Find things to look forward to (ex: a holiday, an special date...), this way your life will be more exciting.

16. Treat triumph and disaster the same way (yes, I'm quoting a Kippling's poem)

17. Learn to diminish the importance of things. Maybe now you make a big deal out of something (example: can't afford going to your favourite singer's concert), but at the end of the day you'll realise that it wasn't that much. 

18. Do whatever makes you feel happy and free and never forget that you are still young.

PS: For some strange reason all the comments on the blog have disappeared and I'm very sad, if someone knows how could have happened, please tell me :)

Best of luck,

xx Cecil