Dear future Hadley,
I’m thinking this is 10 years or so in the future, so am I thinking about having kids? Did I ever move out? Is it scary on my own? I’m scared of living by myself now. It’s intimidating.
Did mom and dad move, too? Dad wants to move to the coast, so did he ever get the chance to? Did I get to go to San Francisco with him?
Right now I’m thinking about the University of Idaho. I want to double major in philosophy and psychology with a minor in data science. Was the University of Idaho as great as I think it will be? Or did I ever make it that far? Did I even become a psychologist? I hope I pursued some kind of graduate school and didn’t stop at undergrad. I’m really worried about the student debt, so I hope I paid all of that off.
Do I like what I’m doing, or did I change my passion? I know I was interested in art for a little bit, maybe even criminal justice. Or did I get more interested in politics? I was pretty hyped about winning the ‘If I Were Mayor’ contest and being involved in Youth and Government. Did I go somewhere with that political interest?
Do I regret going into psychology? I want to be a high school counselor, and I’m not regretting it now, I’m excited even. But do you ever wish there was something you did differently?
Dear future Natalie,
I just want to know what my life is gonna be like, and how different it is going to be from now. For me right now my lifestyle is whatever I want for the day, but it changes every 10 minutes.
I hope I made a better choice on the people I’m friends with. I think in high school we really discover what kind of people work for you and what kind of groups don’t. Which I think is really valuable to know when you’re older, so I hope I used that to my advantage.
I hope I shot through all the expectations my parents currently have for me, like I got school done all at once without breaking it all up.
I hope I am somewhat independent in the near future. My parents have helped me a lot recently to help me be kind of independent for five, 10, even 20 years from now. But I think it is the best we can do, you know? It’s hard to prepare for the future, if you even can. You never know what could happen.
Dear younger Zing,
Hi to my younger self. Here’s some advice I wish I knew when I was at your age. Now as a high school senior, I have experienced things that have changed my mindset. I’ve reflected on my decisions and mindset and am here to tell you, hard work truly does pay off no matter what you might think. While the rewards of hard work may often be delayed and at times feel unsatisfying and not worth it, it is never a waste and continue on and catch your goals. Go after the things you want.
You don’t have to fear others’ judgment toward you or your goals. You shouldn’t let others make you feel undeserving of the goals and ambitions you have for your own life. Be confident in yourself; that’s what makes your goals come true. This is an important reminder to you to learn to enjoy every stage and good or awkward phase you go through because time goes by too fast and there is always something to learn from each phase, obstacle, loss, and setback that comes your way. Most importantly, everything always works out even though it may not feel that way or seem that way in the moment of the situation. Life has a funny way of working itself out. Remember that.
Dear Younger Lukas,
Now that I have experienced high school in all its entirety, I really wish we put more effort into working out for ourself instead of for coaches and athletics. This wouldn’t have led to so much burnout. You’ve got to do it for yourself instead of other people.
I have been lucky enough to be appreciated for my athletics and have younger people see me as a role model. So I would say stop being so critical of yourself, be confident in what you do and don’t let people’s judgment lead you astray from your goals.
Our hopes and aspirations of becoming a lawyer like dad are still going strong. After several changes of decision of what major I want to go into, I have always stayed with becoming a lawyer. I’ve meet with multiple people who have influenced me, like people on the city council who furthered my decision, but fifth grade me always knew this. Younger Lukas has always known since the little drawings I did asking what I wanted to be and that was a lawyer.
So my final advice is don’t let people’s opinions and judgments cloud what is important to you and always put in the hard work for yourself.
