A letter to future me: What I wish I could know now

I hope when you read this you’re sitting by the window of a little cottage somewhere looking out at the sea or watching the sunset over the English moors. Or maybe, you’re sitting by the Quayside on a warm summer evening watching people crossing the Tyne Bridge. Wherever you are, I hope you feel at peace. I hope that when you look back on your life it’s with pride and a sense of accomplishment, not guilt or regret. 

Dear Future Me,

There's so much I wish I could know about the future. Will I find love? A stable job that I enjoy? Success or fortune? Happiness? Will I learn to overcome my fears? Will I grasp opportunities when they're offered to me instead of turning them down? Will I learn how to deal with the unknown?

There's so much I want to know but I should start by asking you, my future self: how are you doing? Are you healthy? Content? Have you found something that feeds your soul? I hope you have. I hope you've found something that gives you purpose and a reason to wake up each morning. I hope you've persevered and fought for that thing despite any setbacks or failures. I wonder how you've dealt with those setbacks. Has it been difficult? I'm sure you've felt like giving up along the way, but you've carried on regardless.

How are your friends doing? I'm sure your friendships have changed and evolved over the years but I hope you still keep in contact with a few familiar faces from the past. Do you still speak to your uni friends? I hope so. I hope you meet up regularly to reminisce over cheap bottles of wine, reminding each other of 'the good old days.' Have you learnt yet how to deal with losing a friend? I wish I knew how to move on from past relationships that no longer serve me, instead of holding on to what could have been. I hope you've moved on.

Do you remember how daunting it was to leave home and live independently for the first time? How terrified and excited you were? I wonder how you’ve managed since then. Have you finally got the nick of managing your own money or do you still buy yourself a guilty pleasure millionaire shortbread even with £5 left in your account? Have you figured out how to pay bills? I suppose what I’m interested to know is… have you figured out how to adult? Or is adulthood just something that people make up as they go along, no one really knowing the secret to doing it properly? I’m assuming it’s the second? If not, please tell me the secret because I’m dying to know.

I hope you’re still close to your family. I hope you call them up regularly and remind them how much they mean to you. Do you still have family game nights that end in fits of laughter? I hope that physical distance doesn’t alter the bonds you have with the people closest to you and that you still find yourself going back home in times of difficulty. I wonder if you have a family of your own, or if you're an independent bachelorette. It doesn't matter, either way, as long as you're happy.

Love, Present Me.