A letter to my hundred year old self
Dear me,
There are so many paths I could have taken, I don't want to assume I took just one. I want to assume that they all collided. I wish to think that all of those paths came snaking together, twisting around each other, and that I made something beautiful out of it all.
Sometimes I believe in fate and I think that my life is set out a certain way. I believe at times I am destined to follow a preset path. Other times I think it's all up to wild chance and that all the power of where I go next falls in my hands. I wouldn't be disappointed by any such path as long as I lived a happy life. If I found joy and spread that joy with others then that's enough for me.
I always wonder what I will look like as an old lady. I stare in the mirror and try to imagine where the wrinkles will settle themselves in and how my body will deteriorate over time. I wonder if aging will bother me like it does some people. I don't believe it will, but anything is possible. I hope I have long braids like my Great Grandma. I never met her but my mom said until the day she died she kept her gray hair in two long braids that went all the way down her back. Yes, I'd like that if I could. Future self, try to grow your hair out if you don't have it long. Do it just for the heck of it. I hope they've found a way to speed up hair growth in the future. Use it if they have.
I can't imagine all I must have seen at 100 years old. I'm often frightened about the lengths technology may go in the future. It's a scary thing how much people care about their phones and their image nowadays. I predict that issue only got worse as time went on. I wonder if I saw a world war in my lifetime. I hope not. I hope we are a more peaceful world when I hit 100.
I suppose I should tell my future self about who I am right now so that I can compare how I've changed. Right now I am 18 years old. I will be turning 19 in two months. I already feel like life is going by really fast so I must be feeling like life is nothing but a speedy blur at the age of 100. 18 is a cool age to be because most days I feel anything is possible. Nothing in my life is really fully set in stone yet and there are so many things awaiting me. Soon I will transfer to a four year university. I can't wait to do that! I can't wait to meet all the people that will become my friends. I can't wait to learn all the things that will make my mind whirl. Right now my top two schools are UCSB and UCLA. I would be happy at either. My best friend in the whole universe is Camille Coss. I just don't think she will ever not be in my life. I mean that. I can't imagine a me without a her. I wouldn't be surprised if she was sitting next to me right now as I read this letter in the future. I hope memories are hitting us both right now and that we laugh a lot. I hope we never told anyone about the Mexican food, I hope it's still our secret. My other close friends are Monica Deyski, George Holmes, Priyanka Dave, Lauren Cloughesy, Eliza Richard, Sarah Koep, Bek Kamolov, Colin Buchanan, Jerry Zhang, Logan Werner, Payton Chilano, and Amanda Mertzel. I read and write all the time, no surprise. My favorite color is yellow. I have an orange affliction. I journal daily and I love going to the beach. Drake and Teddy are the family dogs. La La Land and The Secret Life of Walter Mitty are my favorite movies. The Great Gatsby is my favorite book. Space Oddity by David Bowie is my favorite song. The best days of my life we're going to the swing with Ethan, Olivia, and Priyanka, Ashley Stephen's last day of school party junior year, the day of Katherine, and the beach day in Oxnard when Sarah, Lily, Emily, Bek, Jerry, and I met the miniature horse named Tar Tar Martinez. I am smiling thinking that even better days have come since those ones. I am probably laughing thinking that I thought those were so great in comparison to what is to come.
I hope I had a family of my own and that there is a lot of love in that family. I hope that my sister and I call each other every day. I hope that I travelled the world. I hope I took a lot of risks and I hope that I made the best out of everything I had. I hope that my relationship with my parents stayed strong throughout our lives. I hope that I opened my mind to new ideas.
I would imagine the world is a much different place now. I hope it is a better place. Maybe that is too optimistic but I think hope is a daring and wonderful thing. I want to contribute to making it a better place for all those who will come after me.
Oh and before I forget! Happy 100th Birthday, my future self! Who knows maybe 100 is considered young in the future! Maybe they have found a way to make the lifespan a lot longer. Either way I hope today is filled with love and joy. Braid your hair and give Camille a hug. You better have at least two dogs.
Love always,
Me
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