Happy New Year!
To say the least, I have been rather absent from my website.
Maybe I will hold onto this New Year’s resolution to write more, or maybe not.
Only the future will say, won’t it?
The last two years have been a roller-coaster and I am not sure 2023 will be calmer.
I am grateful though for all that I learned and the path I took so far.
Hopefully, the learnings, experiences, successes, and failures would give birth to more content sharing.
I reflected during the last few weeks of 2022 on the past year and also on the last 10.
After all, why stop reflecting at one year when you can do it for 10?
As I am kicking off the start of 2023, I decided to share in writing.
It also turns out that 2023 will mark 10 years since I left my home country.
While I was reflecting on everything that has happened, I could not chase away this idea of writing a letter to my younger self.
My younger self of 10 years ago.
Disclaimer
I am not entirely sure about the purpose of this post.
Is it an attempt to inspire people? Maybe.
Is it simply words just thrown into the internet without a goal other than existing? Maybe.
Is it something else? Maybe too!
Maybe, I’d like you to simply have fun when you read this.
Or, see this as an invitation to reflect on your last 10 years and what you have accomplished.
Maybe it is an attempt to show you that from wherever you are from, I am convinced you can do it. Whatever it is. Whatever your age.
In any case, thank you for your time here, spending a few minutes with me and my younger me 🙂
My dear me,
I am writing from the future.
From 2023, where I am spending a warm winter in the Caribbean. Somewhere you are yet to imagine to be someday.
I wanted to write you from the future to tell you what is waiting for you.
I know very well you are in a rather rough moment.
This feeling of not fitting where you are.
This feeling does not let you sleep well at night sometimes.
You are perceiving life can be something else but you are lost.
You have not grasped what are the possibilities for you yet and all seems confusing.
The idea of having to stay where you are and continuing life as it is, makes you secretly sick in your stomach and depressed.
Let me tell you this: it is gonna be ok!
You are going to live incredible adventures!
Starting right this year.
It has not been easy and it won’t be easier but somehow it will.
Life is going to push you even more
Or
You are going to push life even more
The resilience that you are building is exactly the resilience you will need.
Yes, you are young.
Yes, you are a woman.
Yes, you are in a men’s world
And, you are gonna shine!
It is not gonna be easy.
You are gonna know a lot of defeats.
A lot of frustration.
They will tell you “you cannot do it”, “you are too young to understand”, “you don’t have the experience”, “you are too assertive”, “you think too much”, “you are too strong”,
People will tell you “you can’t do it”, “you have to do this” or “this is not possible”
But, you will do it.
It will feel scary, demotivating, and upsetting but empowering, liberating, and exhaling
You will learn languages like you never thought you could learn
You will travel this world like you never dreamt of traveling
You will change careers and discover new possibilities like you never imagined
You will achieve things like you never thought you could do
You will work with amazing people like you never thought you would
You are gonna learn and grow so much
And it won’t be over, it will be just the beginning
You will feel you have so much to discover
And, you will feel immensely grateful for everything.
Everything you passed by through, every person you met.
Everyone taught you a valuable lesson.
By the end of 2022, you will feel good about yourself
You will have forgiven others
You will have forgiven yourself
You still won’t know exactly where you will go but you won’t worry much about it anymore.
Pleasure and growth are in the journey, not the end goal.
You will embrace the journey, and smile at it, even when it is tough.
Sometimes you will feel like giving up, but after a few days, you will feel ready to start again.
Do not give up now.
Make this step forward that is calling you despite everyone’s worry.
Life is a beautiful gift made to be fully lived.
Go get it!
With a lot of love and compassion.
Your older you.
What would you like to say?
If you were to write a letter to your younger self. What would you like to write?