It’s amazing how much life changes within a day, a week, a month, and especially a year. As a freshman in high school my English professor made us write a letter to ourselves only to be opened in four years. I think she wanted some Freedom Writers type of deep stuff in the letter but I wrote some pretty basic stuff. The details are interesting but even more interesting are what I chose to write about. The things that I thought were important at the time. I wrote about my favorite foods at the time, what classes I liked, who my friends were, and who I was dating among other things.

Four years later, my prof mails me the letter. Of course by then I had forgotten I wrote a letter four years ago so it was really a blast from the past to get that letter. Before I even read it I noticed how my handwriting had changed. Is that weird? Does handwriting change over time? Anyway, I didn’t recognize half the names in the letter. We’re not friends anymore nor acquaintances. I’ve lived in several different houses, cities, and states since my freshman year of high school so that’s understandable. The guy I was dating at the time I’m obviously still not with. I can’t even remember the grades I got in those classes.

But at the time those things were so important. Not to belittle the impact they had on my life because they made that period of my life fun and the grades got me to where I am now, etc, etc. But it’s interesting how things you think are so incredibly important to you at one moment in your life are just a faint memory later.

The point? Well I’m not sure if there is one but if there were it could be a) don’t take things too seriously because in a year or even a month or a week you won’t care or remember whatever it is. or b) just do what you have to now because in the future you won’t remember it anyway but it will get you to where you want to be.

So my advice to you out there is write yourself a letter that you won’t open for four years. Yes. Four years. This is hard because where are you going to put a sheet of paper and remember it four years later? You could email yourself. Write the letter and put it in a safe if you have one of those. (I have to admit I don’t know anybody with a safe but still…) Or just write a word document and don’t open it for four years. Name it “Letter To Myself – Open on November 6th, 2013.” Or use FutureMe.org. Maybe I should have mentioned this first. You write yourself a letter and choose the date you want it sent to you (via email) and they send it to you on that date! Magical!

Trust me. It’s an interesting experience. Write everything. Even things that don’t seem important now. Write how the shower head in your current apartment has horrible water pressure. Talk about your current job, where you want to be in four years, and things like that. When you open it in four years it will either be sobering to see that you’ve done pretty much nothing in four years or exciting to see that you accomplished some things and that you’ve matured. Either way. Enjoy.