Dear 31-Year-Old Me,
It’ll have been ten years since I’ve written this letter to myself. Currently, I am in the midst of my senior year of college, and I have no idea what the future has in store for me. I find myself lying in bed at night wondering what my life will be like after college. The other night I was having trouble falling asleep and wound up on a Google search frenzy typing into the little search box… “Marketing jobs near me” … “Companies in Rhode Island” … “Companies in Massachusetts” … all to come to the same realization that I had already made, all of this uncertainty is overwhelming.
As much as it can be overwhelming, it’s also equally as exciting. But, for the most part, the overwhelming uncertainty of it all seems to trump the excitement aspect. 31-year-old me, I have so many questions I wish I could ask you, and things I wish I could know now. You know me, I’m a huge planner, and I just wish I knew now where I would be in ten years. Unfortunately, life doesn’t work that way, and the planner in me is trying to come to terms with that. Since I can’t know it all now, I’ll ask you what’s on my mind, and the 10-year-older me can come back to this letter and remember what it felt like to be a senior in college unsure of how her life was going to pan out.
- What was my first job? Did I like it? Did I get paid well? Was I happy working there?
- After graduating college, did I live at home for a little or did I move out right away? Did Rosa and I find an apartment together in Boston? Was moving away from home hard?
- How’s Luna doing? Is she living with me or is she still at home with my parents? I just realized this would mean she’s 11-years-old now, so she’s definitely grown out of her crazy kitten phase! Do I have any other additional pets now?
- Speaking of my parents, how are they doing? Hopefully, both are retired and enjoying their free time by now!
- Where am I in my career now? Am I working in the marketing field as I planned?
- Did I decide to get my MBA?
- Where am I living now? Rhode Island, Massachusetts, or New York? If I’m not living in Rhode Island, do I still see my family as often as I’d like?
- Most important of all, am I happy?
That’s what I hope for you most of all 31-year-old me. I really hope you are happy with where you are in life. Right now, these questions I have about my future seem like such a huge deal, but ten years from now, they probably seem so minor. I’m sure everything worked out as it was intended to, and wherever I am ten years from now, I wouldn’t be there without all of these uncertainties playing out however they did.
I’m sure I will get a laugh out of this ten years from now, knowing what I don’t know now. But until then, I’ll continue to wonder…
Sincerely,
21-Year-Old Me