Dear 2017 Olivia,
Remember walking down the alley and looking at 2 Boylston Place, which was being built at the time? It looked so intimidating, so tall, and you were thinking, Wow, how will that be home? You had your mom take pictures of you, posing with a little backpack and smiling in the wind, but inside, you were terrified because what if you made the wrong choice? What if you chose the wrong school? What if you couldn’t handle college at all?
During the first week of freshman year, all you did was cry and think that you weren’t going to make it through. You thought you were going to be a college dropout before it even started. You won’t be. You’ll make it. You’ll make a friend and realize who you are, what it means to walk alone down a street, and what it’s like to have a meal alone, and how peaceful that is. The freedom you feel when you “go exploring” will be everything.
Fast forward to now, you’re 22, and you’re graduating with a degree in Creative Writing, all because you were gifted an empty book by your babysitter to help you process a move at age five. You never stopped writing, and you wrote the stories you wanted to read, but couldn’t find. Writing is home, and now, Boston is home too. You’ll be sad about leaving it, which would make no sense to you then, but trust me, you will grow into the city. You’ll make wonderful friends, and you’ll go through so much, but that is not for the Internet.
Just know that you are loved now, and you were loved then. And whatever choices you make, they are yours alone.
Sincerely,
2021 Olivia