20 Lessons I've Learned at 20: Lesson Nineteen

19.      Write a letter to yourself.

I know it doesn't relate to the topic, but isn't my Grandpa the cutest?

I have loved to write from a young age. I was gifted my first journal at the age of eight and immediately started spilling the seat-gripping details of my insanely eventful life. These juicy entries usually began with the Little Debbie snack I sneaked for breakfast and ended with an argument I had with my sister. You’re begging for more, I know, but I have to get on with it.

 

So I continued to write at least weekly every year. I continued writing through middle school, high school, and continue to journal today. But one thing I have started doing over the past few years is something I am doing for a future me. You know, laying the foundation for a memory.

 

I began writing letters to the future me in recent years. I wrote one letter to myself to open the day of my wedding and one for my groom as well. Every year or so, I write to the Rachel kicking down doors and being the independent young professional I hope she will be. I write to the Rachel with a family and a home. I write to the Rachel receiving her Bachelor’s and being handed the most expensive piece of paper she will ever buy. I write to the Rachel who may be on her knees begging for strength.

 

Sometimes the lessons we learn in life haven’t happened yet. And as I begin to conclude this journey you have taken with me, I want you to know that. I have learned so many lessons before the age of 20. And I hope to learn many more before the first anniversary of my 29^th. But sometimes it helps to lay the groundwork for those new lessons to be built. Write a letter to the future you with big dreams and small realities. Write a letter to the future you facing the biggest change of your life. Write a letter to the future you that needs a little reminder of how far you’ve come. Because often the person we lose touch with the most is the one in the mirror staring back at us.

 

I will leave you with that before I get too sappy on you. That’s for lesson 20…

 

it’s an outlet. it’s an inspiration. it’s a gift. it’s a purpose