An open letter to my three-decade younger self

Dear 20-year-old self,

Congratulations! You have accomplished a lot in such a short time. What you have been through and
will go through will define the kind of person you will be 30 years from now. Savor the journey and enjoy
every moment. The frustrations you will face will reach a point that you can no longer bear it. You will
feel it is not worth it. Persevere, as these same frustrations will regularly resurface as you continue your
journey. Your heart will be broken not just once, but several times. You will feel love over and over
again. No matter how painful it was, you will never lose faith in love. Whatever you have accomplished
so far will be nothing compared to what is yet to come. Do not be bashful. You are but a fraction of the
whole scheme of things. If you think the world owes you something, think again. You are nothing. The
sooner you accept that you are nothing but a tiny figment, the better; because it will actually lead you
to the road of eventually becoming someone from nothing.

Contrary to what you believe in now, you only have one shot at anything. That’s it, one shot and no
second chances. Thus, you need to give it your best shot every time, all the time. Do not hurt people; if
you cannot avoid it, minimize it. A hurt person will hurt another person consciously or unconsciously. If
you hurt someone, you will contribute to making this world a sad place.

The people you will meet are sent to you for a reason. Either you learn a lesson from them, or they
learn from you. You need to cherish each encounter and serve each other’s purpose, given the limited
time you have for each other. While people will come and go in your life, there will be those who will be
with you for the long haul. Make sure you keep a staple of these individuals in your life from whom you
will draw strengths and inspiration.

While it is good to listen to criticisms, do not let the noise of others define who you truly are. The opinions
of others about you will only matter if you allow them to influence you. No one will ever stop creating an
opinion about you and, if you listen and allow each opinion to affect you, you will miss the train towards
becoming the best version of yourself.
You will die. You need to accept that as early as you can. The body that seems so strong will eventually
wither and grow old. You will feel physical pain you never thought you were capable of feeling. You
need to take care of our body and make sure that, when it is my time to have it, I can still do things I
want to do, like jogging, trying extreme sports, travelling, and going on long walks.

You will grow old, so spend time with the people you love. Do not let years quickly pass by without
taking time to experience life with every person who truly matters to you.

Your priorities will change. As a matter of fact, they will frequently change. Get hold of yourself; be
conscious of these changes. As your priorities change, you will have to be aware of what or who you
will lose along the way. You can never take anything and anyone back. It is a decision you need to
make. As long as you will not have any regrets, go on and jump from one priority to the other.

None of the things you think matter will matter when you reach where I am now. Believe me.
Nonetheless, we still need to go through all the stories and drama we have been through. Keep in mind
that it is not the destination that is important; it is the journey that truly matters. If you get a chance to
read this before we reach 50, I will probably be a different me and will perhaps write a different letter to
you. But who cares really.

We had a good run.

Cheers,

Your 50-year-old self