Letters to a younger you

[Delator]

Dear 16 year old Delator

Take a year off from academics when you graduate from high school.

Spend more time with dad.

Make your move before April of '07...or you'll always be left wondering.

Sincerely,
26 year old Delator

[Intangelon]

Dear Younger Alma,

Please, for the love of God, when you get to college, don't fall in love with the tall, dark-haired music dork. He will destroy you.

Love,
Older, depressed Alma

Speaking as a tall, dark-haired music dork, I apologize for that one, and assure you he was an aberration. We're generally good people.

Speaking as another tall, dark-haired music dork, I apologise for Intangelon's apology. As a general rule, we're psychopaths who get our kicks out of destroying others. Trust me, I know - it's part of my daily routine.

By the way, Intangelon - what instrument?

EDIT: Somehow I managed to get Intangelon confused with Wilgrove.

He's decent people, I can live with that confusion.

I am primarily a vocalist, with some percussion tinges.

[Reavani]

Dear Reavani,
Don't be such a dick.
She likes you too, shoot bro.
Ten steps left first day of Freshman year.
Sixteen steps right after Graduation.
Stay off the plane.
Don't go hunting tommorow.
Sincerely,
You.

[Hamilay]

Dear young Hamilay,

You should really invest more time into your hobbies and cultivate some new ones. Also try to keep in touch with your friends as you go through high school, and spend more time with your grandfathers. Being more independent might also be a good idea.

You'll be ok though.

Regards,
Older Hamilay

[Welas]

Dear Welas,

You need to stop being so depressed. Yes, she left. She'll come back after a good long time, but by that point it'll be irrelevant. She turns out okay. The self-destructive crap gets old, so just relax. DO NOT date the girl you're going to be shoved into a relationship with. It's a bad idea and you know it. Also, that girl you'll cyber with? Bad idea. She's a bitch. Call your pa-pa occasionally, because he'll be gone before you know it. Don't be too nice to Tegan. She's got commitment issues and she'll dump you. That relationship's far too fun to waste. Remember that no goal is completely out of reach, including that girl who everyone says is too old for you. She says hi. Also, you're going to college right out of high school, whether you like it or not. Apply for the damn scholarships.

Sincerely you,

Welas

[Nethertopia]

Dear 13 years old Nethers,

Don't hold on to your sanity. You'll lose it around your seventeenth anyway. The world is much better when mad, sanity is overrated. Also: Start practising being more assertive.

All the best,
19 years old Nethers

[Geniasis]

Dear Geniasis,

How do you enjoy being 16? Doesn't feel a whole lot different from 15, does it? Yeah, I'm sitting here at 19 and it doesn't feel a whole lot different from 18. But it does feel different from 16. I'm not sure why, I guess it's those little changes that add up over time.

Speaking of changes, you're probably gearing up for one pretty soon, aren't you? Yeah, you probably don't know what it is yet but by the end of the year you'll know what it is. It doesn't work for you to well, not really anyway. I mean the whole sarcastic jackass thing? No one buys it. In fact, people actually think you're nicer. Don't worry though, you'll end up liking it better than you had planned. Bitterness is a hat that you never really wear earnestly. You're too much of a softie deep down.

Oh, and be more assertive you dumbfuck. I mean, it's not that complicated. Take opportunities and be adventurous. Especially with this girl you'll know your Senior year. The feeling is mutual, but you won't realize it. Make your move fast because if you don't you'll get Friend Zone'd and it'll suck.

Or maybe not, actually. You get to change a lot as a result of this failure on your part--for the better, I'd say. You'd probably stay the same if you had ended up dating her... tough call really. But either way you should make your mind up and not go through the emotional rollercoaster. That's sort of the main thing to avoid here. Meh, you'll turn out fine in the end I think. Just power through it all. You're tougher than you think, and everything that life puts you through these next to years barely dents you by the end even when it feels like it'll crush you.

Just be awesome, young me. You're worth the world, and you matter to a lot of people.

Dumbass.

--Future Me.

[Fergi America]

Dear (15yo) Greatest Leader:

Now that I've gotten your attention and proven that I really know you...

Next year you'll be 16. Drop out of that high school on your birthday. Your suspicion that you're doing almost all of your learning outside of it is 100% correct. So dump it. It's hell that you don't need to go through. The two tidbits of data you actually picked up there are readily available at the library.

Soon there will be a system called "the internet" where you can find out almost everything you want to know, and shedloads of irrelevant factoids which you learn just to kill time. You will also make your money with this internet thing, unless you pay attention to the next part of this letter.

Here's the Lotto numbers. [numbers here]. The prize is $50 million. Play them. That will take care of most of the rest of the problems that'll come up.

That complete lack of motivation you'll feel from your 20s on? Something IS wrong with you. It's your thyroid! Get meds. Ignore all those idiots who tell you that it's mental!

Oh, and by the way. Kim Jong Il stole your preferred title of "Great Leader." So you one-upped him by adding "est" to it for yourself.

[Northern Franktopia]

Dear 12-year-old me,

Hi. This is you 14 years from now. First, I'm sure you're pleased to hear you made it another 14 years. It seems like a long time but really, it all goes by so fast, especially if you just let life take its course.

That is my main advice to you. Don't worry so much. People will like you for who you are, and while it might not make sense to you since you don't know who you are yet, it's the truth. They also might not like you because of who you are, but that's normal too. In general, you should be more relaxed. Realize that the things that happen to you now are very small in the scheme of things. They seem big, I know, but 14 years from now you'll forget most of it even happened. Of course, there will always be some things you'll never live down, but everybody has those things.

Don't write a note to that girl in your class you'll like in grade 7. Be brave about it and talk to her. If it doesn't work out, you'll move on. She is only one of the first you'll like. Pay attention! Don't throw a wad of paper at the waste basket in health class. You will save yourself two weeks of trouble. Don't say "fuck you" to that asshole in art class. Say it to him after class. You'll save yourself another week of trouble.

Listen to the girl next door. She will like you and you won't know it. But she will, so don't be an asshole to her.

There will be a girl you'll like in high school. You'll like her a lot. On the last day of chemistry class, you'll walk behind her and think about talking to her. Say hello. Introduce yourself. She knows you like her already. This may change things a lot for ME, but maybe you'll be happier. Or not. Anyway, the point is, don't hesitate. She is willing to give you a try.

If things go the same for you as they did for me, just move on. Remember the feelings you had and don't deny them. You felt something real, and never tell yourself otherwise. You'll spare yourself two or three years of anxiety and depression if you do this.

Be a nice person but be assertive, too, and be honest. Have some confidence. It's hard to learn, but you'll get it eventually. You will do a lot of things you never thought you'd do. You will have some failures, but this is very normal. In fact, your failures will drive you further than your successes. It will be hard to see it at the time, but it's the truth.

There's a lot of other stuff I could tell you, but I don't want to ruin the surprise much more than I already have and I'm pretty busy anyway. Relax. Enjoy yourself. You'll be fine.

Sincerely,

Me from 2009

[BunnySaurus Bugsii]

As someone who habitually writes letters to her future self,

I did that once. The letter I wrote to my future self was a pretty simple way of judging whether my life had improved: on one side were fill-in-the-blank questions like "How much sugar do you eat per day?" and "How often do you exercise?" and "When was the last time you brushed your teeth?", on the other side the same questions answered a year earlier.

That's rather sweet.

Where did you get that idea ?

[BunnySaurus Bugsii]

*snip*

Your old sister, 30 years old Beatrice.

(That was extremely relieving inside).

Yeah, that one made me cry.

[No Names Left Damn It]

Dear 23 year old NNLDI,

Don't join this forum called NSG, it's full of egotistical pussies, Nazi dumbfucks, leftie wankers and a Gestapo crew of self important moderators.

Yours sincerely.

present day NNLDI.

[BunnySaurus Bugsii]

Dear 23 year old NNLDI,

Don't join this forum called NSG, it's full of egotistical pussies, Nazi dumbfucks, leftie wankers and a Gestapo crew of self important moderators.

Yours sincerely.

present day NNLDI.

Oh, you poor addict. Try to undo your choice, would you? With the puny reserves of will you still have?



You are ours now! Look, your signature in your own blood. On this contract!

NNLDI, property of NSG.

You are ours. Now, and forever.

[Blouman Empire]

Oh, you poor addict. Try to undo your choice, would you? With the puny reserves of will you still have?



You are ours now! Look, your signature in your own blood. On this contract!

NNLDI, property of NSG.

You are ours. Now, and forever.

I think he is trying to get himself hit with the mods delete hammer.

[No Names Left Damn It]

Oh, you poor addict. Try to undo your choice, would you? With the puny reserves of will you still have?

I managed a whole week, I'll have you know!

[Jello Biafra]

Coming out will suck, but you won't regret it. I suspect you know this already.

Funny if you didn't.

I suppose I could have been outed, but for the most part I wasn't.

[Eofaerwic]

Dear Young Eofaerwic

I know you are getting annoyed with the Belgian school, that's fine, you'll only have to stay in the system until you're 16. Make the most of it, get the best you can out of the chance to speak a second language fluently and really immerse yourself, read more french literature especially and don't let the teachers get you down with the constant emphasis on grammer, conjugation and spelling. It may all be very easy to parrot things back, but unless you actually go out your way to read deeper into things you won't enjoy it and you'll continue to wish you went to a different school. Use your own initiative, no one else will do it for you.

But do, do, do get out when you're 16, insist to your parents you want to do your A-Levels in the UK. Yes Dad will bitch about the money and continue to do so for the next 10 years but he'd do that anyway, you won't get around that. A-Levels is the best fucking thing you could do, but again, don't take the easy option, don't drop history at AS because of the exam stress. You'll stress yourself out anyway around exams, that's just you, and you won't feel as stretched in Upper Sixth doing only 3 A-Levels. Oh and don't worry about Oxbridge, you probably wouldn't have enjoyed it there anyway. But if you do still really want to go, apply for Experimental Psychology not PPP- you may not think you really like the harder sciencey side of things, but you do, you really really do. Talking of which take Hard Sciences in the 3rd year of secondary, not Social Sciences. The SS class is a joke and you'll be bored.

Don't worry about the kids at school being fucks - you never do well with massive social groups. Accept you're a geek and you will find some very good friends. Don't feel you have to like boys or pop music or fashion or whatever to fit in with the 'cool kids'. It doesn't suite you, it won't work, and you'll just end up being embarrased. You'll have a great social group when you're older, so relax and quit worrying about it. And don't be such a push-over, talk to Natalie, find out why after 4 years of being one of your closest friends she turned around and told you to fuck off as opposed to being hurt and doing just that. If you don't you'll always wonder, but if she was just being a bitch, well fuck her, you'll make some great new friends, a least one of them you'll still be in touch with 10 years later.

Also you'll find that people do actually like you, relax and you will find friends. You are a likable person who people do take seriously. In fact chances are a lot of your issues are that you intimidate people but then again you get on best with people who challenge you and don't back down or let you take control, so don't worry about it. On the note of people liking you - you are attractive, really you are, and you're quite a catch, so don't go out with the first person who asks you just because they do. You're not really attracted to him - you're just trying for 'normal', it's not you. In fact, be happy being single, you probably will be for some time but this will be by choice. Don't go out with the first girl who shows an interest either just because she may share some of the same habits - you can't handle the neurosis. Seriously, I mean it, leave neurotic girls alone, you'll be happier with someone who is generally as independant as you, you don't do clingy.

Finally, relax, work hard and you will manage it. You know you're smart, so live up to it, don't keep thinking the other shoe will drop and things will suddenly get harder. As long as you keep up the work, you will go all the way to PhD level and feel intellectually challenged and stimulated but definitely not overwhelmed - there is not an intellectual challenge you will reach that you can't understand and overcome with a good level of work.

Yours
Older You

P.S. The weed - don't do it. Yeah, I know you only smoked socially but it was still too much and it will fuck you up for a couple of months when you stop. You don't need it, figure out other ways to destress, it will be better in the long-run.

[SoWiBi]

That's rather sweet.

Where did you get that idea ?

In case you were talking to me: We were first encouraged to do it in my early school years; I sorta dropped it after a while but was reminded of it again when I was asked to write some letters to be handed to me years after during various stages of my year abroad when I was a teenager, and picked it up again there and then.

[JuNii]

Dear 23 year old NNLDI,

Don't join this forum called NSG, it's full of egotistical pussies, Nazi dumbfucks, leftie wankers and a Gestapo crew of self important moderators.

Yours sincerely.

present day NNLDI.

... you realize that this letter is the reason why there's 'No Names Left, Damn It"!

had you not written this letter, you would've joined sooner and had a name.

[JuNii]

Dear 12 years old Beatrice:
[snipped]

[Geniasis]

Dear 23 year old NNLDI,

Don't join this forum called NSG, it's full of egotistical pussies, Nazi dumbfucks, leftie wankers and a Gestapo crew of self important moderators.

Yours sincerely.

present day NNLDI.

... you realize that this letter is the reason why there's 'No Names Left, Damn It"!

had you not written this letter, you would've joined sooner and had a name.

Gadzooks! He's created a stable time loop!

[Aelosia]

Yeah, that one made me cry.

Funny that I didn't cry...

Dear 12 years old Beatrice:
[snipped]

[Antilon]

12 year-old Ian,

this is your older self from the future. No, I won't give you lottery tickets or help you get rich. Some things are more important than being rich. I know that extra money would've helped and made things more comfortable, but you're just gonna have to learn to live like that. You might be mad, but later you may realize this; I just hope you will appreciate what I did.

What's more important is you, Ian. You need to take better care of your skin. Regularly clip your nails, apply your medicine every day after taking a shower every day. And try to use cold showers. I know it hurts, but it's for the best and it hurts less in the long run. And if you want straight hair, dry your head after a shower and wear a hat. It looks better than that afro-like thing you wear. To be frank, it looks fucking ridiculous so get rid of it already. Also, you're fat and weak. Do 10 push-ups every night before you go to bed or morning before you go to school. The earlier you get into the habbit, the easier it becomes. And go walk to Barnes and Nobles instead of watching T.V. that you don't really care about. I know you won't start acting now, or even for a long time. I'm just giving you a heads-up, because maybe it will save you a lot more pain.

You also gotta shape up, personality-wise. Please, don't mix reality with fantasy. No, she doesn't like you and never did so get over it. That's reality. You're not a very likable person. Even I find my younger self unpleasant. My best advice is to think over the repercussions of what you're going to say and to try to make yourself out as the silent kid and don't act superior or have to much pride. You and Jeffrey have more in common than you think; hang out more together, and try not to just play his video games. The other kids in AMS aren't worth hanging around, and they will mean shit to you so don't kiss ass or try to act like them. Except for a few people, but you'll find out who they are. Maybe I'm saying this too soon; you're just a kid after all. But the sooner you shape up, the sooner you'll be more better off. You may not realize it, but you're smart. Try and actually do some work. I'm not going to tell you to stop playing games, I know how important they are, but video games aren't everything. Also, you're not as good with computers as you think you are, so try to get some classes.

I know T.J. seems like an asshole, but he's been through a lot things, so try not to hate him too much. I know you've been through a lot too, and T.J. seems to make things harder and scarier, but this is just something you've got to deal with.

Listen, I know you have these uncontrollable urges and you're going to do them anyway, so I'm going to tell you to be very cautious and don't take any chances when too many people are around. And don't steal from Gerome's mom; you'll regret it later, I promise you that. And no, don't even think about stealing from Kevin's mom.

When mom tells you there's a chance to study in the Philippines, take it. You won't regret it. Try to actually learn Tagalog. It will make the experience so much more better. And try not to be so arrogant or insensitive. Remember, play the silent type. Try not to spend all your money at once; you'll need it when you go out with the friends you make over there. And don't worry about the girls; if they like you, you'll know. So try not to make too much of ass of yourself.

And please, try to keep a record of things that happen. Your memory tends to block stuff out later, and you'll wish you written things down. I'm not asking you to keep a diary, just write some notes about what happened and stick them in a folder/container (like a shoe box).

I'm going to end this letter with mom and dad. No, it wasn't and never was your fault, so stop wondering. And no, they will not get back together. You already knew that, so stop fooling yourself. You know some parts as to why, but T.J. will tell you more if you ask. Never ask mom or dad what happened; they either won't tell or they'll lie through their teeth. I don't expect you will ever know the full, true story. Dad may seem like the martyr, but he's not. I know you love dad, but he's not a very nice guy; he's capable of some really bad things, so don't let him drag you into anything. Try not to spend too much time with him. As for mom, try to appreciate what she's doing to provide for you. I know that she's stubborn and unfair, and you may end up realizing she's not a very likable person, but she's still your mother, so give her some respect (as much as I hate to say it even now) and show her that you love her. You'll probably feel under-valued and appreciated, but she's doing the best she can.

Best regards,

Your future self

[Aglrinia]

What has become popular around where I live, my younger brothers yearbooks have a section where you can write a letter to your older self.

I really wish i had that when i was going there, we just had pictures and two pages for signatures however you spell it.

[Voltairian Prospects]

Dear Vance,

You need to learn to forgive, the grudges you hold not only hurt them but the further you go to hurt them the more of yourself you lose.

Spend more time with mom before she goes, she really needs you to be there one last time before she moves on so DON'T TAKE THE TRIP TO EUROPE!!!!!

Do not throw Cody into his car after you findout he has knocked up your girlfriend... she will be your ex soon anyway so dump her early because she is nothing but scum.

And do not bite that pale skinned chick from the art academy... she's a bleeder, and you will get in trouble.

And finally... try to hold out for a little bit... in a couple years the best thing to ever come into your life is about to make it's first appearance, life has been rough but this will make it all worth it.

sincerely,
older Vance