Dear Future,
I’m afraid of you. I’m afraid of not only where our country is going. The political ties are changing, the world is tightened and the strain is bound to break.
I’m afraid of where our social connections are going, that we may soon forget what faces look like unless we are seeing them on the screen. What will happen when we forget how to converse unless we use emojis? Will we have friends if we can’t count the number as a statistic on our profiles?
I’m afraid that future generation will forget the feel of dirt and not know how to climb trees, because the video games are so life-like, why know the feel of fresh air? Are kids going to stop skidding their knees because society says it is a symptom of bad parenting? I’m afraid that we are limiting words for fear of offending, that soon we won’t be able to say anything at all. What if we try so hard to include everyone, we forget that people are individual?
I’m afraid we will live off factory-made chemicals, and forget how to pick apples from an orchard. The taste of fresh foods will become too expensive the only options would be from an assembly line.
My stomach drops at the thought of how quickly people are becoming angry. Will this continue future? Do you hold more and more animosity? Will people think about themselves first and forget that what they do affects those around them. Will marriage become a swear word, because it means commitment? Future, will love that grows become extinct, being pushed out by instant lust?
Future, I’m afraid of you. I’m afraid to graduate and leave the comfort of knowing how every day will play out. I’m afraid that when I walk on that stage, I have to have my life planned out. But what do you hold? Will I pursue my dreams? Or will I settle for what I know is easy and stable? Will I go outside my comfort zone and depend on faith everyday? Or will I know what is practical and reasonable. Will I find a job that is a passion, or something just to pay the bills? Will I know how to be financially savvy? Or will I buy on impulse because it’s what I think I want? Will I always have questions, or will there be a day where I have everything figured out. What if I find someone to love? What if I don’t? Future, what if the worst thing happens and I find someone to love, but my heart is broken?
Future, I am afraid of you. I do not know you, and you give me no comfort only more questions. Is there any answer to political changes, is there an answer to how generations will turn out? Future, will you let me know if I find another dream? Future, what I’m afraid of most is that you tell me how it turns out, and everything I would hate to happen becomes reality. Future, I am afraid of you.
Sincerely,
A concerned college student