I was FaceTiming my friends from high school a couple of days ago, and we were reminiscing about our time in high school. We talked about how we’ve changed, about the friends we once had and about how we’ve grown. I graduated high school three years ago.
In high school I wished something would tell me that I am on the right path and that I was not just floundering. I thought about all the letters we would write in high school to our future self, but why do we never write a letter to our past selves that made us who we are today? So I decided to write a love letter to my high school self, acknowledging everything that she went through, but also thanking her for all the choices that she made to get me to where I am in my life today.
Dear high school Amreen,
I wanted to start off by letting you know you are doing great.
I know life was not the easiest. I know that there were rough patches and you had doubts about what you wanted in life and about yourself. I wish I could go back to you and wipe all the tears off your cheeks. I want to tell you that you ended up right where you should be.
You have turned into the person you’ve always wanted to be. You are confident and have a great sense of self, a little bit of an inflated sense of self but you are aware of it, so it is okay. You have a great friend group. You did lose a couple of friends here and there, but the ones that stayed have taught you the true meaning of friendship and have become your second family. You are still super close to your family; in fact, your brother is one of your best friends now. You are working towards your dream of being a lawyer and are in a great and loving relationship.
Most importantly, you are still the bubbly, happy and intelligent girl you have always been, just with a better fashion sense.
The reason for all of this is you.
So, thank you for all the times you got back up when you were pushed down. Thank you for learning that you are beautiful and learning to love yourself fully. Thank you for choosing positivity and choosing to live everyday in the sun. Thank you for making me someone that people come to, someone that people love and care about.
You built the framework that has allowed me to become the person I am today. I owe everything in my life to you. The constant growth that you went through has taught me how to live my life constantly pushing myself because that will be what ultimately leads me to my goals.
There’s going to be some bumps in the road before you get to me, I will not lie. But know that you will always be surrounded by so much love and support. It is all those relationships that will help you on your way to me.
Love,
Your future self
After writing this letter I thought about how I was so hard on myself in high school to be everything to everyone, the best at everything. Through writing this letter I have learned that to this day I am still hard on myself for similar things. However, I didn’t even know I was doing it. It has become something almost habitual. I finally have recognized that while so much has changed, there are some things that I need to still work on.
Writing this letter not only allowed me to reflect on my high school self but it was also a way for me to cleanse myself in a cathartic way. By looking at my life from a different perspective, “my future perspective.” I learned more about myself. I believe that is so powerful. This is something so simple yet so impactful, and you should definitely write one too. To get started, you just have to ask, “Dear High School Me.”