A Letter to Myself

We've all thought about "if I could tell my 15 year old self I would say...." But something that I love even more, is thought of my 15 year old self writing to my older self. This seems much more proactive to me. Dwelling on the past changes nothing, but a reminder of who you were while you're becoming who you are, that has power.
As a freshman in high school, we were required to write a letter from our 14 year old selves to our 18 year old selves that we would get the week of graduation 4 years later. I remember opening mine and seeing how much had changed and how much I had grown as a person. But I was also reminded how much I was still me. I still had the same humor, still told the same jokes, and still loved the same songs.
The summer after my senior year of high school, I found a website that did something similar called futureme.org You could write an email to yourself and enter a date of delivery, and it would get emailed to you on that day. So, on my 18th birthday, I wrote an email for myself to receive on my 21st birthday. I had completely forgot until I got the email to my phone, while I was working on what felt like another insignificant day. The letter was short, but it hit me like a brick. It read:

well. you turn 21 today. that's pretty freakin awesome.
that is 3 years from now. and yes I did indeed just count that out on my fingers.
anyways... I just wanted to make sure you're happy. I've been concerned lately that I'm doomed to be alone forever. I know I'm only 17 (almost 18) and I shouldn't be concerned with my love life, but in any case I've been bummed about being single. well, I hope you've met a nice boy because frankly, you deserve only the best.
you are a strong, independent, beautiful woman. you have friends surrounding you that love you. you're gonna graduate from college and get a job and have an amazing life. I just want you to know that I'm proud to be me. I'm proud of all we've accomplished in our life, and all that'll come to us in the future.
in any case, it is you're 21st birthday. you know what that means. just make sure you can remember it when you're 21 and a day.

I've read this letter multiple times over. I remember where I was at on this day, and I wish I could reach through and just give myself a hug. I think she needed it. But I was right. I am strong, independent, and beautiful. I have friends who mean the world to me. And damn straight, I deserve nothing but the absolute best. Although I am still single, and may not know what I'm doing in my post-grad life, I don't think I could ever let myself down.
I love the idea of letters. Whether they're to yourself, to a friend, or a significant other, nothing beats them. We live in a world where things happen so quickly. I can send a text or a tweet and it can go anywhere in the world within seconds. But letters take time. Letters give you time to think about what you're going to say, and to be able to say how you want to because you aren't limited to 140 characters.

Have you ever written a letter to yourself? Do you still live in the 20th century and write letters? Share your stories!