[Letters to Future Selves]

Dear future me,

Thank you for reading this letter. I'm not even sure how to start it, but, please, read it when you can. It's really important. It means a lot of me. It might sound stupid, but, please, don't throw it away. Don't just leave it hanging. I beg you, read it.

I know, my insistance is annoying, so I'll move straight to the point. By the time you open the letter, you'll be a different person. More mature, with better awareness of how true love matters, less insecure.

You'll have your fair share of experiences with the people that care about you the most: Mom, Bella, Beth, Alex. You'll leave toxicity and negativity behind. You'll cut whomever made your life miserable off of your life. You'll be happy and free.

Happiness can't be bought. It doesn't feed at the expense of someone else. It matters when it's nurtured and cherished in the healthiest way possible. It usually comes natural, but, when you're in dire need of it, you can look for it in a sight, in a person, in a picture. As long as you can find it, there it is.

Remember: hard times have passed; they might come again, but you're not alone. With your true friends and the man you've always loved by your side, no challenge will be impossible to you.

Don't let yourself be defined by your past, build yourself a better future.

Yours sincerely,
Jenny

***

Dear future me,

I know, I'm not the kind of person to write a letter to express my feelings or vent my thoughts, but, one day, I sat at a bar in front of my favorite drink and thought: why not?

I'll try not to make it sappy, but at the same time I won't use it as a way to let out my past frustrations on paper. I'll just let those fade away like thin air. I'm writing about passion, about desire, about courage and determination. And, yes, about love, too. Life can't be complete without love.

I've been a mess altogether. At work, at home, with men. Oh, God, I still remember how I used to jump back and forth between Dale and Hunter. They both attracted me for good reasons. I attracted both. To one of them, I was just someone to hook up with every once in a while.

But, to the other... Things are so different with him. Even when we both played hard to get with each other, we felt like two pieces of a puzzle perfectly fitting together. Every time we hung up, between one drink and another, I felt like he was the one. Yet, here came that other guy to distract me, making me feel like I'd hit rewind every single time.

I've never been good at making decisions. To date, it still pains me. But, in that case, I had to choose. I had to put both my head and my heart in my choice, because there was no turning back. Now that I think of it, I'm glad to have picked Dale. I should've understood he's the one from the get go.

Hunter... At first I found him attractive, now he's just an afterthought. And it's better this way.

I hope not to have bothered you too much. Even so, I'm not even sorry for that. Okay, I'm only kidding. Please don't hate me for that.

Anyway, I hope you read this letter. I've put all my heart and soul in it.

Thank you.

Yours, Bella

***

Dear future me,

I don't know what more troubles await me. For now, I'll try to focus on positive things as much as I can. It may sound stupid, but it's good for me. This way, I can channel my creativity into something that really matters to me instead of wasting time and energy in anything that's not worth it.

I'm glad to have finally realized there's so much more about myself than just being the 'third wheel' and the one who's left behind. I'm also glad to have discovered true and sincere love, with no ulterior motives.

At first, I used to think of Jack just as someone who could relate to me. We were both seen as total dorks, unable to maintain stable relationships. I'm happy to say we surprised ourselves. I've never thought we could work as a couple.

Love is an open book. You can hide as many secrets as you want, even the darkest one, but you can't disguise love, you can't pass it off as something else. You can try, but true feelings will always come to light.

I don't have much more to say, honestly, so it's goodbye for now. I'm sure you'll read this letter and cherish it as one of your fondest memories.

Good luck for everything that will come soon.

Best wishes,
Beth

***

So, I guess I want to leave a small note, too, just in case my future me finds it and reads it.

Women are unpredictable. You can't take them for granted. You can't expect to just waltz in and have them cave to every single whim of yours. You have to put actual effort in conquering them.

And, yeah, I admit I did make a lot of mistakes in approaching them. With Jenny, I didn't even try. She was into Alex. I was into Bella. We had different goals. She was driven by aspirations, I was driven by business. More correctly said, by money.

With Bella... We had fun when we hung out. We rejoiced at her collection of unusual drinks, had a good time in bed... But there was something off, as if Bella wasn't as driven to me as I was to her. My biggest mistake with her is not listening to her heart, not understanding the signs that she was into someone else.

That was what led to my demise, along with putting everything else above love. A relationship is healthy and works if there's love; unfortunately, I learnt that the hard way.

It's time for me to go, to clear my mind and reflect on my past mistakes. I'll fix them and try my best to become a better person—and, possibly, a good boyfriend.

You'll hear from me soon, I promise.

Goodbye.

Hunter

***

I'll leave a small note, too. I've always imagined to meet my future me one day. Since this isn't really possible, unless I have a time machine, I'll make do with this.

I can't believe it, even after all this time. Jenny and I are living our love openly, with no restrictions, no need to check on every single move to make sure none of her relatives catch her, no-one who tells us we're not supposed to be together.

Love is stronger than any obstacle life has in mind for each of us. This is true, especially in my case. I'm glad to have always fought for the woman who made my life brighter and better. I'm happy we're both on one another's side.

I'll never stop thinking of how our fight was worth it. I'll never thank Jenny enough for giving me a new life perspective. And, most importantly, I'm grateful to her for making me come clean about my passion: writing.

If it weren't for her, I wouldn't be on my way to make my favorite hobby my main source of income.

Thank you, Jenny, for always being by my side.

And, thank you, future me, for reading this letter.

Yours sincerely,
Adam (or, should I say Alex?)