We asked the BuzzFeed Community to write a letter to themselves in five years. Here's what they wanted themselves to know…
You made it.
Dear 21-year-old me, I hope that you’re doing something you love and with people you love. Travel the world, learn a new language. Because why the hell not? Remember, life gets more interesting the more you say yes to things.
Dear Future Self, be a sassy bitch girl. WORK.
Dear future me, I hope that somehow your dad fixed all he did wrong. I hope you’re alive and your mom is doing well. I hope she is happy with her life, despite what she’s gone through. If she isn’t, Skype her every day just to tell her how much you love her.
Dear future littleblip, I hope that you’ve found help by now and that you’re still alive and hanging on one way or another. I hope that your list of reasons for sticking around finally outweighs your list of reasons to not, and that it stays that way. Love, present littleblip.
Dear Future Me, I hope you’ve gotten to see as much of the world as you wanted to. I hope that you did all of the things that I had to put on hold. I hope you’ve learned to control some of our demons. I hope that you’ve found yourself. I hope you’ve found love again, or at least tried to. I hope you’re happy.
Dear future me, do me a favour and go out and buy yourself the 30 dogs you always wanted, because law school was hard but you did it. You never thought you could do it, but you did it. You’ve always been loved and please never think for one second that you’re not good enough, because your 21-year-old self has always been rooting for you. I love you. xoxoxo
Dear future me, I hope you’re still fighting your eating disorder. You have to be.
Dear Future Self, I hope you’ve fully recovered from your eating disorder. I have hope that you have because I’m coming to realise that recovery may not get easier, but I’m starting to get better. Thanks for sticking to it.
Dear Fer, you’re a badass woman of colour. Don’t let anyone bring you down. Give yourself love before anyone else from now on. You won’t regret it. Stop thinking about what could have happened and make it happen. Love, Fer (2015)
– ferrr
Dear Future Me, I hope by now you are living your life out in the college of your dreams, and doing well, but more importantly I hope that you’re happy. Happy with your school life, happy with your home life, and happy (or at least comfortable) with your body. Right now, you want nothing more than to be skinny and perfect, but I hope by this point in your life (in 2020) you are finally happy with yourself, no matter what you look like. Love, past me (2015)
– nm00
Dear 2020 Carly, is One Direction still a thing? Probably not. I truly hope you got the chance to meet them. I know it’s your dream. I hope you are happy and remember if life ever gets hard, think about sophomore year and laugh because you thought it was the end of the world but it’s not. Take care of yourself! Love, 15-year-old Carly.
If you still aren’t ready for children, it’s OK.
– kaydeeh
Dear 2020 me, treat yo'self! Love, 2015 me.
Dear 2020 me, I swear you better fucking be in college or else I will time-travel in order to kick your ass. Oh, and I hope you’re happy and all the mental issues are getting better. But I swear if you aren’t in college and I can’t time travel, Mom will probably kill you.
By now you’re out of college and you’re doing something amazing like travelling or living in the wilderness with Joe your timber wolf puppy. Life is short so give it your all. Also, I really hope we’re over the fear of talking on the phone thing, but if not, that’s alright. We’ll work towards that.
Dear future me: Please be alive, help others, don’t be afraid to stand up for what you believe in, and be the legs for the legless, and be the fists for the defenceless. You and I know what I’m talking about. Stay strong, and be who you are.
Dear Future Sophie, you rock. Go out and buy yourself some chocolate cake. I love you! xoxo, you.
– mrsb2
– csd819
It may not seem like it now, but you are worth it.
Hey-hey future me, supposing that you’re still alive and breathing, I hope you graduate from your dream state university with honours. I abso-bloody-lutely, truly hope that you don’t let the world kill the child inside.
Keep being weird, spontaneous, and different. Keep looking at the stars, running out into the rain, crunching on leaves, jumping into puddles, running barefoot on grass and singing/dancing with abandon (in private or otherwise).
I hope you still see the beauty in everything. Don’t stop being enchanted by clouds and moved by the leaves. Keep re-creating the world in better and bolder ways. Keep waking up to birdsong and blowing kisses to the moon.
Be the kind of person who after a long day’s work looks up at the sky instead of the one who drags their feet. And those poems you wrote? The love letters to the future? I hope you’ll find it in the flesh.
I hope you find the guy with natural disasters under his skin, the guy who’ll crash down on you like a tidal wave (preferably in the form of a bossa-nova-singing, guitar-strumming, curly-haired, stargazing, poem-writing bestubbled dude).
Just chill and don’t rush stuff. I hope that you see how beautiful and freaking BADASS you are every time you look in the mirror. You’ll get there, don’t worry.
Future self, shoot, how many generations of Pokémon are there now? You better be catching them all. You want to be the best there ever was, don’t you? Best, past self.
– cieloxox
– Addison Pavelka via Facebook
See? You're still alive! Why did you spend all that time worrying? Stop it now, please!
– Erika Drewke via Facebook
Dear future me: I'm just wishing you congratulations, because you've probably won the world record for "most gallons of ice cream consumed in one sitting" by this point.
– Maria Vicini on Facebook
I hope you stopped letting people walk over you and you took happiness into your own hands.
– Allison Phillips via Facebook
– Robin Clark via Facebook
If with kids: You should have gone out more. If without kids: YOU SHOULD HAVE GONE OUT MORE.
– Holly Elizabeth Feast via Facebook
It's OK that you messed up, because you at least tried. It's OK that you failed, because you eventually figured it out. It's OK that you lost touch with a few people, because you've met new people. It's OK that you're still you.
– Rory Hellgren via Facebook
It's OK to estrange yourself from the people that hurt you. Also, college and grad school are tough, but you've got a face like sunshine and an ass that just won't quit.
– Ollie Vonzell Hernandez via Facebook
– Desiree Michelle Hartney via Facebook