Join the Zed News YYC Young Journalists as they speak to their future selves about their lives now and what they hope for in the future. Dear Future Me Transcripts Kristina
Dear Future Me, During this pandemic, even though I was isolated from all of my friends, I feel like I was able to get much closer to others than I ever have before. Isolation means that I can’t meet my closest friends in person, but it doesn’t mean that I’m completely disconnected from the outside world – in fact, I feel as though this entire experience has worked towards making me closer to both friends I’ve already known and friends that I’ve come to know. Being here has brought me to people that I would never have connected to if I wasn’t alone in my home. Now, I am talking to and interacting with people that share the same interests as me and don’t discriminate or poke fun at me for liking what I like. These are people that feel the same way as I do, and talk with me as though we are close-knit even though we have only known each other for a few days. As for my current friends that I’ve known since before quarantine, I feel closer to them due to the fact that we talk on a more frequent basis through apps such as discord and whatsapp which serve to connect people during these times of disconnect. Even though I cannot see them, I can still hear them and talk to them as if we were there in person. Something that these experiences have taught me about myself is that I am a person that craves affection and attention from others, as much as I like to say that I don’t need it. Talking with my newly-made friends gave me the experience of being noticed and paid attention to by others and talking with my old friends showed me that I want to be noticed by them even though I don’t talk much and back off when I’m talked over. To the Future Me that may hear this, remember that it is alright to act like who you are instead of just backing away due to fear. You want to be paid attention to, and that’s fine. It isn’t as selfish as you think and it’s ok to embrace that. Heather Dear future me… I’m writing to tell you all the things I learned about myself. By then the pandemic would surely be gone so I want you to listen carefully so you don’t make the same mistakes I did. First off, I want you to acknowledge to yourself that you are strong and confident in whatever you are doing. I know before the pandemic I always thought of myself as weak and unconfident in everything. I second-guessed my every move and I was often afraid to try something new and learned to regret it. So future me, I want you to walk confidently and stand proud of who you are. If you don't, opportunities that I regretted not taking will come back and haunt you for the rest of your life, because future me I’ve been there too. I want you to look back and tell yourself how much you have grown and be proud of who you are no matter what. Be thankful for all the little mistakes, lessons, and your mini freakouts that made you who you are. Future me, think of all the disappointments and the hate you received and live a life with confidence and find out who you truly are. Believe in your friends with whom you became closer because of the pandemic in order to truly embrace who you are in the world. You are not alone and you don’t need to carry the burden alone. Priya Dear Priya, I suppose you’ll be almost 24 by the time you listen to this again and I have gotta tell you 16’s been a wild ride. This has been what each month of 2020 brought: January - Australian Wild Fires February - Iraq and USA debacle March - Quarantine April - Still quarantined and UFO’s May - Black Lives Matter protests across the states and guess what still quarantined June - Currently unknown Not all of those are bad, but it is adding up to one eventful year. I’ve been in quarantine for 78 days now, but at least I got a change in scenery today. We traveled to Lake Country, B.C. and I arrived only an hour ago. It’s so nice to get out of the city and away from the house. Everything goes slower here and I find there is no rush for air. During the pandemic I’ve been thinking a lot more about what I want and need in my life, and realized that I need to dedicate time specifically to me. This includes time for yoga, writing, journaling, painting, or baking, whatever as long as it is spur of the moment and makes me happy. Self love is so important and although I knew I had it before the pandemic, I wasn’t actually listening to it. I’ve started saying no to more and becoming more passionate about the things I say yes to. I really hope that by 24 you’ve seen a little more of the world and live boldly. Don’t ever stop making yourself a priority, it’s not selfish. I learned something interesting on the drive today, pecan trees only produce fruit every few years and it is only when they have a surplus of sugars. I like to think of this like self love, people always say “you can’t pour from an empty cup,” but perhaps we should be pouring out love to others when we ourselves are so full of it we are in sense overflowing. I hope you are still making waves, and practicing the art of giving and getting love. All my love, Priya
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