Dear Tracy,
I'm writing to you now because I wish I could have read this letter when I was in Jr. High. Why? I worried about a lot of stuff that I shouldn't have. I think that if I would have known what would come in my life, I would have worried less about things that were out of my control and been more excited about the possibilities that were ahead of me.
First I should rip the bandaid off and tell you that on your 32nd birthday, you will still be single. I know that sounds like the worst news ever because the only thing you see in your future is completing school and then getting married and having kids. I don't blame you for thinking this way. This is all you know right now. It is hard to think outside the box when you don't know of all the possibilities that are out there.
Right now you look at yourself as an ugly duckling. I assure you that you will eventually get braces and learn how to dress, lose some weight and turn into a beautiful woman. You aren't married because guys are not interested. You date a lot. You will even get engaged when you are 25 (the time you predicted you would be married by) but it won't work out. It will be one of the hardest things you go through, but it will be for the best. You will come out on top. From that devastating experience you will realize what a good healthy relationship is, you will become more confident and learn so much and know what you want out of a relationship. You will learn and grow with each relationship you have... although there will be a lot of frustration and sadness with all of your dating too (you are even thinking about writing a book about it). Just know it's all for the best and you are not single because there is anything wrong with you.
Now that I have gotten the bad news out of the way, let's get to the good news. If you are not married by 32 and don't have kids... what are you doing with your life? What do you have to look forward to? Life will have it's up's and downs like it does for everyone. You are really happy and know how to make the most out of what life has to offer. That hasn't changed about you. You just have more money and resource's as you get older. :) You currently and will continue to be blessed with great friends. They come and go out of your life... some are lifetime friends, but no matter what happens, you always make new good friends. Thank goodness... or else being single for so long would be a lot harder! You learn to be very independent as you move away from home. After college you go through several jobs before you end up at a great one that pays you well and that you are good at. It provides you security and good benefits. You are a very goal oriented person, so you learn and accomplish things that you didn't think you could. You will learn how to play the guitar, run a half marathon and a sprint triathlon (you were never very athletic, so this probably comes as a surprise to you... don't worry, both were hard). You will graduate from school, go to a tech school to become a Massage therapist and pass the state board exams. You will sing at Disneyland every Christmas for 15 years. You will lose 50 pounds (no easy task, you always struggle with weight). Not quite sure where this comes from, but you become quite the fashionista (as your nieces call you), an interior designer and a party planner.
You also become an adventurer. This also may come as a surprise to you because you didn't grow up this way... in fact you were afraid of so much for so long. However, you and Lori will backpack Costa Rica for two month together in college and it will change you. Now you thrive on adventures. To give you an idea of the things you have to look forward to that you will do by your 32nd birthday. You will have traveled to 21/50 states and to 5/7 continents. You will have seen 3/7 wonders of the world (Taj Mahal, Colosseum & Machu Picchu). You will experience a lot of things that most people don't experience in a lifetime. You will have seen the Mayan Ruins in Guatemala, the Inca Ruins in Peru, the Roman ruins in Italy & Greece and the Buddhist ruins in Cambodia. You will face your fears and get scuba certified and dive around the world. You will shop at a Bazarr in India, get blessed by a Monk in Thailand, take a cooking class in Italy, go on an African Safari, go fishing in the Amazon, fly in a tiny airplane, go parasailing, rappel down a waterfall, kayak through sea caves in the Channel Islands, sleep in a cell at Alcatraz, see the war sites in Vietnam, hike down the Grand Canyon, walk across the Golden Gate Bridge, Swim with dolphins and sea turtles and sting rays, look a Great White shark in the face in a Shark Cage dive in South Africa, snuggle with a tiger, ride an elephant bareback through the jungle, play with monkey's, camp and hike at many National parks and snow shoe to yurts. This is just to name a few. You will do A LOT of amazing things!
So you see, you may not have the future that you thought you would. Not that you wouldn't love to be married and have kids, but you have so much to look forward to. So don't stress about not being married by a certain age. Enjoy all the adventures you have in front of you. Your life turns out awesome.
Aren't you super excited now? You're welcome. Happy Birthday.
Love,
Tracy
2 comments:
This made me cry and also feel very proud of all you have accomplished. Love you
Dan actually told me about this. He read it and told me it was really sweet. I wasn't disappointed, It actually made me cry! Don't we all wish we could write letters to our past selves? You really are awesome.
PS This could go in that book you want to write. Please let me help you write that book.
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