A letter from February 28th, 2014

Peaceful right?

Dear FutureMe, You're 26 today, congratulations. I am not doin to hot right now but all I can think about is you. The hardship I endure today is for you. The day when I finally know what my calling is and act upon it. I hope you are still working with children, I hope Jeremy is happy, and I bet Julianna is the prettiest 14 year old on the face of the planet. And I bet you have a really hot guy in your life and if you just groaned at that sentence our prince is probably lost somewhere, but he'll find us. But there are two things that I want done by the time I'm your age and if you got sidetracked by reality, just do these for me: 1: Deliver The Letter. I know the date inside says 2013 but it needs to get to it's owner. I don't care where he is right now. 2: Please tell me you traveled. Now I know you so well that I am betting that if I didn't do it you winced and then was filled with regret and then you will try to rationalize not going with something like "But you don't understand little Jenna, I have bills (and probably college loans to pay off)!" Yea, that's not flying. Just do it. Go to Scotland. See a castle. Check out them fairy pools on the Isle of Skye. Geek out at the Sherlock Holmes museum. Recite Sonnet 116 at the Globe Theater. Geek out again at the Doctor Who museum. Do it for me and all the hard days I'm spending dreaming of the day I don't live at home anymore. Or maybe I never figured out what I want to do with my life. Maybe God has thrown a boomerang at my life and I haven't recovered (very likely). Maybe I'm living in the basement. Maybe I have no money. Maybe the entire world has been taken over by cyborg robot squirrels. Maybe I'm dead. Maybe I died in the service of my country defeating the last infantry of the cyborg robot squirrels on the lawn of the White House dying heroically by sacrificing myself to take out the last evil squirrel with their blinking evil red cyborg eyes knowing that without taking out that last squirrel that that one squirrel would immediately make 12,000 more of the demons and that it was my sacrifice alone that brought them down. Maybe the nation erects a monument in my name for my epic sacrifice. Maybe I sell that idea to Disney and Cyborg Robot Squirrels becomes the blockbuster film in 2020 that teaches not just honor and bravery, but also the power of friendship. Or maybe not...But hopefully I'll still like quotes... I hope you live a life you're proud of. If you find you're not, I hope you have the strength to start all over again. -F. Scott Fitzgerald

Epilogue

almost 2 years later

Dear Past Me,

God, I wish I could talk to you and actually deliver this message. You were going through so much and felt so alone. I wish I could...

Of uoy owh am you i pdruo ellt. Reew ynam yuo eafc in the btu coblaetss yaw ni oyru oyru ngeib so fiel, so fo unofd you gornts. Heiwl koot ti a. .
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It ym olglece ,otn ybssloip adem etg nnccaiutog or yda cwihh ym baeclhors yuo ckba evlbeie srmesta' twih dwoul yutds nda slnap nda we go in egtudraa uhgal! tcaoessia owt one ouy wthi rdegees have to. Ni i'm odof ihrtg nwo, d,eifl lilaebng erietndff a epmtellcoy. Ecelar tseho ti saw ta dilw a taingsr the ffo but tge hee,r yjouner cbak dseo xeobs fo lla onisrmng ayp to. I wkro hiwt tbu eanorym ndrelhci nd'to i'm thta infe tlefindeyi s'ti wthi.
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Pyaph is emjyre. Athn reve prehpai. Lsoa ilafynl grutedaad y!sear 01 rftea he eyar ihst.
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Won j dyas a sgoe lnajaniu yb. Yhtr'ee ggfoinr tneeladt eyilsnan ebutuflia era thpa nwo tonycnlats ierth adn dan.
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Nad in !salaak si ndigo eruylntrc esmo hsgitn si decnelirbi ojy.
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He hvae ghnyerievt dna we rvee si uoy cdolu ephod od inrpce fro nidf a. All evsonl ni rew'e ew eovl dare ntha trtbee si't and eht. Nerev otu to emho rfeebo uyo sefel and 'veyou ilek elpac a up edn hatt niovgm tub od nebe ivmgno. Ebst evre i eadm 'ist itkhn 'wvee sconieid teh.
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For ot em hte yuo nfhi:is ieussbsn aetwnd.
Riveedlde teh ew 1: steltre. Oen rveey tsla. Ni spnore.
Oyu adn ot to i wnadte 1028 i ryhnveegit idd nonold me ddi rtleva ni 2:. ,umsuem olt woh eht rotdco acle,ts ohelw. Evah i anspl talgeivrn and meos hatt roem oetrsh lwel hepo rfo trip aoscntdl to as od aket as i. .
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Ntnhkigi no for ettram orfsuyel yuo hts,i yuo inoortp teh weer usre thaw ygbroc boort usierlrq awth tub eewr awylsa not fo. In d""x hpesa neev yrukqi oryu. I ncat' whhci altfu leyral orf ouy. Os vahe wsa imidagne lword dclou dfitefern a apdmniec rmeo nath idd eettlr uyo ieldver htsi ndlieyefti the ni. .
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,vole.
Nenaj.