A Letter to my Future Self
In 1994 I wrote a letter. I stuck it in an envelope, put it away and completely forgot about it.
It wasn’t until we moved into our new home in 2006 that I found it again. It was addressed to me with explicit instructions not to open until my birthday 2005. It was now 2006 so I decided to open it. This is what it said:
Dear Sherri
By the time you read this you will be 30. At the age of 18 I had so many hopes and dreams about where you’d be, what you’d be doing and with whom you’d spend your life with.
Right now I hope that you have traveled and seen everything you’ve always wanted to, both in Canada and overseas, and maybe even settled down somewhere in Australia doing some research in the field of biology (genetics).
I hope you’re married to the man of your dreams. The man of mine is Gwynn. He is originally from South Africa (another place I wish to visit).
You’ll probably have two children of your own – a girl(Michaela Anne) and a boy (name yet to be decided).
If everything goes according to plan you’ll be living in Australia in a big house in a small town outside of a big city with a lot of land, a dog, Gwynn and your two beautiful children. Hopefully you have a career in the medical field, maybe doing research in genetics. Gwynn will be a computer programmer and you will be doing alright for yourselves.
However, if things don’t go according to plan for you, I wish you all the love, happiness and joy in the world and don’t settle for anything less than the best since that is absolutely what you deserve.
Live long, be happy and live life to it’s fullest.
Love Sherri “18″
When I read this for the first time since writing it I was floored. Even now having dug this up again another 4 years later I still can’t help but think this is really cool.
So much of what I wanted for myself has materialized.
- I did travel to a few more places in Canada although I haven’t seen everything I’d like to.
- I did marry the man of my dreams and yes he still is my one and only.
- I’ve traveled to the UK, South Africa, Australia and New Zealand.
- I lived in Australia for nearly 4 years in a big house, in a small suburb, in a major city (close enough).
- I had a career in Biology in the field of genetics for 10 years.
- I have two lovely kids – both boys (names now decided).
- I have not one dog but two dogs. Both yellow labs from Australia.
- Gwynn is a computer programmer.
- We are doing okay for ourselves.
After writing this I quickly forgot about what I had put in here actually. The things that materialized were all met with quite a bit of resistance (all internal) but I suppose these were things that I really did want. Having never strayed too far from home overseas travel was a huge deal. Having never been away from my family moving to Australia for several years was an incredibly huge decision.
I find it fascinating how the dreams of a young and naive little girl can become a grown woman’s reality.
I’m curious if you guys have ever written anything to your future self and how it stacks up to your current reality. If you haven’t, will you join me in writing a letter now to yourself in say 10 years from now? It’s an interesting little experiment.
See also:
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28 Responses to “A Letter to my Future Self”
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Your Life | Live it. Love it. is a book designed to encourage you to examine where you are right now and inspire you to get to where you ultimately want to be.
This is awesome Sherri. I actually write these types of letters (I call it the Mind Control Method) regularly. They do an absolutely amazing job at getting you to focus on what you want and making it happen.
Thanks for sharing!
Karol
Karol Gajda´s last blog ..Finding Your Right People
Thanks Karol! I’m glad to hear someone else does it too and that it WORKS! It’s really quite amazing.
What a lovely letter to yourself!
I did something similar once; when I turned 13 I made a little time capsule and wrote a letter to myself to open at age 18. It was really interesting to see where my hopes and dreams led during my teen years.
I’d love to do one again!
I’m staring down 30 (turning 29 this year) and feeling a little awkward about it. Maybe writing a letter to myself at nearly 40 will start a little spark there.
Caitlin´s last blog ..Reader Challenge: Three Bags
Hey Sherri,
That’s a beautiful letter! Thanks so much for sharing it =)
I do write notes like that to myself quite frequently, but not to open many years later – often a couple years or months later. I write in my journal and flip through it every so often looking for a “Hey Sid!” or “Dear Sid,”
Very often the letters have unique tones. Sometimes hopeful, sometimes sad, sometimes nostalgic – every one is different. The one consistent thing though, is very often I’ll have written in some goals and dreams, and often (but not always) I will find that those things don’t change much. The exact path to how I get there is always changing – but the big things I want in life – time with friends, family, travel – those always seem to get done, whether I follow what I put in my journal or not =)
Sid Savara´s last blog ..Conversation Hacking – How To Make Small Talk Work For You
from another Sherri. How NEAT! And very interesting the insight of your 18 yo self.
Sherri S´s last blog ..Simplify
Hi Sherri, it’s just awesome idea!I used to write my diary and letters to my cousins but never had written to MYSELF! Your letter shows that you were very clear and firm towards your short and long term life and career goals.
I loved your idea and I should do it myself as my birthday is coming by next month.
Thanks for sharing your awesome idea with us.
Sonia´s last blog ..Dark Chocolate Almond Brownies
I wrote a letter to myself when I was fourteen. I detailed where I wanted to go to university, that I wanted to become a teacher, marry a kind and good man, have a loving family, and be a loving friend and daughter. I also wanted to travel and write.
As I look back, I realize that everything everything I imagined in the letter has happened. I have a master’s degree in education, taught school, have four wonderful children and a great husband. I’ve seen some of the world and hope to travel to Australia within a year. Although I took a lot of hard work (and I was prepared to deal with life if a wonderful man didn’t arrive), everything I hoped for happened. Along with the blessings can unexpected challenges as well, but life is difficult. I’ve discovered that amid the sorrows of living, we can find peace.
Carol´s last blog ..How to Find Peace
How cool is that!! I might try writing my future self a letter–seems like it would interesting.
spiritsoflena´s last blog ..Poem: Falling Asleep at Dawn
Kia Ora from New Zealand
I have a lot of my diaries, so they are always fun to look over. The high school ones make me cringe, because all it seems to talk about is boys (didn’t I have a life?!?!).
Wow, to think that you found your soul mate at 18, that’s amazing! I think there is nothing better than being with your best friend to share this journey with.
Ka kite (bye!)
Meeks´s last blog ..My 5 links for the week
I’ll be 70 in 10 years. I think I’ll pass on the letter writing.
If I haven’t done what I want to by then, well…
If I have done what I am striving for, well then I will do it until I’m 80 or longer. My father lived to be almost 95 and my mother is still alive at almost 93.
I used to work with a really nice lady from the Philippines. One day she brought me a little gift. It was a small figure. She said she had looked for the figure representing wealth, but the store was out. (She and I were always talking about money.) What she brought me was longevity! I told her, “Thanks! Now I can be poor forever!” LOL!
Seriously, I am actually working on some goals I wanted to accomplish this year. I have actually completed some. Shhhh! I’d better not say it too loudly. God might smack me down again… Shhhh!
I love the photo of your beautiful family!
Hello Sherri,
Thanks for sharing your feelings. I really enjoyed reading it.
It is overwhelming when dreams change to reality.
Bye for now,
Cheryl Paris
Cheryl Paris´s last blog ..Saturday 9: Gimme Three Steps Girl
Wow thank you everyone for your kind words and sharing your own experiences.
@Mary – it’s never too late to write a letter to yourself. Do it!
Even if it’s about how you want to feel or what you want to accomplish or where you want to be it’s pretty neat to look back. Remember dream big and put it out there! I’m so happy that you’re working towards your goals. It’s the only way to get there.
@Meeks – Kia Ora!
Soul mate indeed. It’ll be 13 years married this year and 18 years that we’ve been together. I’ve come to realize that it’s pretty rare and we’re pretty “lucky” 
@Carol – That’s awesome! I’m glad to hear everything you wanted for yourself came true as well – including the wonderful man
@Sid – I love the idea of shorter term letter writing as well. I think I’ll give it a go. I’ll write myself a note with all the things I hope to accomplish by the end of the year and then I’ll see how close I come that! Thank you.
@Caitlin – A time capsule love it! That’s totally something I want to do with my kids. I think in the next 5 years we’ll definitely put something like this together.
What a great idea to write a letter to yourself. I wrote two letters to my future husband, before I knew who he was. I had met my husband and we were friends but I was not sure he was the one. I want to explain my feelings for my “friend” and assure my future husband that we were being honorable, pure and that I was guarding my heart. I was going to give them on our wedding day but they got packed somehow. I wrote it in 2002 and found it this last move in Jan this year. I gave them to him almost seven years into our marriage. It was amazing to see how my letters confirmed a lot too. Great post
Keilah´s last blog ..Miss Victoria’s Scarf
Oh, I love this! What a beautiful and delightful thing. You’ve accomplished much, made many dreams come true. I love that you didn’t say you wanted to be right, just to do alright for yourselves. It keeps things in perspective.
I’m going to try this – writing a letter to myself in 10 years – but it’s going to take a bit of thinking and reflecting. Not an easy task, but thank you for challenging me!
Eva @ Eva Evolving´s last blog ..More thoughts on “Do your job” (Part 1)
hey sher! i’ve done things like this my whole life – i’m a closet writer, doodler, master list maker and bucket list updater. ;o)~ it’s amazing to see how the things we really desire come to us only when we are ready for them; not right when we think we want them and not right when we think we deserve them. and it’s also amazing to see how the things that we really DIDN’T desire so much but that we now know were darn good for us, our heart and our souls, came into our lives. a cosmic joke? never. just an angel watching out for us knowing what’s best. and those angels are usually bang on!
)
enjoy the sun today cuz!
teres
It is always nice to read notes/letter from your past to see how much we have changed, accomplished or found things we were looking for; I am glad you got to do most of things on your letter.
Zengirl´s last blog ..Story of stuff : Must read and Must watch : Free
Sherri – Absolutely amazing! Thanks for sharing….
Corinne
Corinne Rodrigues´s last blog ..Wednesday Words of Wisdom – 17/03/2010
Sherri,
How amazing, I absolutely love this.
I think this demonstrates how important it is to focus on your life goals — think positive, and good things will happen — I don’t mean like the “Secret” or anything, but it shows the benefits of having a positive focus in life.
You’ve inspired me to do something similar.
Melanie Thomassian | Dietriffic´s last blog ..Tips and Ideas For a Soft Food Diet
Sherri,
What a terrific idea! The only thing I’ve done close to this was to make a list of things (relatively small) that I was afraid to try, but wanted to do. One of them was starting a blog and there were a few other things. I forgot about the list, but found it a year later. At that time, I had done everything on the list. It was amazing.
I like your idea so much, I’m thinking I’ll write an actual letter to myself to open maybe five years from now (I’m 38). Thanks so much for sharing this.
Wow thank you everyone. I’m glad you all liked this so much. I thought I was a bit of a nerd for having done it and felt a little self conscious for writing about it. But I’m glad you all enjoyed it and that some of you will be writing a note to your future self as well. It really is neat.
Wow, really neat Sherri! I never have written to my future self and never even thought about it but, now you have me thinking. Congrats on living many of your hopes and dreams and I’m sure you have a whole new set of dreams for your future self. That young naive 18 year old Sherri was (and is) one smart cookie
Kristen: last blog ..creative every day: stories
This post brings tears to my eyes, Sherri! It’s so lovely and true–amazing what intention and positive ambition will do in a life. Make sure you sit down & write that letter about Oprah interviewing you!!
Jamie
steadymom: last blog ..5 Adoption Myths You Shouldn’t Believe
This post was amazing to me to discover today. Because just last night I wrote my obituary.
I know. It sounds a little morbid. But I wanted to write out the experience of my life as it would be told far, far in the future (hopefully 50 years or more). It was an amazing experience, and I am still bowled over by it.
I loved that so much of what your (very wise) 18-year-old self intended has come true for you. This kind of thing still surprises me, even though I am seeing it more in my life and the lives of my friends … and am also hearing it from people like you.
Two years ago, I wrote a wish list for myself of the home I would like my then-fiance and I to find (where we were living was less than desirable). Somehow this wish list got misplaced, but last spring — after we’d closed on a new and lovely place — I found the list in our moving boxes. Everything on that list was true for our new home!
Intentionality is amazing; there’s just no two ways around it. So very happy for you and where your life has led you.
Chania Girl: last blog ..PJs, Obituaries, and Barbaric Yawps
Hi Sherri,
thanks for this lovely post!
I have never written a letter to myself but I did have certain dreams in life that I was going to reach.
Ever since I was a kid I wanted to have a twin-sister: I ended up having twins
I wanted to travel and to live in a different country: I live in the US now but I am originally from Ukraine.
I wanted to do what I like in life: I am living this dream right now, working from home and doing meaningful in my opinion things.
I had a certain idea about how much I want to earn to live a comfortable life: I got to that number already.
I wanted to live on the beach: we have just moved to South Carolina and our house is 10 minutes from the beach.
I wanted to marry my soul-mate: my husband is my best friend and the most perfect person for me.
I think it is very important to know what you want in life and set realistic goals. This is something I want to teach my girls when they get older and I hope that they will be able to live the life of their dreams like I am living mine.
Thanks again for this post and for giving me the opportunity to reflect on my life and to remember all the wonderful things to be grateful for.
Anastasiya: last blog ..How to Find Your Pace in Life and Reach Your Goals
Wow, a 10-year letter to yourself . . . pretty cool idea. I just put it on my calendar . . . let’s see if I actually do it.
When I was 18 I wanted to go live in Africa, work as a medical technician in a hospital, be a missionary, and drive a Porsche. I also knew I wanted 3 children, and as I knew I couldn’t pick out their genders ahead of time I picked 3 girl first and middle names and 3 boy first and middle names. Except for having 3 children, none of these things have come to past. (I didn’t even use any of the names I had picked out.) But it’s OK. I used to tell this story to my pre-med students who were taking organic chemistry from me and failing to achieve grades that would get them into med school. I pointed out that none of the things I wanted to do when I was their age had come to be, and yet I had a happy, productive, and satisfying life. In fact at that point I only had one child. I do think it is fun to write these things down and then look back on them years later. Whether you follow your initial plans or not, if you can look back and be satisfied with the path you’ve taken it’s all good.
KDL: last blog ..Time to Rest
Hello Sherri! I am 16 and I recently just wrote a letter to my 30-year-old self on my blog and I truly hope my dreams in my letter to my future self really materialize, like yours did. A really touching post. Good job.