oh honey, you have no idea what’s in store for you this year
you start your 21st lap around the sun surrounded by the people you love the most - your family, your boyfriend, and a handful of friends - you’re missing some but you think it’s okay (it’s not)
you’ve started your senior year of college, which you know will be stressful, but also fun because you love college
late summer gives way to early fall
fall ends and winter comes barreling in at full force which is strange because it was a mild winter that year
oh baby, there’s a blizzard coming and you can’t see it because you haven’t checked the weather in days
but maybe you can see the clouds start to change and the air turns crisp and breathing it in hits your nose like a thousand tiny needles
all of a sudden you open your eyes and you are trying to outrun an avalanche that’s faster than Country House during the Kentucky Derby that year
oh baby, you think you can outrun that avalanche but it buries you deep until the early spring sun melts it away
but that spring sun gives way to showers that seem endless
but once the rainy season ends, summer starts to show herself and you start to thrive off her warmth
you graduate with honors surrounded by some of your closest friends, colleagues, compatriots
yet, you still can’t shake the feeling that it’s all a facade because you see the leaves turn that way they do before a big storm comes
and it does
it brings monsoons and an earthquake so big it threatened to swallow you whole
but you hung in there, baby
you hung on until your fingers began to break and your arms started to give in
and you kept reaching for someone to grab on and screamed yourself horse
until
someone came for you
and another person came for you
and another
and another
and another
until they formed a human chain strong enough for you to pull yourself up and get your feet back on the ground
they surrounded you and helped you build a fortress so mighty nobody could ever get in all while they stood guard at all hours
all you had to do was ask for help
that summer sun beat down on you so hard it burned your skin but you grew
you planted your roots
and you were watered by those standing guard
eventually you were strong enough to be transplanted to a bigger pot
but this time, you’re solo
but those who stood guard are never far away
summer has changed to fall and fall will change to winter and winter to spring
there will be storms
there may be some tremors
but you will survive
and you will grow
and you will live every single day because being alive and breathing allow you to experience everything life has to offer
what a joy to be alive, to breathe
so
21 ends
22 begins
what do you say in a letter to 22 year old me?
as year 22 begins,
remember
you are strong
you are important
you will love yourself first
you will put yourself first
you will to seize every opportunity that comes your way
you made the right decision
you’re doing this for all the right reasons
i think i’m going to like 22