James’ Letter To His Future Self

Dear Future Self,

I am currently fifteen years old and going into my sophomore year of high school. I am happy with the way I see myself. I see myself as a good person as well as a good student who works hard. I came out of my freshman year with straight A’s in all regular classes. I hope to do the same or better throughout the rest of my high school years. At the moment I have a growth mindset as well as a motivation to do well in school.

I view the past as a tool to help me in life. I view it as a tool because of the valuable information and feedback it provides me. For example, I can look back on my mistakes and learn from them as well as note what went well to continue using the successful things from the past. One time where this worked for me was after I didn’t try my best in middle school. I learned from it and got my act together for high school. I am proud of myself for being confident in most things I do. I regret not trying my hardest in middle school because my high school class placements were not nearly as good as they should have been due to my lack of effort. 

Right now, I see the world as a place with many differences. These differences can be differences in culture, opinions, beliefs, and many other things. These differences can lead to great things, but they can lead to bad things, too. The people who I surround myself with are what is most important to me because these people can influence me and help me out. I value trying your hardest. I value this because even if you don’t succeed at something, it shows you cared about it. 

I hope my future self maintained a healthy lifestyle and stayed on track in school. I want to ask my future self about what I could have done better this year in order to make life easier for them in the position they are currently in. 

If my future self is struggling with something while reading this, they should remember that whatever has happened cannot be changed and they need to move on or keep moving. If they have lost sight of what is important, they need to be positive about the situation they are in. 

I hope that some of the very valuable life and speaking skills learned this week have and will continue to help my future self. I would like to promise my future self that I will do my best and try my hardest to make things easier for them.

Sincerely,

James Hiltebrand – Glenbrook South High School – GVC Reach Back

Photo by Matt Moloney from StockSnap