LETTER TO YOUNGER SELF

Dear younger self,

 

You have been living all your life thinking about the life lessons you have learned. But you never consider those stages you have been through and observed, imagined, travelled, and made memories of. Maybe you are so caught up in your lives that you forget to cherish memories and the past. It seems effortless to say not to hold on to the past and move on. Whether it’s childhood or adulthood, we have experienced so many good and bad things, and because of that, we live and learn a life lesson, which makes us humbler and wiser.

So, I used to collect little boxes and put something in them as a souvenir, like a clip or a rubber. I don’t know why you kept those things in those boxes, and later, after a week or two, I lost them or someone threw them away. When I asked why they did that, the answer was because you were collecting garbage. Until now, I thought, "Am I collecting garbage from my childhood?

I always thought of not wanting more but finding comfort in the little things around me. I have taught that you should find happiness in small things, and now I follow the theory of that little thing in my life. I was collecting little things and cherishing little things, but somehow, I thought, "What if it’s more? It can expand in size." I never thought this through honestly. For me, less is more.

We were kids, and we all know how we spent our childhood playing with our friends on the street, running behind them; they were running behind us, but we never thought of the day we would play for the last time because we lived those varied moments to the fullest. You remember all these moments because you never thought of capturing them; instead, you lived them. And as we grow up and become more adults, we forget how to live and dwell more on how others live and what version of ourselves they like the most. Everyone is afraid of being judged. It’s human nature to judge based on everything you do—wear, speak, walk, study—but they will first judge you and then decide if they want to be friends or not. And in childhood, our elders also taught us not to talk to this kid or to that kid. Kids are kids, right? And so are our elders!

I think I learned so many things earlier than my age. I have seen and heard stories, and I am a keen observer. I have learned a lot and been through a lot. Things are different for me than for other kids my age. And I don’t blame my past either, because I cherish it because I spent a lot of time playing, drawing, running, and skipping.

Remember when you used to go to your grandmother's house for summer vacation, and she was ready to welcome you with all her warmth and love? I always compare then and now because now I think no one goes to their grandmother’s for vacations; rather, they go to places with family. My grandmother used to tell me bedtime stories, and those stories are the best memories I have cherished all my life. I don’t know about today, but someday sitting with your grandmother and re-listening to those stories and sleeping on her lap is the best thing to do. I don’t even remember when I last listened to those stories and slept on her lap.

Cartoons were the best pass time we had when we came back from school and sat in front of the television, still wearing those uniforms, and watched a cartoon. Cartoons played a lot more of a role in our lives when we were kids. If you’re sad, watch a cartoon. If you’re happy, you watch a cartoon. Exams over. Cartoon. 

That one constant thing in life unknowingly taught us a lot.

Yet I always thought of the time when you used to be so free and selfless. Thank you for being young and teaching me so little but more. I still have a child inside me because that's what we promise as children. "You will never be alone."

Your adult self

xoxo

 

 
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