Dear Lefo,
I spent a lot of time thinking about which time in our life should I send this letter to. Should it be in our high school senior year? Our first day in elementary school? Or to the best day of our lives? But honestly my choice was much easier than I thought. Every person has a moment in their life when they realize that they are growing up. A moment when they think that their lives will change forever. That moment for us, was our 7th birthday. Even if we were very happy about our party and birthday cake, we were also very confused… Confused and afraid about what the future had for us. However, I will not go into further details about that day, instead I want to talk to you about your coming times. You probably have a lot of questions to ask me, but unfortunately, this is going to be a one side conversation, as we cannot open a dialogue. However, I will calm you down by saying that you are going to make it through everything.
You are still young, and you do not have a clear image of our society yet. But I can assure you that it is a tough place to be a part of. There will be people who will betray you, make fun of you, and take advantage of you. But these are also the people who will make you tough and unbreakable. You will spend hundreds of hours thinking about your difficulties and how your life would be easier if you just gave up. And your reaction to these thoughts will define who you are in the future; a coward who gave up? Or a fighter who kept going? It is very similar to a test. Only this time, you will not take it as a student but as a human.
I remember that near our 7th birthday was also when we first started wondering about the reason of our existence. I remember asking ourselves about who we are and what is our purpose in this world. I know it seems confusing and weird at first and, honestly, it will take you some time to figure it out. But you will realize, soon enough, that there is a purpose for everyone in this life, whether it is good, bad, or both. So, you must accept this purpose and do everything you can to fulfill it. But most importantly you must accept yourself. Because when you do that, you will be amazed by the person you will become.
One of our biggest mistakes was the feeling to apologize to people close to us because of who we are. You will apologize to your teachers because you would not get the best grades. To your basketball coach because you were not scoring the most points. And to your parents because you were not the perfect son. However, it will take you years to realize that apologizing of who you are is wrong. We all have our struggles, and we all fight for the better. And therefore, we should embrace ourselves, give them confidence, and make them feel their fight. And that’s exactly what you should do too.
There are going to be times when you will walk alone, eat alone, live alone. And the worst thing about these moments, is that you feel they last forever. You wish to end them with a snap of your fingers, even though you know you can’t. But that’s totally fine. Times like these will shape and solidify you for an eternity. And as our grandfather used to say: “loneliness adds beauty to life”. So do not worry much about them, they have their own type of beauty which you will soon realize.
On the other hand, there are also going to be times when you will be surrounded by people who love you. And these are the moments that I call “the most precious ones”. And I call them “precious” because you are not going to have lots of them. So, my advice for you here, is to just try living these moments to the fullest and absorb the memories as a sponge absorbs water.
At some point your brain will start reaching a level where you will be able to understand most things in life. And you will start getting curious about how things work. This will awake a great thirst of knowledge inside you. And, in fact, the more you learn the more you will realize how little do you know. But you will also understand that knowledge is not the only thing that answers your questions. Eventually, you will find out about how important wisdom is. And you will also notice the difference between them. As knowledge is power, then wisdom is strength. And you will spend the rest of your days trying to acquire both.
Finally, “Own your life”. Keep that in mind and start living. Now, right here, right now; it is yours... In the end we only regret the chances we did not take and the person we did not become. The sooner you realize that the better your life will be. We are fortunate to be alive.
So, enjoy every moment as it is your last because it might be. Oh! And one more favor… Every day you wake up you have one job: Do better than yesterday.
Sincerely, your older self: Lefo.
