A Reply Letter to My 18-Years-Old Self

I wrote a letter to my 25-year-old self, which I never replied. I am happy that I am doing this now.

Nov 21, 2023

Dear Soft, Menc, Apocalypto, Ekene, KK, Ekky - well, it depends on who was calling.

I apologise that I could not reply in the year you requested. In fact, it took me going through an old journal a couple of weeks ago to look for a file to see your letter, which you had asked I reply to you at the age of 25 years.

I was tempted to publish your letter, but I reframed from this because I know there is no way I could resist copying and pasting your words verbatim without interfering, which will lead to bias in representing your thoughts on your letter - and this I know would displease you.

What I did instead was to write to our 60-year-old Self. I must confess that all the inspiration to write the letter was drawn from your very young mind, and for this, I am grateful for your insightful wisdom.

To begin with, life has turned out quite well for us, for now, not exactly like you predicted, but it is mind-blowing. For instance, you mandated me to get you overseas for a master's studies on scholarship - well, this happened barely three years after your letter. But although I have yet to get a master's degree, I graduated with my BSc from a university in England with a 1st class and now living and working in England as well.

Similarly, I am yet to publish a book as you mandated. However, I am an established online content writer with over 30k monthly reads across all platforms. Meanwhile, some things are still the same - most of my friends are still our friends, and your love for reading is now a hobby of mine.

There are equally some exciting turnarounds. Most significantly, I am no longer formally studying sciences - I am now pursuing my interest in the field of management. However, my preference still leans more towards the natural sciences because of your foundations. This would shock you, but I now wear glasses as I am seriously short-sighted.

Oftentimes, when people write a letter like this one to their 18-year-old Self, it is usually filled with words of advice, encouragement, or underlying bitterness springing from regrets and unresolved issues. But you are so awesome to me and made the right choices which you dedicatedly followed in getting me here that mine is a letter to say 'THANK YOU' to you and to also brief you on how life turned out for us so far despite life having its share of highs and lows. Still, with your wisdom, you have navigated through it all and now find me in a more favourable position than you were or even imagined.

You had always believed that if one is expecting something special to happen, it's supposed to be hard. With this belief, I see you fought hard, and now I am left with a big shoe and a baton to continue the race.

I deliberately wanted to skip this topic, but I can't help but see that you mentioned it thrice. So, well, while you are usually happy when a girl says yes to you. For me, I am usually glad when they say 'NO' because I perceive it as buying more time to focus on myself and personal development. However, do not be sad - I will find someone soon.

You were so determined, focused, ambitious, charismatic, pragmatic, and, safe to say, fearless. Most times, I envy these qualities of yours. It's not like I don't have them, but I just wish I had them to your degree and amount. But then, too, I wish you had my experience, eclectic interests, and my astuteness. No one can go back and make a brand new start; however, anyone can start from now and make a brand new ending. These words from C.S. Lewis are how I find comfort in the unprecedented times I must face.

You wrote to me when you had lost your dad at a very young age when you needed him the most to the cold hands of death. This impactfully devasted you, as he was someone you earnestly wanted to make proud of you. This is why one of my reasons for writing this letter is to let you know how proud of you I am.

Indeed, dearest Ekenedilichukwu, I AM SO PROUD OF YOU.

Best wishes,

Your Twenty-Something Self.

Many thanks for reading my perspective and giving feedback.

If you've read this far, I'd appreciate it if you could leave your thoughts or reflections in the comments section. I genuinely take the time to read each one. Additionally, kindly impart a piece of advice you would want to convey to your younger self.

My fervent wish is for the personal growth of everyone and the success of all young professionals who put their hearts and souls into finding their purpose in life.

The New Chapter

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