Dear 15YO me,

This past semester, I received a letter in my mailbox from myself. Well, it was a Freshman Spring version of myself; I signed up for a self-reflection group for freshmen where we met a few times during the semester and talked about setting into Harvard. On the third and final meeting, we were supposed to write a letter to ourselves and the FDO would send it to us when we were seniors. Of course, I completely forgot about this letter until I received. When I read it, I must concede it honestly didn't say all that much. It was 1 page of mostly waffle, I'd guess because I hadn't expected having to write it and having not much to say at the time.

When I was 15 and at Kahunui, I also had to write such a letter. I didn't read it until just now, and man, as a 15 year old I was apparently way more eloquent and interesting than as a college freshman. Wonder why that is. Maybe because 7 years is way more than 3? I almost feel sad for 15-year-old-Winnie, because she'll never know how she turned out. Well, here's a good chance to do a quick recap of what's happened through the years to answer all her questions:

So luckily, you did not become a hobo on the street. Yes, you are still friends with Steph, and yes, you still remember the box of blue pens that Kim gifted you for your 15th birthday; you never did finish them all before just losing the entire box.

You are still in university, you haven't graduated yet -- even at 22, which is a year later than you were supposed to get this letter haha. You did make it to America. In fact I don't even recall you thinking about it back then, but I guess it was definitely on your mind already.

You're right, there are definitely a lot of new technologies. Isn't that funny, you ended up going into the technology sector even though I definitely remember that this was an extremely fleeting thought. You didn't end up picking Architecture in the end, but it was definitely on your plate as an option right up to the point you had to pick.

You still technically live with the same ol' family, though you move around a lot now and are moving to San Francisco this year. Grandpa died 2 years after you wrote those words; there's definitely been a lot that's changed in 7 years.

I don't think you're immature. I think you're surprisingly wise for a 15 year old and I definitely don't remember being this way, haha.

You learned a little cooking in these few years! It's been fun. You watch cooking shows in your spare time now. Gordon's your fave. Also Cooking with Dog (as in, there's a dog on set -- not like dog meat. D: that would be awful)!

You can't find the diary with the dog on it anymore. It was lost a long, long time ago, but yes I too remember the hilariously cringeworthy things that were in there.

You didn't keep in touch with all those people on your MSN list. But that's okay, because Facebook became a thing and you can now stalk them and find out what's going on in their lives at all times without even having to talk to them!

You are also a bamf for providing the password to your childhood email account, also ENCODED and not in plaintext because 15-year-old-Winnie cares about cyber security. I'm seriously impressed.

Your handwriting has seriously deteriorated. I'm sorry, I have failed you. But as for your other requests -- you still love art, you picked up photography, and you have visited Japan and Korea! You did never end up going on that Shanghai trip with the Mollies. But hey better late than never? Maybe it's still possible. You're having dinner with them later this week. :)

I'd like to think that you've taken every opportunity. Sometimes there are too many to choose from though. You also did end up getting jaw surgery and getting braces. Welp that sure was an ordeal. You sounded unsure, but you're glad you did it in the end.

And nope! Your hair isn't short anymore. I didn't realize people threatened you if you let it grow haha -- maybe you should go short again? Probably not though, it's nice to be lazy and only get two haircuts a year.

And yeah, you're totally right. I definitely miss being young and at school.

Why am I asking all these questions, it's not like you/I will be able to reply.

It's okay kid. You did good. :) You're a hell of a lot more interesting of a person than you became in Freshman Spring. Maybe I should become more like you. Seems like 15 year old me was super ambitious and had her head and heart in the right places. In 2016 and beyond, remember to make her proud and not squander this time on Earth! Is this reverting back?

Life should be lived as if you're walking in the bush: if you focus too much on what's ahead, you trip up on what's beneath your feet, but if you focus too much on what's beneath your feet you end up unprepared for what's to come. You have to find the spot on the ground where you can see both where you are walking and where you are walking towards -- then walk there.

Good advice for 2016.
Oh yeah, and gotta keep flossing daily.