Wednesday, September 22, 2010
Letter to Self Assignment (Sept 24th and Oct 1st)
Imagine it is 20 years from today. You are reflecting back on what has occurred in your life within these years. Share with your younger self what you have learned and how you have flourished because of your choices. (ie how you grew personally, what relationships developed, how your family evolved, where your education and career took you, etc.)
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Dear my 19-year-old Wenkai,
ReplyDeleteHow is your life? Are you still passionate about being a person bringing little happiness to the world? I am Wenkai in 2030. I’ve built several little Café and Bubble Tea Houses at our beautiful hometown. Our brand has become a symbol of hospitality, coziness and stylishness here! Our closest little cousin is working with us too. Many artists will come and have a cup of coffee. Our new store will be open soon with all their art works. I’m planning to sell the arts in the store to support them. And we’ve hired several impoverished and hardworking students as part-time employees. You won’t believe how amazing they can be. They nearly remember many customers’ names! I’m still bad at remembering names. I’ve also invested other business for future use. Of course, the most important thing, we’ve built a beautiful house in Ireland with our best friends—Mira, Jessie, Eva, Michael and Allen. We will meet every year with our families there. The life is busy and meaningful.
Doesn’t it sound exciting? But without your effort and passion, I won’t have so much to cherish. So Believe in yourself! As an older version, I have two suggestions:
1. Life in college is like a treasure hunt in deep sea. When you get your clamshell (the bachelor degree,) it might be not easy to see what you really get during these years. But when you open it, the pearl is shining. So please enjoy your college life! Even life is busy, and sometimes you feel exhausted, believe you will get a lot from these experiences.
2. Often ask yourself who you are and what you should do. Keep trying. Failures are much better than regrets afterwards. You may have only 1 percent even less chance to succeed, but without trying it is a zero percent chance.
Best,
Wenkai
Hi, Zharkyn!
ReplyDeleteThat’s little bit confusing to write letter to younger myself, but it will help you to unlock your potential and achieve your goals not after 20 years but much more earlier.
So, what’s happened during these years? I would say, a lot.
I live in the suburbs of Almaty. I’m married with wonderful woman, and we have 5 children. All of them are smart and amazing. We have a nice house, with gym, swimming pool, tennis courts and awesome garden. Every week we have gatherings with our friends and relatives.
I have an excellent health, physical shape and condition. Every day sport activities, physical exercises make me full of energy for the entire day.
I have my own business, which I like very much, and which brings me huge earnings, to cover all my expenses, and moreover, gives me ability to spend my time with my family all around the world. We travel to another countries, spend weekends hiking, biking and camping.
In addition to my job, I have charity organization, which fights with poverty, injustice, and helps to save the nature.
Among my friends powerful politicians and businessmen, movie stars, sportsmen, and famous people. Whom I support and who supports me.
I have a nice car, yacht. I spend my free time playing chess, piano, and reading books. I have a huge library in my house. These are my hobbies. Yeah, also I have controlling block of shares of Arsenal FC.
All of that happened to me, because I’ve always followed my dreams. During this trip I’ve faced a lot of failures, barriers and obstacles. Sometimes I felt very bad and anxious, I had a lot of fears and concerns. But all the time I felt like that, I gathered all of my strength and tried to follow my goals, I’ve worked very hard to achieve them. I’ve tried to learn from my failures making lessons from them. I’ve trained myself, improving and developing skills that I needed, I’ve excluded all fears, and they went to comfort zones, after practicing them a lot. On the road I met a lot of people, good and bad, all of them taught me a lot. Some of the strangers became my best friends, and some of the friends became my enemies – that is the sacrifice that I made in order to achieve my dreams. Many times people didn’t believe in my success, and at that time support of my family, my wife, and my children was priceless. This road helped me to value the most important things in our lives – family, health, happiness, and dreams! After all, I’m a happy, healthy, and successful person.
Never let your dreams fall asleep! Believe!
Dearest Amith,
ReplyDeleteThe times, they fly. How I wonder life turned out this way. Looking into the mirror, I see
the same childish enthusiasm in my eyes which I used to see 20 years ago in yours',
and this is what makes me 'me'. It takes just a few moments to reminisce about the
tough and critical decisions you took at such a young age, which have shaped me into
what I am now. From crossing the shores in search of new knowledge, and scaling
unknown scientific peaks in the need of intellectual satisfaction, you've come a long way
my friend, a long way.
There was a time when you had told yourself, that you want to be a scientist, and invent
something useful and essential to this world. There was also a time when you thought
that there is nothing much you could do, because everything thinkable has been thought
and everything doable has been done. Staying focused was not easy, with all possible
distractions of money, fame and a sense of settling, but dreaming of such heavy goals
has to unsettling, right?
With several patents and a tenure track, cute little home and a lovely wife, weekend
football games and snow-ball fights, what more could you have asked for in life?
Having little to no affinity to material gains in the short term helped you to get what you
really wanted and needed in the long term. Having clear goals and future ideas only
made it easier to realize and fine-tune them into what life now is. Although the path
taken to achieve this was tough, it was enjoyable due to open-mindedness and
acceptance of ideas and cultures which went beyond the so-called comfort zone. I'm
sure 20 years from now, you'll still be the same and I so wish that. Until 20 years from
now,
Sincerely,
Amith 2.0
Dear Ann.
ReplyDeleteI know you know pretty much every thing. I know no one really understands you. I know you are likely going scrutinize my words. But on the off chance, I have chosen this day to talk to you because it’s the time I consider best. It’s the time I think you are old enough to understand what I am about to tell you.
I know you are a very hard working, goal-oriented and ambitious girl. You have always wanted to get the best out of life. You however get a little discouraged by some things.
Remember fall of 2008, your first semester at the university of Minnesota, your first month in the United States, and of course the first winter in your life. Remember the culture shock, the confusion, the fear and feeling of loneliness as you tried to adjust and fit into the new environment. Do you remember the biology class you failed just because you couldn’t understand the professor’s accent? Why me, you wondered?
What you did not know is that the challenges you went through were just but to keep you strong and make you a better person. Thanks so much for hanging on there and not giving room for I wish I knew.
I know it’s difficult to even imagine success when there are so many challenges around you. But I just want to encourage you to keep working hard and make your decisions right. Listen to everyone but make your own decisions. Don’t let anyone else bring you up out there coz you have already been brought up. When you have to speak, don’t edit what you want to say before saying it, in that way, you would be saying all from the bottom of your heart. Don’t hang out with anyone who doesn’t understand you’re so wonderful, or who needs to be told, or who doesn’t tell you at regular intervals or when you forget. In other words, be what you are and strive to do good always.
Now that you are 43 and probably got this letter from your drawer, I know you are reading it with smiles all over your face because you have actually realized that nothing extra-ordinary comes from an ordinary thing, done in the ordinary way. What is it that is so extraordinary in your life? Hmmm! You are the best actuary in the whole Africa; you have achieved 4 degrees and having a happy family with the husband of your dreams. You are able to see all your younger siblings through school and is helping the less fortunate in the society, You have build an orphanage to help the children whose parents died of HIV/AIDS and your orphanage has been ranked best in the county. So what makes this extra-ordinary? Well the answer is very simple, because you had to work extra-ordinary hard to achieve all this and nothing extra-ordinary comes from an ordinary thing done in the ordinary way. Now is the time you can look back and say, no situation is permanent and things can always get better. In fact with hard work and respect for God, they get a whole hell of a lot better.
Love Ann.
A letter to myself
ReplyDeleteDear Flora,
I am writing to you to say thank you for working and trying so hard. I understand that if you didn’t try hard back then I will never be me twenty years later. I know you are worried about whether the decision of studying in the states for master degree is right or wrong. But remember, there is no absolute right or wrong in this world. Well, if you didn’t decide to go to U.S you will never meet the incredible people you are now presenting to. Also, you will never experience the difficulties in setting up a brand new student organization as well as finding a job.
Being in the states will be roughly the same as you felt for Canada. At first you will hate everything, and then when time flies you will fall in love with everything. Well, after years spend in north amercia, you still decide to go back to HongKong because you do care about your parents. Life is as busy as you can expect in HongKong, but it is feel so right to be with your family and you know what some of your best friends in Toronto also go back to HongKong.
Speaking of marriage, I know you now think you don’t really have time for guys, because you are so busy. I don’t want to say whether it is right or wrong given the fact that you are still single twenty years later, unfortunately. However, this is your personal choice and you do feel happy about your life. I guess it matters the most after all.
I know you love tax and accounting. Well, you do love tax and accounting twenty years later but it is not because those two subjects are fun. It is because that you are now having fun in working with those co-workers and clients in this field. I know you might already notice that you do enjoy hanging out with your friends. That’s exactly what your life looks like twenty years later. You will always have dinner with your friends after work during not busy season.
I guess afterall, if you never been to north America, most of the stories won’t even happen. So, please just enjoy your last two years campus life and just be happy, because that’s all that matters.
Yours,
Senior Flora
24th September, 2010
ReplyDeleteHello younger self
Before I reveal the suspense of what future holds for you, I would like to emphasize the importance of dreaming big and achieving those goals by hard work and determination. To quote novelist John Updike who said that, "Dreams come true. Without that possibility, nature would not incite us to have them." Its so true. I never believed that many of my dreams were actually physically realizable until I saw them come true.
Today, I am a renowned Professor at a leading research institute in India and a scientific advisor to the Dept of Science and Technology which undertakes some of the world's most technologically advanced projects in the world. I could achieve this feat thanks to my passion for research, interaction with distinguished professors, the ability to keep my mind focused on what I wanted and last but not least was the fact that I always dreamt of becoming big in life. Ofcourse my dreams were aptly backed up by my determination and hard work along with self-confidence and belief that I can someday manifest those dreams into reality.
I am also part of a music band which composes and plays in major concerts/events in my city. I play the violin and compose the tune for some of our songs. It was always my childhood dream to be part of a professional music group to be able to share ideas, opinions and constantly learn different aspects of music from like-minded music enthusiasts. While I don’t consider myself to be any expert in music, its my passion and love for music along with continued experimentation and self-improvement with my violin that has enabled me to be able to play at a professional level.
I am also associated with a couple of social welfare organizations and actively contribute and participate in philanthropic activities. I grew up encountering countless number of destitutes on the streets in India wearing unhygenic clothes, picking up items from the trash and yearning for atleast one decent meal a few days and these startling images sparked the urge in me to help these people in some form or the other. I always envisioned a society in which all my fellow citizens had access to the basic necessities of life namely food, clothes and shelter. I am doing every bit I can to help make this a reality in my country.
I feel a sense of joy and satisfaction when I realize that I have been able to convert my dreams into reality and at this stage of life feel that all my efforts towards following my dreams and aspirations have totally been worth it since it has transformed me into someone who I could not have dreamt to become otherwise. Lastly to end with a quote: “There are some people who live in a dream world, and there are some who face reality; and then there are those who turn one into the other.” I’m glad I belong to the third category.
Prahladh S Iyer
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ReplyDeleteDear Yingyi,
ReplyDeleteI would like to thank you for being dedicated in self-improvement during your young ages. Because of your experiences, I now have valuable memeries to cherish, wisdom to make decisions, and the heart to embrace what life gives you.
Thank you for being rebellious from childhood to teenager hood. You really enjoy the moment of being ture to yourself. This is the frst time you truly open your eyes and started to think about the relationships between others and yourself. Though people regard you as tough and hard to deal with, the bitter experience indicated your change later on. When every time you feel lost among trivial things and under divergence of others, you will remind yourself to be real, to be hones, and to be free. You are the only one in the world whom you are not able to cheat.
Thank you for the bold decision of attending Qingdao University, which is far away from your home. You have a precious opportunity to start over where nobody knows you, or your family. This is the first time to hold your life in your own hands. You guide yourself to to study hard, to make real good friends, to search and get prepared for future, You gained the courage and became independent.
Thank you for transfering to the University of Minnesota. You have another chance to start over, everytime with a higher and better level. You learned how to greeting, how to register for class, how to say the names of different kinds of vegetables and dressings, how to borrow books from libraries, how to make an appointment, how to travel to New York City all alone, how to buy fourniture from IKEA and put them together. Thank you for observing and poundering over things both happened around you and on the other corner of the world. The habit of thinking makes you exceptional. It is difficult to name everything you did and every effort you make. However, the spirit remains; the intelligence becomes one part of you.
You have done a great job. I am proud of you not because of your achievements, but because you are unique, and are becoming better and better.
Dear Lucy,
ReplyDeleteIt sounds really interesting to talk with you.
It was 20 yeas since I took the economic classes during my sophomore year. Right now, I am working in a transnational corporation and being a manager in the company. . It was my dream since I was young. I came to the USA for pursuing this dream, and finally, I got it. I had a good job, a good family now. I do businesses between China and the USA, which is the job that I like most. I have all the perfect things in my life. I felt satisfied and happy for realizing my dream. I still remember the days when I was in the university. Quizzes and exams made me feel stressful and tired. At that time, I really didn’t know why I needed to take such stupid and hard exams and quizzes. However, for now, I really want to give thanks to the exams due to the fact that they really taught me the things I need for my job. I did the work easily for the reason that I got it ready since I was an undergraduate student. I think I did the right thing at the right time; I took more courses instead of having more sleep. It seems silly for me to take such heavy work when I was in the U, but now all the things are meaningful, it is worth to do such things. I tried hard to balance work and activities, which made me tired. However, such memories and experiences cannot come again. I can easily did my job and make it in a perfect way for my diligence when I was an undergraduate student. I really understand that nobody can casually succeed; it comes from the self-control and the will. I made the right choice for myself to give up the time being a party girl, but I save the time to plan for my future. I did a good job and I persisted, so I got all the things I want in the future.
To my younger self,
ReplyDeleteIt has been twenty long but fruitful years full of ups and downs and many successes and lessons along the way. I am a mother of two very successful ladies, a very happy wife and have an accomplished career.
Twenty years ago when the girls were only six and three, I was awarded a Ford Foundation Fellowship to pursue a masters degree abroad, it was a tough call because the girls were so young and Babes my husband was also at the prime of his career. Travelling out of the country a lot and most of the time it was me and the girls. Together as a family decided to go for it and get help with the girls. I remember how we all wept at the airport the day of my departure I felt I was being too ambitious and nearly changed my mind not to go.
School was tough, the culture was different my environment especially the weather was challenging but I always looked back at what I had to sacrifice to be in school and always motivated myself to stay focused. Two years went by so fast and I proudly graduated with honors. I went back home immediately after graduation and took a new job appointment with the University of Ghana as an International Student Advisor at the International Programs Office.
Years went by so quickly and when the girls went off to college, I went back to school to pursue a PhD in International Development at the Teachers College of Columbia University. That was one of the most rewarding decisions I made in my life because despite the many challenges I faced in the program, I am reaping its rewards till today. While doing my PhD, I involved myself in a lot of internships to build my professional networks. Most of them were not paid internships, but I invested my time in the experiences they all had to offer.
Today, I am heading the UNICEF office here in Ghana and have set up two NGOs involved in various social justice projects in very remote and deprived communities here in Ghana, bringing them hope and the dream of a better future. My girls are both married with their own kids; one is a Medical Doctor and the other a Civil Engineer. My husband, Emmanuel, whom I have called Babes since I met him twenty six years ago is as loving and supportive to us as he has always been and also very well accomplished in his career as an IT Consultant.
Due to the decisions we made especially to invest in our dreams and careers, we are in a better position to enjoy our lives and give back to the society; our time, our money and our experiences. It has been a good and rewarding twenty years because though not all our efforts and challenges yielded the expected dividend, on the whole it has been good. I have learnt that our lives are worth what we invest in them and the value of friends and family and one’s spirituality are very key to our growth as human beings. Oh, Babes and I are still looking forward to taking a cruise on the Atlantic Ocean in the very near future.
Sincerely,
Your older self,
Mimi
Dear Jeong Rok,
ReplyDeleteI am highly delighted to let you know that you have accomplished many things while you followed your dreams until now, the year of 2030. First of all, currently, you live in your perfect house, a penthouse located near Han River in Seoul, South Korea, with your family: your parents, wife, daughter, son, and lovely cat. This year, you have just established the TAC Human Consulting Group as a founding president. You work with your consultant team and different human consulting organizations in order to provide your customers with various learning programs supporting their career and leadership development.
In 2012, you received a Ph.D. in Human Resource Development with an International Education minor. In 2013, you started your professional career at a doctoral level as a director of the International Cooperation and International Education Sections at the Office of International Affairs at GOD University. For seven years (2013–2020), you facilitated cultural learning experiences for students, staff, and faculty. Specially, you have strongly contributed to domestic and international students’ success in their academic careers and personal lives. In 2020, you were appointed as an associate professor of the Department of International Education and Development at GOD University. In addition to conducting research and teaching as a faculty member between 2020 and 2030, you continued to serve as an administrative officer to help students who needed academic and cultural support in an educational setting. Also, you have contributed to promoting cultural diversity and creating a sense of community and inclusivity at GOD University.
Through my previous work and academic experience, I am convinced that you can enjoy your journey and accomplishments if you continue to follow your goals.
Best regards,
Jeong Rok Oh, Ph.D. / SPHR
Hi my young, beautiful and intelligent self,
ReplyDeleteI know this sounds rather cocky of me, but I think that as starters it will be great to come up with words that visualize this “ideal” self that I supposedly was 20 years ago.
So since I am a reasonably healthy, wealthy, and a happy contented wife (well, I suppose marriage is rather important, do not want to be lonely); I would most definitely give credit for your persistence in pursuing a Master in Industrial psychology. Also, a pat on the back for trying to be involve in various activities…I understand how it feels when you study so hard and eventually, the result you get is not worth the amount of effort you have put in… It’s suck.. BUT, I am truly happy with your initiative to seek for extra exercises that are not given by the professors. Doing these exercises actually helped me a lot when it comes to understanding the concept rather than just pure memorization.
I am also very contented with the way you handle your relationship with your past boyfriends and eventually your husband which is technically my current husband. It’s undeniably true that there will always be some sort of misunderstanding between 2 individuals. Whether you like it or not, you will be constantly bombarded with unpredictable and mind bubbling issues. Sometimes, just one word can act as a catalyst to a major argument. But I am happy that you had always tried to distance yourself from all those unnecessary conflicts and dramas.
Anger management wise. I am ever grateful that u attended the core culture group program. This program has helped me to understand myself in a whole new different level. Sure, there may be books that teach us about self management and what not. But I realize that the core that initiates this entire idea of self appreciation evolves from the one singular “I”.
I know that I am hot tempered and I will take all kinds of precaution to curb this problem. I am aware that I will excel if I change my study methods. I know that there will always be plan C when plan A and B fails. I know; I know……So in order to achieve my dreams, I changed my own perception of how my life “should be” to how my life “will be”.
All these collective experiences has created the successful me. The “me” who lives in a world full of love, care ,and happiness. And the “me” who is financially stable. There!!! That’s all I need. I have achieved something. And I am contented. Thank you Han. You are awesome!!! I love you…. Hugs and kisses
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ReplyDeleteHI Sidd
ReplyDeleteHow are you doing, it’s been long I haven’t talk to you. Sorry, very busy with my work and how is everything on your side. How are your classes, thesis, work and everything?
I know you might be very busy as well but also you might be enjoying what you are doing. You always followed your dream and always did what you want to do. Actually, I would like to thank you for following your dreams because I am what I am only because you followed your dreams in your life.
And I am sure that I need not to tell you what I am today, you must have read my name in many research articles and you might have come across my book also, which is now followed as a textbook in many Schools of Public Health. And off course as a professor even I recommend my book to students in school of public health where I teach.
And you know what, this all had happened because of your dream that you saw 20 years back, the dream of doing PhD, the dream of making a reform in health care industry and the dream of become what I am today.
When I was you and when I was graduated from school, I got admission in top ranked University for my PhD. And after I got my doctoral degree, I joined the state department of health as a policy analyst as well as the University as an assistant professor. Life became too busy but I was happy because I was doing what I always wanted to. But even in that busy life I never missed any opportunity to travel different places and to learn different cultures, the thing I always wanted too. When I was you I had visited only 8 countries, and so far in 20 years I have visited 40 more countries. Isn’t it great?
I am writing this letter to you to let you know that you will definitely going to achieve what you always dreamt of in your life. If you remember this is a quote from one of your favorite author, “When you want something from heart, all the universe conspires in helping you to achieve it.”
All the best for your future and take a very good care of yourself
Yours
Sidd
Hey Abhishek,
ReplyDeleteHope you are doing fine. Still working on some assignments /projects?
You should put your efforts now and try to do your best. This is due to your hard and diligent work I reached here and enjoying every moment of life. Life is tough sometimes but when you will come out of this and look backwards you will clearly see what you have achieved after putting these efforts.
Updates from my side are that I have owned my software company ‘Ram Systems’ based in our native city Chandausi. Though based in a small town of India, this company is doing excellent in terms of revenue generation. This is always your dream to settle in your home town and give back to your town which gave you firm roots in terms of excellent education, culture and best environment to learn. The benefit of this is that now educated people need not move to metros and your town is making a lot of progress. I am also planning to setup a branch in Allahabad so that NIT, Allahabad students can work while studying in the college. I know that you are quite impressed by the academic environment in US and I am just trying to implement the same in India.
As far as my social life is considered, I am well settled with my wife and two kids. The most important part is that I am living with my parents. I often have business visits to Delhi for some meetings with clients but rest of my life is full of fun. I am putting 1 hr in Gym and half an hour in Gardening. I think I have visited pretty much every part of India as my wife also loves traveling. We used to go for trip every month at least for 2-3 days along with my parents.
It may seem like a dream to you. But, dude this is reality. This is due to your efforts I reached here. The foremost important thing is that never stop dreaming. These are your dreams due to which I am here.
Remember the lines
The future belongs to those who believe in the beauty of their dreams
Never stop dreaming!!
“Rise up My dream is to fly over the rainbow so high”
Michelle (Tingzhong),
ReplyDeleteHello, I’m yourself in 20 years when is 2030. I’m so happy to write this letter to encourage you and let you know what has happened in your life. I know you are facing many challenges and studying really hard for you goal.
I also know that you are having a hard time on balancing the limited time on so many things you want to do well. You may feel tired and stressed out, but the good news is that this semester is a success for you. You are going to finish you classes with very good grades and you will be satisfied about your GPA. So, no matter what is bothering you know, you can just ignore it and be happy and just do your best to study it. You learned many things and you are a knowledgeable woman in 20 years.
I also know you don’t enjoy your Biology class right now, because it takes you a lot of time and you have to give up much leisure time for self improvement. But you will gain many skills that will benefit you a lot in the future.
And during these 20 years, you will experience the most wonderful years in your life. You will not only gain knowledge but also many other abilities. For example, you will be able to play piano very well because you keep learning it since you take the piano class in the university. And you will go to a very good graduate school and make many friends during these years. Friendship can make your life more colorful and bring so much fun.
Besides, you will have your own family and this is the most important thing in your life and you will live with happiness. So, maybe you feel lonely because you are studying and fighting for your career. But all these efforts are worthy. Because it is the process of achieving dream that is valuable. You are not ordinary because you have this experience and really work hard to reach your goals. And the four years in the university will be your pressure that nothing can be compared with. You can meet different people and also help many people. Your love travelling so much and you traveled a lot and adventure a lot. Your young heart is satisfied because all the meaningful things you do.
So don’t be upset if you are blocked by walls. The walls are there for you to jump over it and they are there to make you think you are strong. So just be brave and positive about everything. Enjoy your life and be a good person who can also bring happiness to other people.
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ReplyDelete