Happy birthday! I can't exactly remember what you ended up doing for your birthday that day (it was a Monday, so just classes most likely), but 2014 will end up being a decent year for you. In a few months, the Gators are going to win the first of back-to-back championships in softball (a good consolation prize after UConn ends Florida's March Madness run in the Final Four). You'll get a front-row seat to the show as the scoreboard operator (be prepared for an epic rain delay during the Super Regional against Washington; you'll end up killing time with the rest of the crew by putting a compilation of "This is Sportscenter" commercials on the videoboard). If you have a spare minute, learn how to use the Snipping Tool for taking screenshots. You'll need to know that later for your Digital Logic class (you've wanted to go back in time and fix this multiple times now).
I'm writing to you ten years in the future as I turn the dreaded 30 (how am I so old?). If you think you've changed a lot in the next decade, you haven't. Sure, you might have a career under your feet now, but you're still the same temperamental, comedy-loving, sports aficionado you've always been. In lieu of an actual birthday gift, I wanted to give you some advice as you begin this next decade in your life:
- You don't know jack s***: You are going to face this from two different angles as you begin your first job. At first, you'll believe the imposter syndrome as you try to find your feet in the real world. Don't, because everyone experiences that. You'll start to figure things out (woohoo!), but then you have to combat the second phase of that perspective: thinking you know everything. Everyone you work for has far more experience than you, and for good reason; don't even begin to think otherwise. Learn your place, learn from others, grow in your role, and the rest will follow.
- Your job doesn't mean everything: Is work important? Of course. Is it important enough that it takes a toll on your mental health and everything else in your life? Absolutely not. You know as well as I do that when you get started on something, you're the ultimate go-getter. This is also your biggest weakness though, because you never set a proper limit on yourself. Don't overdo it, because you will feel the effects when you do.
- R-E-L-A-X: This goes hand-in-hand with the above point (Aaron Rodgers also says this at a press conference soon in your future; by the way, that guy is going to become a total whackjob). To be generous, you can be a bit fiery sometimes (turns out that time dad was building the trampoline and yelled loud enough that he could be heard down the block was foreshadowing of your own anger). Get a cap on this ASAP, because you are going to really struggle maintaining good relationships if you don't.
- It's okay to not be okay: 2012/2013 was rough as you struggled adjusting to life away from home. It was a valuable lesson, though, because it taught you that you don't always have to pretend to be the indestructible person you want to be. You're going to be put in similar situations in a few years, and if you really want life to not be a nightmare, you'll remember that people will be there for you, always.
- Remember what truly matters: You'll end up losing touch with most of your college friends in a matter of years. Keep up with the people who truly matter, and forge connections with people you want to have in your corner as you become part of the corporate world. Through all of this, don't forget that family means everything. Your parents still love you and your sister... well, she tolerates you.
I won't bore you with a bunch of advice you're going to ignore anyway (I know you, after all). Instead, I'll leave you with some of the highlights of your next decade:
- You'll have worked at three different companies (Nielsen, Facebook/Meta, and Disney). You'll even end up moving to Seattle in the middle of 2020 for your job at Meta (and by the way, that pandemic that starts at the beginning of 2020 is going to run A LOT longer than you originally thought; you can stay put in Florida if you really want to).
- You'll travel to Europe twice and finally get to start seeing the world. You'll also end up going on your Birthright trip in 2018 during a work break. It'll be an eye-opening experience.
- You'll win a national title in bridge in 2019, something that never seemed possible just a few years prior. Not bad for the one they call Beans. Don't bother applying for a star on BBO, though; it won't last long.
- You'll get diagnosed with Crohn's disease. At first, this is really going to suck, but with the help of modern medicine, you're going to be up and running quick. Post-colonoscopy meals are pretty epic, not gonna lie.
- You'll end up finding your true voice and what really drives you. Get ready to start writing...a lot (pretty amazing how things turn out considering we hated writing for so long). Start learning about Medium, Twitch, and Discord, because you're going to end up spend a lot of time there.
- You'll see a bunch of great concerts (Queen, the Rolling Stones, Foo Fighters, and even the almighty Metallica amongst the many). Live music, quite frankly, is the best when done well, and you'll have no shortage of that.
- Tom freaking Brady is going to go to the Bucs and they're going to win a Super Bowl. This isn't a joke; I repeat, this isn't a joke.
Enjoy the next part of your life. It's going to be a fun one. You'll hear from me again in a few years.
