Dear Pre-Pandemic Me, Things are about to get hard again…

Dear Pre Pandemic Me

Hey.

I don’t want to scare you but things are about to get hard again. I know you’ve been anticipating it, this time of year is always a challenge but this time round the rest of the world falls apart. Kind of.  It’s difficult to explain without giving too much away. 

The next few years, they’re a lot. You know that already; you’re hurtling towards fourth year and graduation which is a hurdle in itself but there’s going to be things getting in the way that you won’t be able to control. Grades and maintaining that ‘perfect image’ has long been a sore point for you and I’m not going to lie to you and say you’ll get through it unscathed and unwounded. There will be casualties and you aren’t going to find a way to avoid or prevent them. That being said, the bloodied sword is that which has been through and won battles. 

Everything around you is going to change. Significantly. You’ve felt loneliness before but not like this, this one is different. It’s going to be tough for a while but you’re going to emerge from it happy with your own company. Some days I have to work on it harder than others but you come to realise that you are enough as you are and that just showing up is okay. 

The world is about to be thrown into a frenzy. From your television screen to your front door, people are going to be making noise. Not all of it good. There’s going to be a cacophony of voices, many of whom are poisoned by spite, bitterness and contempt. At times it will be difficult to rise above it all, tune into the melodies you want to hear. At other times when all is silent you will want nothing but sound, something to fill the empty void. I won’t pretend that things will eventually work out, but you know that already. Life is a work in progress and you’ve always been someone who has looked onto the next thing, the new ways to do better. 

While it’ll be a time of great darkness, the next few years will also be foundational for building you up to the person you dream about. It sounds cliche but these are the moments you will cling onto; good, bad and everything in between. You’ll meet people who will revolutionise your outlook, try things you never thought possible and go on journeys that know no limits nor bounds. It’ll be hard some days but try as much as you can to enjoy it. All of it.