Letters From Our Future Selves | Teen Ink

Letters From Our Future Selves MAG

December 17, 2007
By Anonymous

Dear Associate Dean,

I don’t believe I deserve this detention. I don’t do drugs or skip class. Just because I eat lunch with the “bad eggs” does not mean that I am one. If you stereotype me then I begin to stereotype myself. Before long, I will deserve detention.

Sincerely,
Future Fast-Food Employee


Dear Police Officer,

Please give me a ticket for speeding. I was going 12 over the limit in a school zone. Just because I’m a pretty girl doesn’t mean I am above the law. I have received six warnings already, and I’m starting to believe I can do no wrong. It is good for me to get in trouble. You aren’t doing me any favors by letting me off. Soon I will believe I am invincible.

Thanks,
Future Drunk Driver


Dear Gym Teacher,

Please don’t just stand around while I am always picked last. I know you see me. Pick our teams or require the ball to be passed to three people before a point can be scored, or make us run in circles so nobody knows I’m the slowest. Just do something! I am starting to hate exercise. If you think I’m bad at athletics, I will start to believe it too. The time I spend exercising is dwindling fast. Help me.

Sending my regards,
Future Gastric Bypass Patient


Dear Parent,

Please stop praising me for being a jock. I know I can throw a mean football and I bring home the hottest cheerleaders, but I am so much more. I need you to acknowledge my creative writing assignment. I need you to accept my friends who are less attractive. For once I need you to ground me for getting a D in art and not just tell me, “It’s okay – art ­doesn’t matter.” If you don’t treat me like more, I won’t believe I can do more.

Sincerely,
Meathead Who Can’t Write a Letter


Dear Teacher,

Please pick groups for us. I know everyone smiles when you say, “Get in groups of three,” but it’s really hurting us. I have been in the same group for eight years. If this continues I will never make new friends or step out of my comfort zone. You are responsible for us while we are in class. You expect me to act like an adult, but I am obviously not one yet. Soon, I won’t be able to do anything new, because you didn’t teach me how.

From,
Guy Who Never Moved Out of His Parents’ House


Dear Smart Kid,

Please be my partner in class. I know you think I am just using you for answers, but I think maybe I can help you too. I know it’s not your fault you don’t like me. Come on, let’s be friends. What do you have to lose?

Sincerely,
Stupid Kid Who Will Never Be More


Dear Future Child,

I promise I’ll be good to you. The change starts with me, and that’s exactly what I plan to do. I will do my best to raise you to have compassion and empathy for all. You will have the freedom to be who you are and not who I tell you to be. You will see others as more than just an associate dean, ­police officer, gym teacher, parent, teacher, or smart kid. Instead, you will know their names. That change starts with me.

Sincerely,
Teen From the Clique Generation



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This article has 64 comments.


on Jul. 20 2010 at 3:37 pm
The_Blackest_Rose PLATINUM, Joliet, Montana
31 articles 19 photos 41 comments

Favorite Quote:
"History is the fiction we invent to convince ourselves that events are knowable and life has order and direction." --Calvin and Hobbes

I think the Clique Generation means the generation of kids that have to be part of a certain clique, or else they are rejected and cast out.

on Jul. 20 2010 at 2:39 pm
The_Blackest_Rose PLATINUM, Joliet, Montana
31 articles 19 photos 41 comments

Favorite Quote:
"History is the fiction we invent to convince ourselves that events are knowable and life has order and direction." --Calvin and Hobbes

I almost started crying. . . .And trust me, with me, that's REALLY hard to do.....

on Jul. 7 2010 at 6:00 pm
Hippiechick10 SILVER, One Stoplight Town, Connecticut
7 articles 0 photos 83 comments

Favorite Quote:
Those who deny freedom to others , deserve it not for themselves. (Abe Lincoln)

Only one word came to my mind- A-M-A-Z-I-N-G

ItsAlly SILVER said...
on Jun. 15 2010 at 9:16 pm
ItsAlly SILVER, Humacao, Other
6 articles 6 photos 6 comments

Favorite Quote:
"Be the change you wish to see in the world" -M.Ghandi

It was really touching and sincere. I loved it! You really are a great author!

on Jun. 9 2010 at 9:25 pm
whispersofthenight GOLD, Tallahassee, Florida
10 articles 2 photos 35 comments

Favorite Quote:
I am an artist; I paint with words.

Good job! The letters are a unique way to portray your message, which really gets through. Five stars!

luisanchez said...
on May. 18 2010 at 11:48 am
these are very nice writings. you are a great author.

on May. 4 2010 at 4:10 pm
RitaChristine BRONZE, Metcalfe, Other
2 articles 0 photos 31 comments
Excellent writing! Very creative, but also well executed. I love how it's in letter form - way to think outside the box. And the title fits the bill. Keep it up.

on May. 2 2010 at 11:06 pm
lunar_moon BRONZE, Austin, Texas
4 articles 3 photos 39 comments

Favorite Quote:
"If you think you can you can, and if you think you can't, you're right." -Mary Kay Ash

Very origonal. And I love how I have to go down four comments to see one that doesn't have "amazing" in it!

on May. 2 2010 at 6:37 pm
NeverFallTooHard PLATINUM, Hartford, Wisconsin
24 articles 5 photos 98 comments

Favorite Quote:
Reason is powerless in the expression of Love.~ Rumi<br /> Realisim, in painting, is what one wants to see, not what they really see. ~ Janet Fish

WOW.. it IS amazing! I like it! And it sorta relates to me because sometimes when I am feeling down, I write myself a letter telling myself to be happy. It's sorta funny, too... I'm crazy in my own little ways... ;D

onlyiz said...
on May. 2 2010 at 3:04 am
onlyiz, Boulder, Colorado
0 articles 1 photo 85 comments

Favorite Quote:
&ldquo;You can&#039;t depend on your eyes when your imagination is out of focus.&rdquo; - Mark Twain

um... that was amazing. 

on May. 1 2010 at 10:31 am
hello.beautiful PLATINUM, New York, New York
35 articles 29 photos 67 comments

Favorite Quote:
Look at the nations and watch&mdash; and be utterly amazed. For I am going to do something in your days that you would not believe, even if you were told. -Habakkuk 1:5

This was amazing.

on Apr. 15 2010 at 6:00 pm
whatshername GOLD, Carlsbad, California
14 articles 1 photo 112 comments
That was amazing!

on Apr. 10 2010 at 10:22 am
toxic.monkey SILVER, Tashkent, Other
6 articles 0 photos 210 comments

Favorite Quote:
&quot;Homo homini lupus&quot;

i love how your last letter concludes everything! amazing!

mads942 SILVER said...
on Apr. 3 2010 at 5:25 pm
mads942 SILVER, Houston, Texas
6 articles 0 photos 24 comments
This is so awesome and original!

on Apr. 2 2010 at 1:55 pm
ivydreamer213, Ashburn, Virginia
0 articles 0 photos 1 comment

Favorite Quote:
&quot;life is about the number of breaths you take but rather the moments that take your breath away&quot;

this was so good, i like you're writing style it's humurous, witty, yet thought provoking enough to get through to anyone and everyone who reads it, keep writing and post new stuff i'll definetly check it out

on Mar. 22 2010 at 6:36 pm
Someone_Who_Is_Loved GOLD, Mount Forest, Other
10 articles 0 photos 82 comments

Favorite Quote:
This quote is one I made up.....<br /> &quot;You can&#039;t climb a mountian without a harness.&quot; It means that you can&#039;t go where you want to get in life without the help of your friends or family.

So funny! I showed my mom this and she thought it was so awesome!

on Mar. 19 2010 at 3:57 pm
firstsnowfalls DIAMOND, Marcellus, New York
51 articles 6 photos 105 comments
wow awesome idea. well-written, too. really makes you think. GREAT job. keep writing.

on Mar. 13 2010 at 10:07 pm
Destiny21 SILVER, Wendover, Nevada
8 articles 0 photos 33 comments

Favorite Quote:
Giving up doesnt mean your weak. sometimes it means your stronger to let go

love it you are a great writer

on Mar. 2 2010 at 11:37 am
alwayssunshine PLATINUM, Charlotte, North Carolina
24 articles 5 photos 147 comments
This is unbelievable. Really has some powerful messages. Extremely moving! I'm totally adding it to faves.

xx3rikkixx3 said...
on Feb. 8 2010 at 7:56 pm
xx3rikkixx3, Wayne, New Jersey
0 articles 0 photos 3 comments
This is such an insightful piece! I absolutly love it! It really had me thinking about how the future connects with the past and present. Wonderful job!