Back to the future...

December 21 – Future Self. Imagine yourself five years from now. What advice would you give your current self for the year ahead? (Bonus: Write a note to yourself 10 years ago. What would you tell your younger self?)

- When an opportunity comes up, take it.

- Don't be afraid to share your work or explain it a little, but don't go overboard and scare people off with your "OMG, guyz, look at the purty I have created all by myself!!!!111!!".

- It's okay to suck. People have been sucking since the beginning of time and the world's still around with a lot of cool stuff in it.

- Keep putting the date on everything! One day, you will want to know when you wrote that!

- Go to the museum a little more. Do some more research. Get out of the house for your craft!

As for ten-year-ago me:

Hey there!

You've been experimenting lately with storytelling. Remember that horse story you wrote? It's pretty cool. I still have it, still in its folder. Well, in about a year or two, you are going to be taking storytelling a lot more seriously. The first fantasy epic is going to rock major socks, but you're going to have to eventually give it up. It's okay. You're going to learn a lot from it. It's good for you, I promise.

Don't obsess about Kevin in the future too much (yeah, I know, right now, boys are gross). That'll work itself out. You don't get together, but it doesn't hurt. I promise.

You look cute with short hair and no bangs. Don't let Mom make you get bangs if you don't want them.

You're going to get that little sister you've always wanted. She's going to be a clingy pain sometimes, but that's what little sisters are for. She's usually pretty cool, wanting to do everything her big sister does. She even wants to write a story too. You're going to be a big influence. Try and be a good one.

In ten years, you're going to be sitting at your computer, trying to think of things to write to your nearly-ten-year-old self. It'll feel really short, really lame, and not very helpful at all, but know that it was done with love. You're going to turn out all right, kid.

~Your Future Self