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We used to look at all those loud and rude people, and we vowed that we would never become one of those people. Please do not be one of those people.

I know life can be hard, I know life can be exhausting, but that is no excuse to just give in and become a terrible person. Be kind. To people and animals. If it’s too much to ask for, at least don’t be unkind.

I imagine you have changed a lot. Hopefully, you are probably more sagacious, more patient, well-read and well off. You might even be complacent, comparing yourself to your old school or university friends. And it may be true that you are in a better position than our friends X and Y.

But honestly, I don’t care that you are better than X and Y, because X and Y were never even in our thoughts. After all, it is an irrelevant comparison. What I care about is this: Are you a better person than I am? Have you achieved more than I have? Are you happier than I am?

These are the only three questions that matter to me, and if all the answers are “yes”, then my friend, you should be satisfied with yourself. Because here in 2025, that is all I am hoping for. Things are chaotic here. And challenging. Physically, mentally, morally, and I am struggling.

I am healthy and alive, but there are a lot of things on my mind. I don’t have to explain them to you because by the time you read this, you will have resolved every single one of those issues. But I will say this, I hope you are less confounded by life and its drama than I am. Because I am utterly and completely confused. And it terrifies me. I know what my goals are, I know how to get there, but I don’t know how to start getting there. I am lost, I am scared, and I really could use a mentor.

But there’s also the issue that a mentor will not be able to help me unless I can help myself, which makes me think that I should start this hustle all by myself, and whatever the outcomes are, either I will win or I will learn some lessons. I do not know how many lessons you had to learn in ten years, but I do hope that you never gave up.

I do wish I could tell you all about my life in more detail, and a magic mirror that connects us through time would be amazing. But since we don’t have that, I am using the second-best thing — a letter through the ages, in hopes that you, too, will write to your future self.

And on that note, I bid you farewell for today.

Live long and prosper.

Sincerely,

Your past self from 2025.

By Ashif Ahmed Rudro

Photo: Collected