5 years ago on June 8, 2011, I wrote a letter to myself for one of my classes. We wrote it, brought it class in an envelope, and handed to our teacher who promised he would send it out 5 years later. My letter arrived today, and it stirs old and new emotions in me.
I feel like I've definitely grown a lot since then. I was 17 and a junior in high school when I wrote this letter. I hadn't experienced college, hadn't been challenged, and was definitely too young and dumb to do anything. I am proud to say that I have grown and that I have actually accomplished a lot of the things I hope I would from 5 years ago.
One excerpt:
"APUSH was the hardest class I took this year, but I got through it and passed. (Question: Did APUSH help at all for my career?)"
Sigh, that is gold. And no, Past Charles, APUSH did not help at all.
I think the part that tore me up the most was the last thing I wrote to myself. I've definitely been struggling lately - feeling lost and confused about life. I see the class of 2011, and think why I am part of that. It is so difficult for me to deal with failure/disappointment/rejection that sometimes I just want to shut my life down and not deal with it. And lately, I've been seeing and feeling like I've been a disappointment - not to anyone in particular but to myself. I'd call it a quarter-life crisis almost. But the last part of the letter that I wrote to myself was something that I have not been living up to.
"This is a quote from one of my coaches (Coach Mooney) and it's a cool saying that cool people say to sound cool. [Present Charles: I don't know why I wrote that. Definitely gay.]
'There is no limit to hustle'
I love this quote, because someone's hustle can be anything. Hustling on the basketball court to make a near-impossible block, hustling on the football field making a touchdown saving tackle, hustling in school to make grades to go to UCLA, hustling in life to control YOUR life, not others controlling it.
But no matter how hard you hustle, there is always another level above. There is an infinite amount of hustle. It is impossible to reach the peak of hustle. So for everything you do, remember: 'There is no limit to hustle.'"
Eff. Funny how things come to you like that. God is full of humor. Thank you God and thank you Past Charles for this.
