A time capsule.

This letter is not to be opened or read by 2017.

Dear Anis,

First of all, happy birthday! If you're reading this that means you're now officially 25. Do you even remember being 18? Time surely passed by sooo fast. Well not all the time. Remember how 5 minutes feels like an hour in microeconomics class? Good times.
And heyy the world didn't end in 2012 after all. Awesome.
And oh my God you had your braces off looong time ago didn't you? I'm stuck with this, metal gates for over a year and food gets stuck all the time urgh. MANNN I wish you can post a picture of yourself, I want to see how I look without the braces! And to see how fat you've become so I can work on that starting nao. HAHA.

I've always wanted to be a journalist, although ironically I rarely read the newspaper. So I hope you're working towards that. Remember how excited you were when your blog was featured on The Star? How they described you as 'aspiring journalist' and on that day no matter what happened at school, you came home smiling?
And when you (occasionally) do read newspapers, you look at the writers' name and said 'that'd be my name someday'? Or you see interviews with inspiring people and you wish you can change people's lives with your writing?
I hope you'll never forget that. That feeling. That adrenaline rush.

However if you changed your mind, that's okay too. I don't care if you turn out to be an English teacher or environmentalist with this OCD of having to be all GO GREEN and SAVE MOTHER NATURE freak. Because I know you can be fickle sometimes and at the end of the day, all I want is for you to be happy. I wish I can tell you 'dreams do come true' and all that crap but truth is, everybody dreams. And not everybody's dreams will come true. That won't be a reality, that'll be a fantasy.

I always have this fear of being a total failure in life. I wish you can tell me it's nothing like that for you. That your days are filled with smiles and laughters. And it's all real, not like me faking it everyday in college. I hope you're successful in everything you do, but never forget your family and friends. Right now I'm in that stage where you just hate your parents for simplest things (and seriously it's a hormonal thing) so I hope you appreciate them more now. Go give them a hug if you haven't in a while.
Your sister and brother annoy you sometimes but you annoy them twice as much! ;) So whatever issues you have with them, don't let your ego get in the way. (K I officially feel like a hypocrite now because I don't do what I said HAHAHAH well you're 25! Be wiser!)
Keep in touch with friends you had when you're 15, when you're 18. But also know that friendships end, and that's just how life works.

I've always wanted to go bungee jump in New Zealand and ride THE scariest roller coasters in the world. So now that you're 25 I hope you've crossed that on your list of Things To Do Before I Turn 30. Okay not that you even have that list but.. yeah. You're not getting any younger so go out there and have fun!

Other things on this "imaginary" Things To Do Before I Turn 30 list? Get married. Ooooohhh. My sister and I joked about marriage all the time. Like how I want my sister get married soon so I can have cute nieces/nephews. But now that you're 25, I hope you've found a great guy to settle down with. LOLOLOL I feel weird writing this. But, even if you haven't found The One, believe he's out there. Believe God has planned it all for you. If you just happen to be dating a total jerk, go kick him in the crotch and run. Because you're worth so much more than that. And then go listen to some Taylor Swift songs and watch Zombieland it'll all be better :) AND OH OF COURSE, NUTELLA. DUH.

Last but not least, stop hating yourself if you haven't already. I look in the mirror and 99.9% of the time, I hate what I see. I really do. But now at your age, stop worrying about it so much. Seriously. Make it a thing in the past. What you went through in your teenage phase. You're not perfect and nobody is. You have fats here and there and everybody has it too. And if a guy call you fat, mentally put them in a giant blender and switch it on. Then feed it to the zombies.
Never, ever let anyone make you feel less beautiful than you truly are.

All in all, I hope life has been treating you well. And even though you didn't go to New Zealand or travel the world or write for newspapers or smile all the time, it's okay! Be kind to yourself. You're alive, and that is something to smile about.

Nothing will change, but nothing will stay the same either. And never stop hoping. Hope always dies last. And most importantly, STAY FEARLESS, YO.



Love always,
Anis - 18 years old (technically, 17 years 10 months old)