The strangest thing happened when I stopped over my mom’s house to give her a Canvas print. She handed me a letter than was addressed to me and the return address was from my highschool. The strangest part of the letter is that it looked like my handwriting. Well, thats because it was. Apparently, during my senior year of highschool (9 years ago) we wrote letters to ourselves which included a list of goals to be accomplished over the next ten years. Next year will be ten years, so I suppose my highschool sent them out to give the graduates of the class of 2000 another year to make their highschool dreams come true. This letter caught me totally off-guard, but it was a glimpse into the person I was at that time. I’m also surprised that I met as many of the goals as I did without ever remembering that the list even existed…
And… here is the letter:
Dear Issy,
Well, I’m a senior now and its been a great year. I managed to work really hard hours and still keep my grades up. Amy and I are still best friends and I hope we stay that way. I’m so excited for college. I can’t wait to go. The prom was so much fun. The senior trip was awesome too. I had so much fun with Nina and the Dillella’s. I think that Dink and Amy are going to miss me the most. It is going to be really hard for my mom because she is so overprotective. Remember to never give up. Never forget all of the fun times. I am ready to take the next step in my life. I think my family is proud of my accomplishments. Stay strong, and don’t ever give up.
Love, Issy
And now the list that I wrote in highscool…. I will mark off which ones I have actually accomplished:
1. Go to Australia
2. Get good grades in college – completed
3. Get a good job -completed
4. Bunjee Jump – 1/2 complete (I didn’t actually go upsidedown but I did bunjee in a holster)
5. Skycoaster- completed
6. Skydive – 1/2 complete (I did indoor skydiving)
7. Cheer in college -complete
8. Have a pet on Campus (we weren’t allowed)
9. Stay at the shore – completed
10. Get a VW Beetle – completed
11. Go to every club on Delaware Ave- completed
12. Shop till I drop – sure
13. Drive a racecar
14. Meet Tara Lipinski (when I was a kid she rollerskated at the rollerskating rink where we hung out so when she went to the Olympics we were so excited to have seen her skate long before she was a competitive figure skater)
15. Meet Kerri Strug
16. Get a BMW Z3
17. Stay best friends with Amy – completed
18. Always keep live flowers in my room
19. Go to the mall of America
20. Keep in touch with highscool friends – 1/2 complete because I could have done a better job at this
21. Make lots of money (I’m sure I would define this differently 9 years ago)
22. Go to Cancun
23. Go back to Disney -completed
24. Go on Road Trips (funny that I wrote this because I get car sick)
25. Have lots of parties in the summer – 1/2 complete due to the word lots
26. Own a salon w/Amy
27. Build my own computer
28. Have a rollercoaster in my back yard (this is one I actually used to daydream about, but I didn’t remember it until I read it. My dad and I used to talk about what it would take to build a rollercoaster)
29. Braid all of my hair -complete (Amy braided my hair that summer and I ended up getting sunburn on my scalp)
30. Remember what Mrs. Loushay taught me (I’m not sure what I meant by this, she was my Spanish teacher)
31. Spend time with Poppy -complete (when I read this it made me cry. My grandfather had gotten sick that year and I was scared we were going to loose him. I felt as if I hadn’t spent enough time with him, so I made sure that I would never feel that way again. Poppy passed away Dec 05 and I’m grateful for every little moment that I did spend with him)
32. Visit Tori and Frankie- complete (my little cousins that I used to drive home from college to see)
33. Pull the best senior prank
34. Party during senior week
35. Stay close to my parents – 1/2 complete
36. Come home to visit sal (I have no idea what this one means)
37. Drive to Ny to surprise my aunt
38. Own every color gel pen
39. Have an inground pool- complete
40. See my sister go to college -1/2 complete (Dink went to cosmetology school)
41. Help my parents (not sure what I meant by this)
42. Play softball next year -complete
43. Grow my own garden -complete
44. Lookout for Dink -complete (I’m still doing this)
45. Get away from my parents -complete
46. Stop drinking coffee to stay awake – complete
47. Stay awake in school – complete
48. Enjoy college -complete
49. Dont work so much so that I can concentrate on school