Letter to My Early 2020 Self: Stay Hopeful

Hey, Past Self, 

The beginning of 2020 has been . . . drastic, to say the least.

The perception in January was that it was going to be a great year, like every year, but you're excited right now, and hopeful for the future. New things are happening and it feels like your year is set for success. You always try to stay hopeful. I appreciate that about you. I'm glad that it's a trait that hasn't changed. Keep being hopeful. 

A lot has changed and hasn't changed. It has been eventful and non-eventful. You'll hope for things to get better and go back to normal, but they'll continue to progressively get worse, in a sense. You'll get tired of the negativity. You'll feel like you're drowning in it. Continue treading and keep your head above the water. This world's negativity will try to force you under. You'll be okay. Everything will be okay. God has the world in His hands. 

It's January, and I know you're feeling confident and comfortable right now, but it's going to get shaky—real shaky. You'll have to adapt and find new ways that will have to be your new normal. You'll be surrounded by conversations that you won't want to hear most of, and you'll learn how to find joy in unknown times. 

Right now, you're pretty happy with life, but a lot of things are going to become uncertain in a few months. Different aspects of your life will flip and be strictly online, and you won't get to see some people you care about for a while. You won't get to go places that you enjoyed going to for a while. 

It will be abnormal. 

Currently, it is June, and in March I was sure it would be over by now, but it was just the beginning back then. You have kind of adjusted, but it's still very difficult. You've started a new part of your journey and you're going to do great! 

You wonder if everything will be okay next year for this chapter of your life. You wonder if you'll get to celebrate milestones, explore life, and enjoy it like you wanted to. You wonder if the world will be okay. Will it? I don't know. I think it'll be okay by the time you want it to (sooner the better, but you really don't want it to last that long). 

I do wonder if I can experience life like I always wanted to, but, either way, you know God is in control and will do good. You know that in the end, everything will be okay. 

Don't worry. You have a gift for hopefulness and it truly is valuable. Stay hopeful. 

Love, 

Your Future Self 

~ ~ ~ 

Honestly, it's weird to think about the fact that just six months ago, life's circumstances were completely different. I never would have guessed this, even during some New Years' game where you tried to predict crazy events that could happen in the year of 2020. 

It can be hard to go through events, whether it be difficulties in a group of people you know, your town, your country, or the world. I couldn't envision what others are going through. God's faithfulness is worth trusting in. 

Like I said to my past self, I also say to my current self, so I encourage you to yourself as well: stay hopeful. 

~The Inspired One