Open Letter to My Younger Self

Dear Me a Thousand Years Ago,

I know what you’re thinking: you’re going to find that thing that keeps you going. That great philosophy or path that will set your life right. What you don’t know is, you’ll never find it, but that search has given so much more than you hoped for. You’ll never stop searching…For the truth.

Think of Neopaganism (for the readers: I’m a ex-Neopagan) as just a mindset. It wasn’t a philosophy set down from the heavens or the earth as the case may be, but rather, it was man-made. That man-made spirituality will bring you closer to nature, but it will never explain the wonders of it.

Science, my friend. Science will help you understand. And for goddess’ sake, listen to your science teachers! Don’t think that because you don’t understand something you’re stupid! Because you’re not. You just learn differently from other people.

Don’t just give up on learning because it’s harder for you or it seems like everyone else is smarter than you.

I know what you’re thinking. The math in science (or math in general) is hard to understand. It’s like hitting a wall over and over, isn’t it? Math will come to you (or you’ll come to it). Don’t worry about it. Just go for your dreams.

You wanted to do something about pollution the moment you learned about it in 2nd grade. The only reason you decided you can’t do this is because you don’t understand math.

You know what I say?

Other people had bigger obstacles than you and they’ve ended up doing what they wanted. Not understanding something outright isn’t a good enough reason to give up on the first try. Just keep working. Math and science take work, time, and energy – not just smarts.

Things don’t happen for a reason. Plans go wry. Those bigger obstacles will happen, if it hasn’t happened yet. My advice? Don’t depend on anyone. Stand up and do what you know is best.

You’ll ultimately succeed.

You’ll come to find that once you set your mind to something there is no going back.