BIO
Julia Gómez-Rangel was born and raised in Corpus Christi, Texas. On August 16, 2017 she will finally be old enough to start learning how to drive. She aspires to do many things in life including learning to ride a motorcycle and eventually owning her own.
No One Ever Takes Warnings Seriously (Especially When It Comes in Essay Format)
Dear Younger Self (15),
You shouldn’t be reading this. Who knows what your reading of this letter will cause. I would make that issue the topic of the letter, but my last letter covered this topic extensively enough. World-changing consequences aside, it is completely unethical for me to send this letter. What have I done to deserve a chance to change what has already passed. Does anyone deserve this kind of privilege? Is it a privilege or is it a human right? We have the power, and by not allowing people to change the past we could be obstructing their right to pursue happiness. Technically time traveling to the past shouldn’t be possible, but I guess if you receive this letter someone went above the speed limit of the universe. Nevertheless, here I am writing this letter knowing that I shouldn’t yet be doing so.
If you received my last letter, which I hope not because I will admit that I rambled quite a bit, then you know why it is a terrible idea to communicate with your past-self. In case you didn’t, the main idea was that the risk of disrupting the timeline was far too high when compared to the benefit of having a little help with any of your future obstacles. You already know this though. You’re smart.
Should I regard you as a different person or younger me? Technically you’re both, but I feel that talking to a person who just happens to share fifteen years of the exact same memories is simpler than constantly mixing the two of us because I refer to us as the same person. This is a philosophical question that will keep both of us up at 3:00 a.m. You’re welcome.
So other than knowing you’re going to live to see your twenty-fifth birthday and time travel exists you shouldn’t know anything about the future. This isn’t an excuse to be reckless. I didn’t get to where I am by throwing myself off of cliffs and lazing about. I know you. I’m you but stronger, smarter, and with more impulse control. If I thought I was guaranteed to live to see the Earth revolve round the Sun twenty-five times I would have probably broken so many bones.
To be honest, I find it therapeutic to talk to you. It’s not like writing to your future-self. I’m not stumbling over questions and sweating with uncertainty. Last year’s letter was a bit stressed for lack of a better word but it wasn’t the ramblings of a person in fear but rather of a person experiencing an existential crisis. I’ve calmed down though, for the most part. I still have my moments when my thoughts are too loud and I sound manic but I find that I just need to focus on what’s real to quiet all the questions that distract me.
This letter is longer than intended but it could be longer. Ironically I don’t have the time to delve into every thought in my head. This letter is not as fun as my last letter but telling you to hit your head again would make it seem like I have self-destructive tendencies.
Sincerely, Your Older-Self (25)