Write a letter to your 100-year-old self.

Dear Miss 18Ø,

There are a lot of things I need to tell you. One day you will be so very old and so very frail. You will have seen a lot during the years from now until your hundredth birthday. So today, on your 43rd birthday, I need to let you know.

The last few years have been difficult. You have lost people who meant the entire universe to you. Your Nan, your Dad, and your husband Steve. I cannot guarantee there will not be further challenges but you have handled everything thrown at you with grace and maturity beyond your years. You have managed to navigate a flood and subsequent repairs to your home with patience and humility.

You have managed to find your place in life again and started to heal, grow in your truth, and embrace your unique qualities to become the very best version of yourself. You have set some lofty but achievable goals and you will be amazing. When you look back at what you’ve done from now until 57 years from now, you will be content in knowing you gave life all you could. You gave everything you put your mind to a red hot go.

Right now, your goals are as follows:

• 1 month – start a share portfolio
• 3 months – relaunch event management side hustle
• 6 months – get a promotion at work
• 1 year – graduate from the CPA program
• 5 years – graduate from a Masters in Taxation Law
• 10 years – graduate with a PhD with a focus on forensic accounting

These goals are everything that embodies me, from my yearning to be brilliant at what I do, to my innate need to fight against fraud and corruption. You know why everything in this list is a step towards being our authentic self with growth in mind for every step of the way.

I don’t need to chase anything in life, and you know this was true for the rest of time. What is meant for us came to us because of a mixture of destiny and fate.

Remember that you made all these goals come to life. Remember that you always made them come true by committing to small, consistent action and you always went where your passion drove you. You know this to be true because as you read this letter from me, you are looking at every single one of these goals knowing you obtained every single one of them, and so much more.

At first, it was with Steve’s love and commitment to being by your side that made it possible for you to commit to those small, consistent actions with your university degree, and you graduated in the class of 2019. He also stood beside you when you got your foot in the door for your chosen agency offering you your dream career. You have already proven to yourself that with love from yourself and others, anything and everything is possible.

You can go on without him and know it was Steve who opened your eyes to see your true beauty, intelligence, and self-worth. It was always there but you couldn’t see it until you found someone who loved you properly and made you want to be a better, more healthy version of yourself.

You always made love flow easily from yourself and that is why you were always so special. You never needed anyone but loved freely and brought back that love into your life tenfold. You never lost your kind, compassionate self even when the world kicked you when you were down. You always got back up and dusted yourself off, just to try again.

Never failing but always succeeding with learning from all your many challenges and mistakes.

I love you, therefore I love me. I hope you are proud of us.

Keep this one quote in your mind for the years flowing on from now:

“To love yourself right now, just as you are, is to give yourself heaven. Don’t wait until you die. If you wait, you die now. If you love, you live now.“

Alan Cohen

Love eternally and forever,

KT18Ø.

P.S. What would you write to your 100 year old self to look back at in the future?