Dear Future Me,
If you are reading this, it means you made it through the years when forty-seven held the presidency and the country felt like it was constantly holding its breath. I hope, wherever you are now, life feels a little steadier and your shoulders are not always tensed without you realizing it.
I want you to remember how heavy those years felt. The constant news alerts. The way one headline could derail an entire day. The strange mix of anger, sadness, disbelief, and exhaustion that settled in and never fully left. There were moments when it felt irresponsible to look away and moments when looking away felt like the only way to stay sane.
You showed up anyway. You paid attention, even when you wanted to turn the page. You checked facts. You questioned what you were hearing. You resisted the urge to numb out completely, even though it would have been easier. And when the noise got overwhelming, you gave yourself permission to step back, take a walk, make a cup of tea, or write your way through it.
Remember that you protected your heart without closing it. You found comfort in small, ordinary things. Conversations with people you trust. Quiet mornings. Familiar routines. Laughter that felt almost rebellious in its normalcy. You learned that surviving did not always look like action. Sometimes it looked like rest.
I hope you remember that you were not perfect, but you were present. You worried about the future, but you also lived your life. You loved people fiercely. You stayed connected when it would have been easier to retreat entirely. You kept reminding yourself that this moment in history did not get to steal everything from you.
If things are better now, let yourself feel that relief without guilt. If things are still complicated, remember that you have already lived through uncertainty and found your footing again. You are more resilient than you gave yourself credit for back then.
Most of all, remember this: surviving those years did not harden you. It clarified what mattered. And that matters more than any presidency ever could.
With steadiness and hope,
Beth
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