You might be thinking about the future as you read this. Maybe you’re thinking: The next five years. What about the next five minutes? What tremendous thoughts to be had!

What if the you who is thinking these very same thoughts stopped to write to yourself five years from now? What would you tell that person? What kind of wishes would you leave behind? Would you talk about your favorite books and movies and memories to preserve them forever? Or would you talk about the weather because you fear that you won’t know that person in five years?

Let me stop you before you fall into the abyss — a space filled with question marks and butterflies and pictures yet to be taken. Just write something. Don’t worry about what you will think in five years because, chances are, you will be just as terrific as the you who is writing this letter — maybe even better.

Do you believe me?

No?

I didn’t think so.

Sometimes without seeing, it is hard to believe. But I so want you to believe in yourself and your words and your future. So stop. Just write. Write about the things you love and the things you hate and the things you want to happen. Record the date in the corner. Single out the smell of the room you’re sitting in. Leave all the details behind. In five years, when you read this very same letter, you can close your eyes and be back in this moment. You can travel through time.

So, write your letter and make it a story because I’m sure you will still love stories in five years. When you finish this magnificent story, seal it in an envelope and remind yourself: Do not open until… And when you are done, let whatever you are feeling wash over you. Sink beneath those waves and remember that in five years you will have this letter back. That’s right, you! You now, you then; the you who will grow and change. But it will always be you.

This is your story.

The next five years belong to you.