I just read in the Sunday magazine XL Weekly an initiative that I have loved. A guy named Joseph Galliano has created a website where celebrities and anonymous people They write a letter to their 16-year-old self. Surely if they had received that letter when they were 16 years old, it would have changed their lives.
I leave you as an example the letter that Hugh Jackman writes to his 16-year-old self:
Dear Hugh,
It occurred to me to write you a little note to see how you are (although I already know) and to say yes !! The time will come when you'll get over the fact that Penny said goodbye to you forever at the bus stop and you'll wonder how you ever cried every time you heard the song Penny lover by Lionel Richie.
And well, those ugly pimples that you have on your forehead will also eventually disappear, although not as quickly as you would like. And yes, they will give you the big room in the house as soon as your brother Ralph leaves home.
Right now, important things are still far away ... I'm going to tell you a few things that can surely help you in the future. I don't want to be an ashen and give you some surprises in advance, which is why all this may sound a bit vague.
Things are going to be different from how you imagine them. I know you do not have a clear idea of what you are going to do with your life, and I know that this circumstance is driving you a little crazy ... In particular, when you are asked about it almost every day. When asked, just smile and respond: "Right now I have no idea, but when I have it clearer I'll tell you."
To be honest with you many of the things that are going to happen will leave you open-mouthed ... It is not ruled out that everything is much better than what you could have dreamed of.
Love life? (Beware, a spoiler is coming). You will meet a wonderful woman, and the decision to marry her will be the easiest decision you will ever have to make. Trust your instinct.
Write a list, every day. A single list, with the five things you like to do and the five things that you are good at… These things will change, but the day will come when they will fit in, and there will be the way to go. But don't stop writing the list for that, to make sure you're on the right track.
Your character leads you to be hard on yourself, to demand a lot from you ... Be careful with this aspect. It is the thing that can most easily lead you to derail in life.
There are many other things to say that you would certainly like to hear, but I do not want to spoil the surprise.
You have had many lucky breaks in life and you are going to have many more. Never forget where those lucky breaks come from.
Ah! And in about ten years you will be amused by a song that talks about «put on sunscreen». The letter will have its what ... And it will be very right about the convenience of PUTTING ON SUN PROTECTION !!! Let's see if you get the hint ...
I love you hugh
Postscript: Buy Google shares when Google is invented !!!
It is edifying, right? I propose to write a letter right now to the adolescent you were. If you want you can share it with all of us and write it in the comments below.