Earlier during the break, I wrote my letter to my future self at FutureMe.org. Two, actually. I sent the letter to myself one year in the future, and then decided to send it to myself ten years in the future, too, with a short postscript.
It was actually sort of a theraputic experience for me. There's been a lot on my mind lately, and that's what I wrote about. All I set out to do was tell a story, but soon enough I realized I had written seven pages. I don't think it really matters WHAT you write about, as long as it's natural. Y'know, stream-of-consciousness style. Then, in the future, you not only receive the actual content of your message, but also the connotative information about your past self's thinking style, emotional state, and all the subtext that you might not even know you were communicating. Beliefs, thoughts, emotions, and identity are all things that change so gradually that you might not be able to tell when, or how, they changed. Those, even more than memories, are likely to be lost in time if they aren't recorded.
I know I'll always remember the sequence of events that happened because of my chronic illness, but I don't know if I'll always remember how I felt during the time I was sick if I become healthy in the future. And it's VERY important to me that I remember, because I know I'm not the only one who's suffering. I might be going to college to become a neuroscientist, because I dream of curing chronic illnesses like mine. If I can remember my frustration at my illness and desperation for a cure, it will make me that much more motivated to help those who are in need like I am now.
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