A letter from December 31st, 2019

Dear FutureMe, Maybe by the time you read this, Trump will be out of the White House and you will have a Ph.D. Maybe you’ll even have a good job. Or maybe you’ll be slogging through your last year of grad school and/or that orange bastard will be crowing about the victory he likely stole yet again. Who can say? Know this, or try to: You do not suck. You are not stupid. It’s okay that you’re in your forties and your brain is still developing. You weren’t allowed that opportunity growing up. And while it’s perhaps unhealthy, and definitely dismissive, to get caught up in “OK, Boomer” mania, remembering that they didn’t half promulgate some pretty fucked up shit too has helped you jettison a lot of your own, so don’t hesitate to use the phrase when necessary. It’s still okay to dislike people for whatever reason, no matter how shallow you think it is. Sometimes this requires self-examination, other times, not so much. “No” is a complete sentence. You’re not hallucinating. These are shitty times. You are not a shitty person. You are still relevant, and you still have stuff to say. Keep making art. Love, 2019 Me