Letters from Different Times

By Lily B.

To 2020, From 2021

Dear 10 year old self,

Okay, let me just tell you this: You are about to get launched into the craziest time of your life. No, it won’t be over soon, and it’s still happening an entire year later. Here is some advice from the future:

• Buy toilet paper and paper towels while you still can.
• DO NOT READ THE NEWS. Just don’t. It’s horribly depressing and stressful.
• Start a fairy garden and go ask the neighbor girl, Micah, if she would like to help. Trust me, it will be the best decision you will make this year.
• Stay strong and don’t worry!
• There are better times ahead. Stay hopeful.
• “Be like a phoenix, if the world strikes you down, rise up again stronger than before.” — Your older self
• Enjoy the lockdown while it lasts. School will start again soon, so just enjoy some “you time.”

— 11 year old Lily

To 2041, From 2021

Dear 31 year old Lily,

Are you happy? Do you work as a vet? If you do, I’m sure it feels good to help so many animals. Do you work on birds, big animals, and smaller animals like you thought? I hope you have a home in big, beautiful New Mexico. If you do, is it big? I like big houses. Do you have huskies? Do you remember what you thought the name of the dog would be? Aleu. Do you have kids? Are they hard to handle? I hope they aren’t difficult like you were. What is the world like in 2041? I hope humans haven’t hurt the Earth too much…

Goodbye,

11 year old Lily

To 2021, From 2041

Dear 11 year old Lily,

I am very happy. Unless it is summer, then I am too hot, and therefore miserable. You know what I mean. I work as a vet, and I do everything that we imagined! I live in NM: Eagle’s Nest! My house is not big. It is medium-sized. I don’t have any huskies, but I have chickens. Their eggs are delicious! I have kids: two girls. They definitely got their mother’s fiery temper. They are a pair of handfuls! About the world in 2041: The population has reached eight and a half billion. The world has gotten a lot hotter since 2021. The good news is that creatures don’t often go extinct anymore because cloning is available for every animal now.

Sincerely,

31 year old Lily

Lily B. is a Level 2 student who loves almost all animals (except wasps).