“How’s covid? Are there still masks? Is everything normal again? I don’t think anything will be exactly the same anymore. It’s hard being a freshman in 2020. I can’t even tell you how many times I’ve gotten lost. Did you ever get used to it?

Well anyway, I hope you are okay. I’m proud of you for persisting and making it this far. Give it up this summer. I hope you’ve become the mature young woman I imagined while writing this letter. I hope things have gotten better for you than they are now. I hope you shoot for the stars and never ‘blend’! You’re a star, Julia McLean! Never forget it. It’s your life. Only you can define your legacy.”

Q. What was your reaction when reading your letter?

A. There were tears, it was very emotional to me

Q. What is a piece of advice you would give your freshman self now

A. Don’t take everything so seriously, it’s not the end of the world. Like ‘Oh! You got a B on a test?’ ‘It’s not that deep, chill.’

Q. How do you think you’ve changed from freshman to senior year?

A. I’ve definitely matured a lot. I believe emotionally and mentally, I’m a different person. I’ve established my values, which is something I didn’t have freshman year, so I’m just a better person.

“I’m not really sure what I want to be in the future, but I hope you have a good idea. I don’t really care if you’re still a procrastinator. Everything is messy right now. I need to clean my desk and my room and get a bunch of work done. But I think I’ll get to visit Nana soon, so that’s good.

Also, right now I’m trying to get better at Valorant, so I hope you’re pretty good at it by now. I think extracurriculars are boring. I wonder if you’ll be into that kind of stuff. I mostly play video games and hang out with friends. There is nobody I really look up to right now, but I hope you have someone like that. I think I’ll be pretty tall when you’re reading this.”

Q. What was your reaction when reading your letter?

A. I thought my letter was pretty interesting. I wish my younger self put more time into it because I wrote like thirty words, but it’s alright.

Q. What is a piece of advice you would give your freshman self now?

A. I would have told my younger self to do extracurricular activities because I didn’t do anything at all for the first three years of high school.

Q. How do you think you’ve changed from freshman to senior year?

A. Freshman year, I did literally nothing, I joined regular sports, and it is a lot more fun.

“How’s the 2024 election? AHHH! You’re an adult, how that terrifies me. I hope you’re happy. I know how vague and hard it is to achieve that, but if you can do that, then you’ve done well in my eyes. My unimportant eyes, but nonetheless.”

Q. What was your reaction when reading your letter?

A. A little bit of disappointment. I have some pretty personal stuff in there, and I was like, damn, I was not super well ahead. But then the rest of my letter was ‘As long as you’re happy, I’m proud of you, and it was nice.’

Q. What is a piece of advice you would give your freshman self now?

A. It’s not that deep. You don’t have to go home and think about every social interaction every day because people don’t care that much and just chill a bit. It’s going to be fun.

Q. How do you think you’ve changed from freshman to senior year?

A. I’ve made a lot of really great friends. When I was a freshman, I was

“Ok, actually last thing! I hope that whatever you do in the future, you are doing it with love and kindness. If this year has taught you anything, even in all the bad, there is so much good out there for you. So don’t waste it, and try your best! Stand up for yourself and others. Don’t waste your time caring about what others think about you, and be kind to others (and yourself!) I love you so much, and I hope that you are a person I would be proud to be!”

Q. What was your reaction when reading your letter?

A. I was really emotional because there’s a lot that’s changed since freshman year. I think seeing how I thought and felt during my freshman year was really emotional.

Q. What is a piece of advice you would give your freshman self now?

A. Relax. One thing I did a lot throughout my high school experience was just stress and being worried about things that didn’t matter that much in the long run instead of being present and focused on the good things happening in my life.

Q. How do you think you’ve changed from freshman to senior year?

A. I’m definitely more relaxed, I’ve learned to see the more important things in my life and really enjoy those things. Focusing on what matters to me and what I want to put my time and energy into and being more present now.

“Just make sure you make an impact however you can. There are too many normal people for you to be one too. (Thank Ms. Schmook for letting you use her pen). Sorry, I didn’t put any money in here, I’m broke.”

Q. What was your reaction when reading your letter?

A. I was upset because I didn’t get any money. I thought I was a little melodramatic.

Q. What is a piece of advice you would give your freshman self now?

A. Not everything is as big a deal as it seems to be, relax. Also, don’t leave the computer open when you go to the bathroom.

Q. How do you think you’ve changed from freshman to senior year?

A. For the better, I hope.