Future Me

As I was struggling to formulate a timely and interesting post for today, something both writing and end-of-the-year related came to mind—Future Me.

In a previous post, I lamented the passing of the age of letter writing in our modern age of email, IMs and texts. I remain a faithful, nostalgic believer in the power of the penned word. But Future Me, though it is technically accomplished in the form of an email, has the distinction of being a service specifically for allowing one to write a letter to one's future self. Here's how it works: You simply go to the site and write a letter to yourself to be sent at any specified date in the future. When that date arrives, you will receive your letter in your inbox. I wrote my first letter to myself in January 2008 and arranged to have it sent to me on the same date the following year. I did it again this year, so I should receive it sometime soon after the New Year.

It's an interesting type of writing. The you that writes the letter is not the same you that reads the letter a year later. The you writer is curious about the future, sets goals, assesses the present state and ponders how things will have changed. The you reader is a year wiser, has a year more of experience under the belt, and can know whether those goals were met or if any of the projections for the future materialized.

One of the writer's duties is to consider the audience. But what changes when the audience is oneself?

If you've never done Future Me, It might be an interesting experiment to try this year. Each letter becomes a landmark, a testament to the life you've lived and wish to live. It's an innovative way to evaluate the past as well as cast for the future.

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!

Currently reading: The Shipping News by E. Annie Proulx