Thanks to Leperman for starting. I would also like to urge members to slightly refrain from joke time comments and stuff in response to the quotes to be put here, as these are sorta serious, and in posting these here, we are sharing a part of ourselves to everyone.
To my past self on January 2008:
To future Mark
To my past self on January 2008:
To Mark Jason Ting of 2008,
Hello. This is you/me/Mark Jason Ting 6 years from 2014, 6 years from now.
I know that you will most likely be surprised, and mesmerized as well. But please try to read with an open mind.
Congratulations on finally graduating from college. After all those years you are finally getting into the corporate world. I know how you feel-you are most likely very excited at the idea of finally earning money, and finally be able to fund the things you wanted. Congratulations on this.
There is so much I want to tell you about your future self, who is me, but I will choose to withhold several events and key points, as I do not want you to know in advance the things and happenings that you will encounter. I want you to learn as we always have, through firsthand experience with no prior pointers and cautionary reminders.
I am aware that you might ask some questions, so I will pre-emptively answer them.
No I am still single
No I do not own a car yet
No I have not “made it” and have become lucky and got rich.
Nothing much has changed.
Let these answer your most general of questions, as I expect you to be curious.
At this point in both your life, which was once a point in mine, you are still very energetic, and very enthusiastic. I urge you to always keep being motivated, and to be always driven with a goal in mind. I do not mind how small or big your goal might be, but always stick to a goal, and pursue it till you achieve it. I, at this point in my life have sadly had our innate drive and enthusiasm reduced by a lot, stemming from a lot of trials and painful experiences. While I will not tell you what these are, I know that you and I are the same. We are strong. We are resilient. Please continue to be so, as it is a cornerstone of who we are.
No matter what happens Mark, please keep going. Please keep going headstrong into the fray. Never falter. Never waiver in your resolve as you will achieve great things in a couple of years. Even you will get surprised on how much you will achieve once you have done so. Please, always keep going-and if you fail, learn as you always have. I encourage you to make a lot of mistakes-for without these, you will not gain wisdom and strength. There will come times where it will get SO hard, SO hellish that you would want to kill yourself. I had felt this still, but I implore you, beg you even, to stop feeling that way, and to pick yourself like you always have, move on, and more importantly, LET GO.
I will tell you right now, you have not met yourself yet. Not yet. But you will soon meet a group of friends that will surpass any other group of friends you have had. This group will make you realize who you are, and will help you embrace your true self. This group will also give you your drive to achieve the great things you will. I am still with this group of friends, and I believe that I will definitely grow old hanging out with them as well. They are one of the most precious treasures in the world to me. They will finally enable you to think to yourself, and say: “this is who I really am”
I know that it is also hard for you to express how you love your family, but I know you do. Try harder. I have realized in the last couple of months that I would throw away some of the most important things in life for them. Please show your thankfulness to them. Just so you know, they are still doing well.
In closing I know you will probably now be in a state of wonder about “what will I achieve? Who will I meet?” Please do not think too long about this, and focus on your goals for now. You will soon slowly realize and achieve these. I, even at this point, am still going sideways. I am still trying to get somewhere. I am still trying to get to where my heart is telling me. I have fallen out of the right path a lot of times, as you will over and over. But now my goal is clear, and I will not let anyone or anything stop me from getting there. You will soon find out what this goal of mine is, as it is in you-you just have not realized it yet. But I know it definitely is in there. I know, of course, as you are me, and I am you. We are one and the same. For now, good luck in all your future endeavors, and I hope that my letter to you will prove helpful to some extent.
Hang in there dude. Keep going.
Mark Jason Ting of 2014.
Hello. This is you/me/Mark Jason Ting 6 years from 2014, 6 years from now.
I know that you will most likely be surprised, and mesmerized as well. But please try to read with an open mind.
Congratulations on finally graduating from college. After all those years you are finally getting into the corporate world. I know how you feel-you are most likely very excited at the idea of finally earning money, and finally be able to fund the things you wanted. Congratulations on this.
There is so much I want to tell you about your future self, who is me, but I will choose to withhold several events and key points, as I do not want you to know in advance the things and happenings that you will encounter. I want you to learn as we always have, through firsthand experience with no prior pointers and cautionary reminders.
I am aware that you might ask some questions, so I will pre-emptively answer them.
No I am still single
No I do not own a car yet
No I have not “made it” and have become lucky and got rich.
Nothing much has changed.
Let these answer your most general of questions, as I expect you to be curious.
At this point in both your life, which was once a point in mine, you are still very energetic, and very enthusiastic. I urge you to always keep being motivated, and to be always driven with a goal in mind. I do not mind how small or big your goal might be, but always stick to a goal, and pursue it till you achieve it. I, at this point in my life have sadly had our innate drive and enthusiasm reduced by a lot, stemming from a lot of trials and painful experiences. While I will not tell you what these are, I know that you and I are the same. We are strong. We are resilient. Please continue to be so, as it is a cornerstone of who we are.
No matter what happens Mark, please keep going. Please keep going headstrong into the fray. Never falter. Never waiver in your resolve as you will achieve great things in a couple of years. Even you will get surprised on how much you will achieve once you have done so. Please, always keep going-and if you fail, learn as you always have. I encourage you to make a lot of mistakes-for without these, you will not gain wisdom and strength. There will come times where it will get SO hard, SO hellish that you would want to kill yourself. I had felt this still, but I implore you, beg you even, to stop feeling that way, and to pick yourself like you always have, move on, and more importantly, LET GO.
I will tell you right now, you have not met yourself yet. Not yet. But you will soon meet a group of friends that will surpass any other group of friends you have had. This group will make you realize who you are, and will help you embrace your true self. This group will also give you your drive to achieve the great things you will. I am still with this group of friends, and I believe that I will definitely grow old hanging out with them as well. They are one of the most precious treasures in the world to me. They will finally enable you to think to yourself, and say: “this is who I really am”
I know that it is also hard for you to express how you love your family, but I know you do. Try harder. I have realized in the last couple of months that I would throw away some of the most important things in life for them. Please show your thankfulness to them. Just so you know, they are still doing well.
In closing I know you will probably now be in a state of wonder about “what will I achieve? Who will I meet?” Please do not think too long about this, and focus on your goals for now. You will soon slowly realize and achieve these. I, even at this point, am still going sideways. I am still trying to get somewhere. I am still trying to get to where my heart is telling me. I have fallen out of the right path a lot of times, as you will over and over. But now my goal is clear, and I will not let anyone or anything stop me from getting there. You will soon find out what this goal of mine is, as it is in you-you just have not realized it yet. But I know it definitely is in there. I know, of course, as you are me, and I am you. We are one and the same. For now, good luck in all your future endeavors, and I hope that my letter to you will prove helpful to some extent.
Hang in there dude. Keep going.
Mark Jason Ting of 2014.
To future Mark
To the Mark Jason Ting of 20XX
Greetings. I’m your past self from 2014. how are you?
I am indeed bristling with questions as you will definitely expect. I also am aware that you will most likely not be too surprised or shocked, as you will definitely be even more composed than myself at the moment.
Have you finally gone to Japan? Have you finally succeeded in fulfilling the goals that we were/are aiming for?
If you are indeed in Japan or have found something to finally raise our family from our financial slump, I would like to congratulate you on doing so. I will not ask as to how or when, or what were the mediums in doing it, as it will definitely render me aware of it, and might potentially alter the result.
If you are still stuck in the same place as I am, still going sideways, still wandering about, I would like to ask, why? I will not immediately try to blame you for whatever the cause, as I know that both of us are subject to the same external random things that have hit us time and time again. Just tell me what happened, even if it is not of detail. I will definitely understand.
I would also like to ask, have you “let go”? I know that we both know this deep inside. That we hold grudges, that we get bitter at times, and reminisce on “what could have been” I am still trying to, and have been doing better in doing so. I hope that, you have completely done it, as it will make me really happy knowing that I have finally succeeded with something in my life.
How is our group of friends? Are they doing well? I am excited to know about them in the time period you are in. Have they finally raised our successors? Haha! Please tell me how they are doing in your time.
I also hope that our family is doing well. I hope that mom and dad finally are able to relax and leave most of the work to us. They have done so much for us and I am still sad that I am powerless to give them their deserved rest. If you still feel some resentment for them, please, forgive them. Life is not always fair and like to you and me, they have had external factors determine their fates as well. Please let go of your resentment if it is still there. How about Andrew and Carla? I am pretty sure that they have found their calling, and am hoping nothing but advancement for them. At this point I have taught them all that I could, and that I hope that you continue to give them advice and guidance if they happen to stumble. You are, after all, their supporting pillar.
Are you still single? I know that we both take this not-so-seriously, but if you are not, tell me about your girl. And tell me that she is actually someone that I will also come to appreciate. If not, then it is okay. We both know deep inside that we are okay with not having a significant other if we don’t get lucky enough. It is okay.
In closing I hope that you have finally made it in a way. We really need some sort of break for us, and I do hope I find mine soon. As for you, I urge you to remember the people who helped you, remember, the ones who never gave up on you, and who were with you till the end. One single human being can only do so much. If you have also lost your drive, please rekindle it, as it is one of our innate strengths that will always keep us going in life. Forgive yourself if you haven’t, and learn to finally let go if you have not. If you have done all of these already, I can rest easy and think to myself that I will grow to be someone I can be proud of, and keep going on this path.
Thanks for your time in reading this.
Mark Jason Ting of 2014.
Greetings. I’m your past self from 2014. how are you?
I am indeed bristling with questions as you will definitely expect. I also am aware that you will most likely not be too surprised or shocked, as you will definitely be even more composed than myself at the moment.
Have you finally gone to Japan? Have you finally succeeded in fulfilling the goals that we were/are aiming for?
If you are indeed in Japan or have found something to finally raise our family from our financial slump, I would like to congratulate you on doing so. I will not ask as to how or when, or what were the mediums in doing it, as it will definitely render me aware of it, and might potentially alter the result.
If you are still stuck in the same place as I am, still going sideways, still wandering about, I would like to ask, why? I will not immediately try to blame you for whatever the cause, as I know that both of us are subject to the same external random things that have hit us time and time again. Just tell me what happened, even if it is not of detail. I will definitely understand.
I would also like to ask, have you “let go”? I know that we both know this deep inside. That we hold grudges, that we get bitter at times, and reminisce on “what could have been” I am still trying to, and have been doing better in doing so. I hope that, you have completely done it, as it will make me really happy knowing that I have finally succeeded with something in my life.
How is our group of friends? Are they doing well? I am excited to know about them in the time period you are in. Have they finally raised our successors? Haha! Please tell me how they are doing in your time.
I also hope that our family is doing well. I hope that mom and dad finally are able to relax and leave most of the work to us. They have done so much for us and I am still sad that I am powerless to give them their deserved rest. If you still feel some resentment for them, please, forgive them. Life is not always fair and like to you and me, they have had external factors determine their fates as well. Please let go of your resentment if it is still there. How about Andrew and Carla? I am pretty sure that they have found their calling, and am hoping nothing but advancement for them. At this point I have taught them all that I could, and that I hope that you continue to give them advice and guidance if they happen to stumble. You are, after all, their supporting pillar.
Are you still single? I know that we both take this not-so-seriously, but if you are not, tell me about your girl. And tell me that she is actually someone that I will also come to appreciate. If not, then it is okay. We both know deep inside that we are okay with not having a significant other if we don’t get lucky enough. It is okay.
In closing I hope that you have finally made it in a way. We really need some sort of break for us, and I do hope I find mine soon. As for you, I urge you to remember the people who helped you, remember, the ones who never gave up on you, and who were with you till the end. One single human being can only do so much. If you have also lost your drive, please rekindle it, as it is one of our innate strengths that will always keep us going in life. Forgive yourself if you haven’t, and learn to finally let go if you have not. If you have done all of these already, I can rest easy and think to myself that I will grow to be someone I can be proud of, and keep going on this path.
Thanks for your time in reading this.
Mark Jason Ting of 2014.
