#brad?

So I’m pretty bored this evening, and decided to google “ways to better yourself on the Internet”. Because I spend way too much time aimlessly surfing I figure I should try and use that time more constructively.

The first link I clicked: http://www.lifehack.org/articles/lifestyle/42-practical-ways-to-improve-yourself.html had a grand total of 42 methods of self-improvement, and one that I thought I’d try is #11 - write a letter to your future self. So, here goes, to myself in 5 years time, when I’ll basically be thirty and my life has ended anyway:

Dear Mr Cook,

Are people addressing you more in that way now you’re older? And do you still get asked for ID? I still get asked now, but I would be so proud of you if you’re still having to prove you’re over 18!

I’m going to presume that you finished university with a 2:1, given that that’s what you have been averaging throughout your course so far. I still have very little knowledge about the job market in Graphic Design, so this is hard for me to predict, but I imagine you might be in a small studio, perhaps still in Pompey? You do like it here after all. But, I hope that you have a job that above all else, you enjoy. The best job you’ve had to date was Legoland, because you had so much fun there. Even if you aren’t working in a GD-related field, I hope you are at least in a pleasant environment, and have some ace colleagues.

There is no way in hell you’re still living with Mum, and I doubt she would be willing to let that happen either. You might have a small flat, which is fine with 24 year-old me, provided the shower is sufficiently powerful, and you live near some tennis courts. That is of course an absolute must; the older you’ve gotten the more you’ve appreciated the importance of tennis in your life, and I expect you to still be playing at least once a week. Maybe if the job’s going well, treat yourself to some proper lessons? I will be very disappointed in you if your volleys are still in the same shoddy state they are now.

And if you are in this solid position I have outlined, then you will make good on your promise to go see more places, both around Britain and internationally. On your checklist are the following: 

Ireland

Scotland

New York (I know you don’t think you’ll like it but you’ve got to try it)

Denmark again

Italy

(Of course, I will understand if these have not all been visited in 5 years time, but you should have at least ticked off the first two)

You have made some top friends at uni, and you will keep in contact with them, and Facebook doesn’t count. There’s your tennis buddies, course buddies, and that Danish guy...what was his name again? Get phone numbers before you/they leave, and maybe agree to meet up on xx/xx/xx as an anniversarial thing (I think I just made up a word). And furthermore, I am hoping that you have a significant other by then, as you’ve known for a long time that you want to be a dad. As you get older, the people around you mature too, and I have to believe that there is a lady out there who is just as intellectual, argumentative and principled as you are.

And of course it goes without saying that you are still as much in love and contact with your family as ever, and now that you have a car (please have a car! I can’t deal with train journeys for the next 5 years!), you visit them just as much as before, if not more. You are a proper adult now, and dammit you will act like one. You will be much more responsible than you are now.

So in summary, the main things for 30 year-old you to focus on are:

Your own place

Better volleys

Enjoyable job

Go travellin’

Keep in contact with friends

Ladyfriend

Car?

I think that’s enough to be going on with. I’m a bit unsure how I am supposed to finish this letter to you, because whilst I obviously know you, ‘Yours Sincerely’ seems ridiculous; and you know we detest using ‘Regards’. You do like a good pop culture reference, so I could say ‘Good Night, and Good Luck’! But neither of us know (well maybe you do) what film that is from, so that seems wrong. 

Why don’t you write back to me in 5 years? I am currently sitting in my bed at 123 Talbot Rd, listening to Of Monsters And Men, and the clock has just passed midnight. Hey, that’s how I’ll end it - Happy Friday!!!

Your younger, better-looking, dumber self,