Dear ten year old me,
Hello, Michael. This is your 45 year old future self. I have a few things that I need to tell you. First of all, please leave your cats alone. You are driving them crazy and it’s just mean.
By the way, do you know how much you like computers and both your parents keep telling you that you should go into computer programming? I want you to stick with it. You are going to have some bad stuff happen in your childhood and you may start thinking that you need to gravitate towards a more noble profession because you owe it to society. You are never going to be truly happy doing this because deep down you will always know that you did not choose the right path.
It is also important for you to understand that you are going to mistakenly think you are in love a couple of times before you actually are. You have to make sure that you don’t marry any of these people because you will end up hurting one of them deeply and regretting it for the rest of your life.
During your early years, I need you to make as much money as you can and then invest it all in Wal-Mart, Berkshire Hathaway, Cisco, Google, and Apple… and by Apple, I mean “Apple Computer”. I don’t simply want you to go out and buy apples. You are also going to make a decision when you are about sixteen years old to become a Chicago Cubs fan… I need you to change this to the St. Louis Cardinals.
When you turn 27 years old, I am still going to need you come to Fort Smith, Arkansas and find a young female doctor named Janet Kuriger. She should be just recently divorced with a small child. This is the love of your life and if you let her get away then I am going to somehow travel back in time and beat your ass. However, you need to understand not to go anywhere near this woman until after she has her baby because her kid totally rocks and you will eventually love him more than anything in this world.
Lastly and most importantly, things are never as bad as you will think they are. When a girlfriend leaves you suddenly or doesn’t love you back it is not the end of the world. You are young and stupid. You are going to make a ton of mistakes. I need you to learn from a very young age how to forgive yourself. Don’t beat yourself up so much. Enjoy your youth… and enjoy your hair. Neither are going to be around for very long.
Sincerely,
Future Michael Guyer
If I could go back in time to see you when you were 10 years old, I would tell you to lighten up, enjoy who you are, and enroll you in a karate class. You could kick some serious butt and skip the self-esteem issues. Breaking boards with your head would made you the most popular guy in the school.
Haha! A karate class! I am now trying to replay my childhood back again in my head with Chuck Norris skills and it is making me smile.