Category Archives: Kirsten

Self-letter

Aug 18 2011

Moving On

Dear Kirsten,

You will say yes to many things in life. You will make and break commitments. You will succeed and fail. But mostly, you will fail.

Sometimes, you just don’t have the time. Other times, you won’t make the time. And in the latter case, I say to screw it and stop. Because if you can’t make the time, it isn’t worth it, what you’re doing. If you can’t handle having this commitment, drop it. If you want to live life to the fullest, you have to pack a light bag.

Don’t shirk of all commitments. No, that would be bad. But don’t saddle yourself with things that you do not want to do just because you feel like you have to. You’re not Superwoman. You’ll need breaks sometimes.

Yes, it seems like a good idea. Everything does. All your ideas and plans and commitments seems good at their inception. That’s why you commit to them. It seems fun, or interesting, or maybe even like it will expand your horizons. And it usually will.

But then, the charm wears off. And Kirsten, sometimes you’ll have to push through it. Sometimes, it’ll only get worse before it gets better. But sometimes, the interest just wanes. You won’t have time or energy to use on it. You could be doing something better, you say, and so you skive off.

I know. I’ve had so many commitments like this, you don’t even know. Well, I suppose you will, someday. And I regret each one of them every day, when I realize that I could have been doing something I loved really and truly, instead of something I was once enamoured with, but now have stopped loving.

Remember that time when you had to clean out your room for a garage sale? Remember how good that felt? Remember how great it felt to let go of all that stuff that had been saddling you for years and years? How your ties to those things were gone? Think of the commitments as your stuff: some you want, some you don’t, but no matter what, it’s always nice to get rid of it.

So don’t be afraid to quit. Because if you get stuck in a trudging existence driven by things that you don’t care about, then you’re not living. If you’re forced to do something you don’t want to because you said you would, you’re not living. Life isn’t worth living unless you live what you love. Don’t live life afraid, ever. You’re worth more than that.

FY,

Kirsten

P.S. I think it’s time to reassess your priorities. Just make sure you remember what you truly love.

Aug 16 2011

FY,

Announcement to authors.

Futuristically Yours.

2 words but 19 letters.

14 of which, belongs to Futuristically – an adverb you probably never wrote or said (6 syllables) outside here.

So, instead of writing out Futuristically Yours (all the time) at the end of your letters, initial it with FY.

FY,

Har+new

P.S. Yeah … you do still have to put a comma after the Y. Ouch! I know, I know.

Jul 22 2011

Voice Of The Young

In response to Who Burnt The Popcorn Again? and to anticipate those who are camera-shy, I’m rolling out audio-self-letters.

What makes this different from video-self-letters is that you will NOT be seen, only heard.

Instead of worrying about appearance, authors using this format can just focus on their delivery.

Sometimes written language can fail us as you know from text message, Har-old. So with audio-self-letters you can hear  tones, epic pauses, emphasises, cadences, signature growls and all the other flexibilities one has with their voice. The written letter itself will accompany this format for follow-along purposes. Think of it as listening to an audio book while you follow along with it in your hands.

The last addition to this format is inspired by scenes of Ledger’s Joker in The Dark Knight: tension building music. Low background music. Preferably music without words. You know how radio personalities talk while music plays in the background. Well, that’s the idea. Think of it as a soundtrack to your letters. I bet you’re thinking about The Social Network soundtrack right now, aren’t you?

Futuristically yours,

Har+new

Jul 17 2011

Obsolete

Dear Kirsten,

I struggled with the correct pronouns the last time I wrote the letter. I mean, we’re the same person, so how do I address myself? In the end, I decided to exclusively use second-person pronouns, which I will be continuing for simplicity’s sake.

Think about all the things you love. Think about your television shows, movies, books, websites, videos, podcasts, everything. You have lots of interests. Now, think ten years into the future. How many of those things will still be relevant, then? How many of those things will you care about?

Very few. Yes, you would still tune in on those television shows when the turned on the marathons of the rerun channel. You might listen to those songs occasionally. But on the whole, all of the things you like will soon be obsolete.

Don’t kid yourself. Your kids aren’t going to know who “Lady Gaga” or “Justin Beiber” is, unless they hear their songs played on the ‘00s radio channel. I mean, how many pop artists from your mother’s time can you name?

And you know the books you read? Forget about it. Harry Potter, The Hunger Games, Twilight- they’re not going to be read. Or they will, sitting on library shelves, alone. Perhaps Harry Potter has gained a second life because of parents reading it to their kids, but other than that, the books you love won’t be known or understood or cared for. And even if they are, they won’t be read in the same way that you read them, along with a whole generation.

Don’t even get me started on technology. iPods? Obsolete. The blue laptop you spent so many hours typing on? Obsolete. The television where you watched your favorite shows? Obsolete. Even the kitchen appliances you own are things of the past in their current form.

However, the same thing goes for the things you hate. In the future, nobody cares about Divergent or Inkheart or Maniac Magee. Your kids couldn’t tell you who any of the crash-and-burn reality TV stars were in 2011. They couldn’t talk about The Other Guys, or Katy Perry, or the war between Harry Potter and Twilight.

And why should I be telling you of this seemingly bleak world that seems to be devoid of everything you love and hate? Because I’m telling you to not be tied to what you love. Don’t close your mind because somebody doesn’t like the books or music that you do, because chances are nobody will have heard of it in ten years. Don’t spend constant hours in front of the computer squabbling over the internet on whose interests are better. Don’t post about your hate of Divergent all over Internet message boards because it doesn’t matter.

Very few things are wastes of time, Kirsten, but those things are one of them. While those discussions can sometimes be good and profitable pastimes, usually they’re not. Usually, they just separate you from others even more than you already are, and I regret spending so many hours moaning about the things I hate.

But I’m not telling you to have no interests. No, of course not. Love what you love and hold it dear. I’m just trying to put things into perspective, because what seems to you as massively important will just disappear. So don’t sling mud on websites and chatrooms that won’t exist in a few years. Take all the good you have learned from the things you love: character, experience, skill, intelligence, awareness, and all other things that one can gain from media. Take it and bring it out into the world. Because that, Kirsten, is what is truly important about the things you love.

 

Futuristically Yours,

Kirsten

Jul 13 2011

Who Burnt The Popcorn Again?!

Remember Burnt Popcorn?

Well, I’m expanding on the idea.

For the future-selves who know their present-self hate reading and are more visually inclined, they can do video-self-letters.

Authors can either do videos for their previously written letters or videos with brand new material.

Videos shouldn’t be longer than 5 minutes.

Different presentation, same concept.

Lights. Camera. Action.

Futuristically yours,

Har+new

I am a gray cat
Jul 4 2011

Don’t Be A Mollusk

Dear Kirsten,

Go outside. Do something. Talk to someone.  I’m telling you. Go. I don’t care if it’s raining, just go out and smell the air around you or make a conversation and just stop pecking in front of the computer screen. Trust me, there’s plenty of time to do that later.

A good writer needs worldly experience. She needs to go out and go places and do things and meet people to draw inspiration from. You know that. Or I do. This whole writing from the future thing is confusing. I don’t know what I can talk about. I’m not even sure if I could tell you about what happened last May, though you’d be ecstatic. All I can say is that you need to get out of your shell more. It will only do you good.

See, there’s a reason humans don’t have shells. It’s because we, unlike the assorted sea mollusks sitting at the bottom of the ocean, need to talk to each other. Communicate. Socialize. People need each other, there’s no denying it. You’re not doing anybody a favor by hiding in the protective shell of a room.

I know it’s scary to exit the shell you’ve made yourself. It’s scary to expose your sensitive, squishy underbelly to the world, because you know it will be poked by somebody vicious. Unfortunately, that hurts. I know.

But when you expose your squishy underbelly to the right people, you’ll find what you want: friends. Deep down, your most desperate desire is to form deep connections with others, something that you haven’t gotten the chance to do because of the people you’ve met so far. But just keep trying, and looking, and you will find them.

I know it’s hard to believe, especially when you sit in your room all day, alone and pretty much friendless. I know it’s hard to see when every time you think about exposing your underbelly, they exploit it. I know it’s inconceivable that you will ever find friends when you’re so different from anyone you’ve ever met. Some days, you just want to give up and live life all alone as a hermit, preferably somewhere with Wi-Fi, so you could still watch YouTube videos and Google things. 

Don’t! Don’t lose faith in finding friends or love or happiness, because you will. I know. I’ve been there. You know those stories that you peck out on the keyboard? Keep up with that. It’ll help. You know those books and movies and television shows you love? Keep on loving them. Oh, and hang out at libraries more. You’ll find some like-minded people more.

But most of all, don’t be afraid. Why should you be? You’re a lovely young lady whom I care for deeply and a true pleasure to be around. Listen to the people who compliment you; they’re right. Anybody would be glad to have you as a friend. And it’s a rather low chance that a stranger will bite.

Futuristically Yours,

Post-Kirsten

P.S. You really should stop biting your nails.  

Jul 3 2011

Which Letter In Team Looks Like An I To You?

Dear Har-old,

American athlete Mia Hamm said, “I am a member of a team, and I rely on the team, I defer to it and sacrifice for it, because the team, not the individual, is the ultimate champion.”

Progress report.

Remember when I told you after I get a good lead in letters I would bring in other future-selves. Well, I have done a poor job. I have been busy but hey I’m not using that as an excuse. My job was to have other future-selves write letters and yours was to have their young-present-self read them. Unlike me, you have done a great job. It’s only been two months and Futuristically Yours has 60 subscribers. Meanwhile, I’ve only been able to find 6 other authors.

You won’t only have my letters to look forward to. I would like to introduce FY’s newest authors Aezora, Jennifer and Kristen. They already have letters posted. Also, look for Shae‘s resurgence.

And I know you’re calling FOUL on my Freshly Pressed Fifty Dollar Bill move. I’ll admit you got me playing catch up so I’m trying to cheat. Haha!

Now Har-old, what I’m about to say will make you think you did all that work for nothing but here it goes …

Subscribers do NOT make Futuristically Yours. Our authors do.

Now you can say I’m cheating more when I say this, but I need you to stop spending so much time getting subscribers to help me grow our authors.

Current and prospective.

I want you the first one reading and commenting on other author’s letters.

You are wasting too much time on other blogs whose author isn’t showing FY the same love back. You know who they are. No more of this!

Let’s make our authors priority.

I will still post consistently as I have been but I will start to do it strategically so our other authors will shine. For instance, if Shae post on a Tuesday and I have a letter ready to go too, I will schedule it for Wednesday instead.

Remember: Those 48 subscribers do NOT make us. The 6 authors do.

Futuristically yours,

Har+new

P.S. It’s the T. Hahaha!

Grant on the 50 dollar bill
Jul 2 2011

Freshly Pressed Fifty Dollar Bill

Dear Har-old,

The following announcement is for all authors, current and prospective, everyone except for me.

To the youngster whose future-self writes them a letter that gets featured on Freshly Pressed, I will personally pay them $50 electronically. PayPal preferred.

Now Har-old … before you attempt to hit yourself so hard that I feel it, hear me out. I’m excluding you for a reason. It will be cheating if I wrote the Freshly Pressed letter. I created this. I know the format. The “secret ingredient.” The “magic formula.” I have the most letters on here which means practice makes prefect.

It may take one letter. 12 letters. 26 letters. The number doesn’t matter. The only number that matters is 50. The $50 that will be theirs, all theirs, IF their letter is the one that gets FY (Futuristically Yours) featured on Freshly Pressed.

I will make this letter here sticky so the flying cars that come crashing through here will see this when they roll down their windows.

There is no deadline; this is an ongoing offer.

Futuristically yours,

Har+new

Jun 14 2011

Forgot Your Password?

password hell

Password Hell

Dear Har-old,

Australian musician Michael Hutchence said,  ”It’s just as difficult to live in a self-made hell of privacy as it is to live in a self-made hell of publicity.”

You have been really giving me the Erica Albright as of lately:

“The internet’s not written in pencil, Mark, it’s written in ink.”

Do you only hear blah blah blah Har-old, blah blah blah Har-old, blah blah blah Har-old?

Seriously?

You take things so personal you totally MISS the words surrounding your name.

I will NOT apologize.

I am NOT changing my writing style.

I have balanced the pen on the paper well between them lines of Har-old and the rest of the world.

Yes! You ARE unique, you ARE special, you ARE different, you ARE great BUT you are relatable, kid.

I’m using that as bait, don’t you see?

Hell, if you think I’m being too “personal” in these letters you haven’t read nothing yet.

I wouldn’t dare … or would I???

I WOULD!

But …

I got sympathy for my “old” self and I will give you complete control over these Too Personal To Publicize letters.

I will give you a password and who you share that password with is in your  total control.

But I have a feeling it’s going to be no one at all. It’s a reason why I’m calling them Too Personal To Publicize. But if you do share it, I advise people who you’re already close to or people who you want to get close to … those lucky individuals!

The only thing I will make public about these Too Personal To Publicize letters is the headline.

Now this doesn’t mean I will stop writing the standard letters. The standard letters will still be consistent.

The Too Personal To Publicize letters will be slow.

Why?

Because turning a sheet of paper into a mirror takes time.

You have been warned.

I RULE WITH A IRON FIST!

Futuristically yours,

Har+new