A letter from Aug 29th, 2021

Dear Steven of August 2024, I'm sitting here typing away at my desk behind the counter at the Residence Inn Springfield. I've finished up my homework for the evening- reading Peer Gynt for Modern Theatre class and finishing up some Shakespeare reading responses for Sarah's class. Alas and alack, I'm sure you look back on these days with a kind of weary fondness now, but let me assure you they weren't perfect. You spent most of your time, at least around now, either working, studying, or playing the rare video game. Horizon: Zero Dawn has been pretty solid- hope you got to play Forbidden West, and that it didn't suck. Where are you these days? Somewhere far away from Springfield, I hope. Maybe it's Chicago, New York, or LA. Or Kansas City, if you finally managed to make the theatre scene there work. Maybe you quit acting altogether. Hope you didn't. But if you did, I hope it wasn't just because you couldn't hack it. Because past you was pretty **** good at it, at least when he really put his back into it. Back in 2021, you were really, really worried about finding love. Like, really worried. You watched video essays about it, you read articles on the declining marriage rates, you begged your friends for advice. You spent long nights wondering if it would ever happen for you. You saw all your friends finding love pretty easily, wondering if there was something wrong with you. I don't know if you found it. I'm willing to bet you didn't. You haven't had great luck with your last few relationships. The first was abusive, the second not compatible; the third a perfect fit but you failed her in so many ways. The fourth was a lesbian. But at the very least, maybe you've made peace with a lifetime of loneliness. If you haven't, do so. Remember you aren't put on this Earth to receive love, but to give as much as you can to others. Unfortunately, future me, I'm sure the world at large has only declined in quality over the years. More climate crises, more politicians sticking their heads in the sand, more partisan division, more open conflict between radical groups on our own soil. Maybe a new war. Maybe a civil war. Regardless, I hope you've been able to keep your head on straight throughout it. Remember the words of the Stoics: what is survivable is a teacher, and what is not survivable is no longer of any concern to you once it's over with. Right now, the COVID-19 pandemic has flared up again with the dominance of new variants of concern like Delta and Lambda. I'm sure by then even more horrific variants appeared. In fact, if I had to hazard a guess, I bet you still aren't even done with the pandemic thanks to the idiocy of anti-vaxxers and right leaning "truther" groups. I hope you're weathering it okay, and that your loved ones are safe. I'm not a soothsayer for Christ's sake, so I'm sure there's all manner of unpredictable problems and joys that have snuck into your life for the last few years. You can do this. I need you to hold on. Because where I'm at, life is only kind of worth living. Remember that happiness is the fool's gold of life's true purpose, and the hidden truth us right there in front of you: that maybe life is worth living because the experience in and of itself is worth it. Until next time, Steven of August, 2021