Younger Version of Me Will Ask

Lately, I’ve felt like everything I have doesn’t feel fulfilling. Not that it has no value, it just doesn’t feel exciting anymore. I try to look for another perspective, something that can make me feel more grateful.

I talked about this feeling with my partner, and in that conversation, I realized something.

What if I meet my 18-year-old self?

Imagine I meet him at his school. He’s still wearing his school uniform, feeling tired from school and from his personal life. He doesn’t really know where his life is going. He just tries to finish school and see what happens next, while dealing with problems at home.

I shake his hand and say, “Hey, I’m you in the future.”

I’m very sure he would be shocked.

Never in his life did he imagine he could become me today. He doesn’t even know what he wants to be when he grows up.

He would ask me, “I don’t believe it. How can I be you? Please tell me how my story will be.”

So I tell him everything. What will happen after he graduates. What will happen during his gap year. What will happen when he finally goes to university. And what will happen when he becomes me now.

It would feel like a dream to him.

He would be excited about his journey. He would push through everything. He wouldn’t stop when facing problems. He would try many things. He wouldn’t be scared of failure.

That’s the point.

Knowing that his future exists, knowing that he becomes someone, is enough to keep him moving forward.

Then I realize something else.

If my younger self would feel that way after meeting me, then my future self would feel the same when meeting me today.

Nothing really changes. I’m still the same boy. The advice I needed yesterday is the same advice I need today, and the same advice I’ll need tomorrow.

So I just need to keep going.

Never stop growing. Tomorrow, I will meet myself again, and I want to make him proud of me.

——

Finished writing on 9 Jan 2026, 23:29 at Pelaihari.