In 2016, the Greater Lehigh Valley Writers Group released their second anthology of poems, essays, and short stories in a collection called Write Here, Write Now.
For that anthology, one of the themes for the essay section was to write a letter to your younger self in less than 500 words.
How many times have you fantasized about traveling back in time to warn your younger self about a particular person or incident or to prevent a bad decision? To that end, I pondered what guidance I might provide to a kid who endured an often frightening and violent start to life and the letter below was completed in about ten minutes.
Much like life itself, this letter is a melange of tragedy and comedy, both of which provide opportunities to learn and grow.
“You Will Live Through It”
by Phil Giunta
Hi, Phil—
If you’re reading this before your 6th birthday, please be strong. Your parents aren’t together anymore and scary things are going to happen, things you won’t understand. You’ll be badly hurt by the one person you trust most. There’s nothing you can do to stop it. From this, you’ll learn fear, but you will live through it.
If you’re reading this before your 8th birthday, you’ve suffered much abuse by now, but the worst is yet to come. I’d warn you to run, but I know you have nowhere else to go. You’ll be accused of an offense you didn’t commit, in a war between adults in which you played no part other than as innocent bystander. As a result of a lie told by one of them, you’ll find yourself with a gun pressed to your head. Remember that none of it was your fault. From this you’ll learn hatred and violence, but you will live through it.
If you’re reading this before your 10th birthday, know that you will never see your dad again. He has married another woman and has decided to abandon his old life. That includes you. From this, you’ll learn rejection, but you will live through it.
If you’re reading this before your 15th birthday, you are about to start high school and all of its requisite coming-of-age challenges. You’ll make many friends as well as a few enemies. Neither will last beyond graduation. You’ll learn how to stand up for yourself and how to fight, but also how to care, to love, to find your own identity instead of following the crowd. You’ll take the high road as often as possible, even in the face of derision. From this, you’ll experience isolation and heartbreak, but you will live through it.
If you’re reading this before your 18th birthday, you are about to enter college. The abuse at home turned from physical to emotional years before and will worsen at times over the next four years. You can’t afford to leave yet, so seek counseling. You won’t regret it. Again, you’ll forge friendships, but again, those will be fleeting. You’ll struggle through the transition into adulthood. Along the way, you’ll learn maturity, humility, and responsibility. Yet there’s still a long road ahead as you also carry deep anger and depression that you must learn to manage. Trust me, you will live through it.
If you’re reading this before your 44th birthday, know that you are strong. Hell, you made it this far through two decades in corporate America! You’re blessed with a fantastic wife, a beautiful home, gainful employment, a burgeoning writing career, and lifelong friends. Although you’ve learned how to live with life’s battle scars, they still show from time to time. That’s OK, everyone’s entitled. You’re only human after all.
By the way, you have about $2,000 in car repairs coming up, that global project at work is about to be dropped solely on you, and that contractor that you already paid will start three months late. Don’t worry. You will live through it.