Letter to Wendy 1988

I'm really late at jumping on this bandwagon, but a week or two back Diggestive at Writing about Everything and a Few Lists (among many others, but this is where I first saw it, so he gets the credit) wrote a letter to himself at a different time in his life. I love this idea. We all know that hindsight's 20/20, but it's fun to think what might be different if we'd known back then what we know now.

Dear Wendy 1988,

For the love of God, get rid of that curling iron AND the hairspray. Your hair should not look like it was pulled into a tornado and then laquered so it'd stay that way forever. Also, acid-wash jeans and rainbow suspenders might look cool while you're bouncing around to MC Hammer at the high school dance, but the pictures will not stand the test of time. You look ridiculous.

The following items will end up in a landfill, and you should NOT spend your (dad's) hard-earned money on them:
  • George Michael-style fedora
  • Cassette tapes
  • Fluorescent pink walkman
  • Polka-dot mini skirt
  • Teen magazines
  • New Kids on the Block concert tickets, posters and related paraphernalia
And now that we've pretty much established that you're clueless, there are a couple of things you should know in order to plan your future.

The world, God, and your parents owe you nothing. You, and you alone, are responsible for how happy you end up. Life is not supposed to be easy or fair, so get right out of that mindset and prepare to start learning and becoming a better person for it. Perspective is everything, and when life gets tough, you have the choice to lay down and die or get up, soldier on and adjust your way of thinking. When faced with the option to laugh or cry, laughter is infinitely more fun.

It's hard to believe, when teachers, friends and parents are telling you how much potential you have, to think that one day you'll know that being smart is a whole lot less important than being nice. The world is full of people who want to show everyone how smart they are, and actually have no idea that they're being an obnoxious ass in the process. At the end of the day, being a kind person (not to be confused with being a doormat) will make the world a little bit nicer. And for the sake of our kids, we need a nicer world.

Step outside your comfort zone from time to time, don't apply for credit cards, and always judge men by what they do, not by what they say.

See you on the flippity flip-flop! Try not to scream when you see how grey your hair has gotten...

Hearts and Flowers,

Futuristic Wendy of the New Millennium

*********
Incidentally, Diggestive also bestowed this lovely award on me last week.




I'm in award heaven!! Thank you!!

*****************
Post Script (my first one ever!):

It has just come to my attention that the "letter" actually originated (at least amongst the blogs I follow) as a Group Blog Thursday over at Steph in the City. My apologies--my brain hasn't been working quite right lately. I was likely catching up on my blogs in reverse order!

Comments

Stephanie Faris said…
Congrats on your award. Great letter! I did one too a couple of weeks ago...it was our Group Blog Thursday. Yeah...all things New Kids on the Block pretty much ended up being tossed.
Allison said…
This is so awesome. I would have very similar things to say about my hair, rolled up jeans and my Madonna style, flourescent green, net shirt. OMG did I really wear that?

It's funny what you think is so important then (like NKOTB).

Great post!
laterg8r said…
very funny letter :D
Janine said…
I want to give this to my kids... Can I??
Have a wonderful Thanksgiving weekend Wendy!!
Here's to turkey and all it's leftover glory!!
Anonymous said…
I need to do this. I'm sure it will make me feel infinitely better. Maybe one of my (teenage) kids will run across it and take it to heart. cough cough . . . I can only hope.
Deb Neerman said…
Congratulations on your award ... how kewl is that?!?

LOL reading your post ... a great idea!
the letter was great! i love steph and am now following the first blog you mentioned, so it's really a win-win-win for all involved! i think a lot of us would've said the exact same things to ourselves back in 1988
Kacey said…
That is a fabulous letter! You made me laugh out loud more than once. Great post!
Jeannette StG said…
funny letter, especially about the hair:)

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