I recently saw a writing prompt called “Sunday Letters.” I loved the idea; taking a bit of time each week to put pen to paper. I think the main point of this project is to get back to the old-school art of letter writing. (I’ll link the project below in case you’re interested)
I found myself interested, but for a different reason. The prompt itself is intriguing and I like a weekly ritual. I’ve decided to write my weekly letter to myself (and perhaps share here). So here goes.
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Dear Future Self:
This is to document that 2025 was the year I discovered my 3 tenses. And my tendency to live in the future tense.
(Sidenote: this is especially funny to me given my newfound love for the futur proche in French. But I digress.)
I’ll explain. Past, Current, and Future Laras all have different competencies.
Current Lara always has lots of ideas. She’s curious, excited, and insatiable. She has a zeal for adventure. If something is fun, more of it will be more fun. If it’s interesting, more will be fascinating. You get the point.
Also, Current Lara is a doer. She will sign you up for everything. She will send the calendar invite. She’ll also buy all the books and other things related to any emerging hobby. She may have just bought a Mahjong set after playing the game once. (Past Lara wasn’t thinking about the fact that it’s a 4-person game and she doesn’t know it well enough to teach 3 other people. But Future Lara is so good at challenges!)
In addition, it was an especially anticipatory year; Current Lara had to do a lot of recovering from surgeries and setbacks. So she lived vicariously through Future Lara. She knows how much Future Lara will appreciate her efforts.
But here’s the rub: Current Lara also thinks Future Lara has more time and energy than any of the Laras. (“She’ll be inclined to use this! Or to do this very interesting and fun thing!”) Which is often true. But just as often untrue.
Sometimes Future Lara (who is now Current Lara- and I know that’s confusing but stick with me here) is grateful for Past Lara. Past Lara was organized and efficient and thorough (is anyone else now singing the Cake song “She is fast, thorough, and sharp as a tack/ She is touring the facility and picking up slack”).
Past Lara was who you wanted planning your group vacation. And also: Past Lara sometimes overestimated how much time and energy Future Lara would actually have. Sometimes Current Lara is sitting on the couch with a good book and very irritated that Past Lara thought a 7am workout was a great idea.
So you see the dilemma. They’re all right, it’s really more about time and place.
And so joking aside, the learning is this: I am working on making sure Current Lara lives more in the present tense, and balances the restraint & wisdom of Future Lara with the enthusiasm and curiosity of Past Lara. I’ve never known myself as well as I do right now- and I’m excited to see where 2026 takes me.
And en français: Maintenant, je vais faire de cette année une année formidable.
Bisous,
Current (aka Past) Lara
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Thanks to the Sunday Letter project for the inspiration. www.instagram.com/thesundayletterproject
This is a photo of Past Lara with her family over Christmas vacation.