Dear 12-year-old Kinsey,
Hi! It's you in 12 years. Happy birthday! Enjoy your Harry Potter themed party--it's less cool to have a Harry Potter party when you're 24!
In six days, there is going to be a lot of confusion in the 2000 election. It's going to take until December to figure out who the president will be. Stop running around burning bridges with people, because Gore loses, and you're only 12. While it's important to be politically active, don't be a jerk about it.
You are about to find out that your dad has to have heart surgery. He and your mom are going to go to Texas for the surgery and leave your with your grandparents. He ends up being just fine!
In a year, you're going to move to Vanuatu. It's going to be scary and lonely, but you get to live right by the beach. Enjoy it while you're there. Don't stress out about what's happening back home, live in the moment. Breathe in every breath filled with the salty air and relaxed atmosphere; your life is going to change more than you can imagine when you move home.
You'll move back to the States when you're 16. You're going to feel incredibly out of place and do really terrible, self-destructive things to try to make it better. You won't listen to this, because you won't even understand it right now and when you do understand it you'll think you know better, but keep eating.
Also, be prepared for a relationship that will change your life. You will not be able to trust any man again for years because of this trusted adult who will take advantage of you. Keep going to your therapy sessions even though they open wounds you don't even want to remember. They will help, I promise.
When you're in college, you're going to vote in your first presidential election. Don't worry; your guy wins this time! Your parents will move to Ethiopia. Sounds like a long way away, huh? But don't worry; they come back after only seven months. They come back because your dad has to have heart surgery again, but just like last time, he's fine. :)
You're going to end up getting fibromyalgia. Doctors don't officially know what causes it, but I think the previous paragraphs explain the reason you get it. Keep fighting. It is so hard but you'll get better, because you don't have to fight alone. The most wonderful man asks you to marry him when you're 23 in your favorite place in the world: the Lamar Valley in Yellowstone.
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| Recognize this? It's where you go with your class three years in a row for Expedition: Yellowstone! You end up falling in love with this valley. |
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| The ring is perfect. |
You're going to work on the Obama campaign in 2012. I actually can't tell you how it turns out; the election is tomorrow! But I can tell you that this is the first time you've listened to my advice about not being a jerk to the other candidate. :)
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| You and your sister get to see Barack Obama in person! Oh--and you get glasses. You feel like you're going through a midlife crisis at first, but you do get used to them. |
You're going to be just fine. Live in the moment and savor every day. Remember that your greatest asset is your heart, not your brain. You can empathize to the nth degree if you let yourself. Get that brain out of the way--you overuse it way too much! :)
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| Engagement photos! You're going to meet him more than three years before you start dating. Don't tell him, though! |
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| You also fall in love with shoes. |
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| You get two amazing kittens who love napping on you! |
24-year-old You
"Be the change you wish to see in the world." --Gandhi
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