MY DEAR 18-YEAR-SELF

Sarra - Algeria

I know we’ve been told through Disney movies that monsters lurk under our beds, that they wait after dark to awaken and spring up. However, you will come to understand that our worst demons lay inside our head and we’re the ones hosting them. You see, I want you to make peace with every corner of your mind because your spark of madness is what prevents life from being infinitely dull and dim. Sometimes, you will feel like you are regressing. Wrong. In reality, you are only building some momentum in order to bounce back. After all, an arrow is always pulled back before being launched. And what a fierce arrow you will grow to be! You will also feel shattered, at times. However, light will infiltrate those cracks to meet you. After all, butterflies need to break the caterpillar’s cocoon first, in order to emerge. Be tenacious and consistent like a wave. Continuously rejected by the shore yet always coming back once more. Be resilient like a cloud, it never flinches during a storm and it’s always exploring new skies and regenerating itself in a fresh cycle. If you happen to lose people you hold dear, then remember that trees are stripped of their leaves in winter and that even your shadow disappears in the dark. Remain faithful to yourself and you shall find your way out of the worst labyrinth. I don’t want you to dwell on your your past failures, nor on future hardships. You would lose sight of the goal you are aiming at. Besides, people will not remember how you fell apart but rather how you graciously lifted yourself. Do not let life make you bitter like rusted steel. Finally, please, nourish the inner child within you, so that you can die young, past a hundred years.