Dear Younger Self

...in an open letter, I write about things I wish I knew during my college days.

- Gunjan Jain

Often, some of the best years of our life simply whiz by, turning into fond reminiscences when we are older. Our university years, in particular, are the years we look back on, realising later just how enjoyable and life-shaping they turned out to be.

A survey by Leeds Beckett University revealed that 65 per cent of adults who had been out of university for at least ten years continue to regard those years as the best times of their lives. It’s natural to wonder how much more we could have used those years to our benefit ourselves if we had known better or done things differently. I know my younger self would thank me profusely if I could just impart to her some of the hard-earned wisdom I have accumulated.

Dear 20-something Me,

Let me tell you a little secret, even though it does not feel like it — so far, so good! Now, to sum up for you how the next few years are going to be, I would like to borrow these lines from our favourite cartoonist, Charles M. Schulz, “My life has no purpose, no direction, no aim, no meaning, and yet I am happy. I can’t figure it out. What am I doing right?” Well, that’s university years for you.

A blank slate, albeit a happy one! But at the end of these years (and for a good while after that) you will have a clearer idea of just what your purpose in life is, the directions you need to take, how to accomplish your aims and most importantly, how to give meaning to your life.