Dear Writer

Dear Me in 1984

A time-traveling letter to the 18-year-old version of me

Dear Pierce,

I know what you’re saying right now.

You’re saying “Wait, my name’s not Pierce. This letter isn’t for me!”

Well, you’ve got it half-right there, pal. The letter is for you, but you’re not Pierce — at least not yet. It’s a pen name that you’re going to have in the future.

By the way — before I get too much more into the story of your pen name, let me tell you who I am.

I’m you.

You in the future. In the year 2021, to be exact.

Yes, you’re still alive then.

And yes, like you probably just said — that’s pretty awesome, dude.

I’m sure you’re wondering about the Pierce pen name that I mentioned, so let me elaborate a bit. Pierce’s last name is McIntyre.

Did you figure out yet how I came up with that pen name?

That’s right. I got it from M*A*S*H — one of our favorite TV shows ever. It was inspired by the characters Hawkeye Pierce and Trapper John McIntyre on there.

Pretty awesome, huh?

Yes, I still say the word “awesome” a lot. I say it just as much as you did back then. It’s one of the few things about me that hasn’t changed much since I was you.

There are a lot of things I’d love to tell you about what is going to be happening to you between 1984 and now, but I need to be very careful about that.

You see, anything I tell you might cause you to do things differently than the way I actually did them.

Believe me, there are a lot of things I regret having done since I was 18, but I can’t allow you to change any of them. If you did, it might change who and where I currently am in my life.

I can’t have that, man.

I love my life just the way it is right now.

I’m sure all that must all sound very confusing to you, but here’s something that might help:

In 1985, a year after you’re reading this, there’s going to be a movie coming out called Back To The Future. It stars the kid who plays Alex on Family Ties. Watch that movie (believe me, you’re going to love it) and you’ll learn a lot about how things can go badly if you try to change the future.

While I can’t be specific with you about the things that are going to be coming your way, I do want to tell you a few things that might give you a little peace of mind as you move forward and eventually become me.

1. Try not to worry so much about everything.

You worry way, way, way more about things than you should.

Things aren’t going to be as bad you make them out to be in your head. So try not to worry so much about them.

I know you’re not going to follow that advice.

Unfortunately, it’s going to take you a long time to get better with all of that. In fact, even though I’m not as bad now about worrying as you are back then, I still spend too much time doing it in 2021.

Who knows? Maybe someday another Pierce from my future will send me a letter telling me to ease up on worrying.

But then again, I don’t need him. I have my wonderful wife here helping me out during those hard times.

Oh yeah. That’s a big, important piece of information right there, isn’t it?

2. You have a wife.

Again, I can’t be too specific here. I can’t tell you when you’re going to meet the woman you’re going to marry and I can’t tell you who she is — but she really is out there somewhere in your world.

There will be many times when you worry about never finding “the one,” but you really do find her.

Be patient.

It’s all worth the wait and it’s even better than you’ve ever imagined.

3. You really do become a writer.

It’s not going to be exactly how you fantasized it to be, but you’ll have to see that for yourself.

All I’m going to say is — keep writing. Even when you write things that you think turned out badly.

You’ll do that a lot and it’s okay. Keeping at it is what helps you become a better writer.

And try not to be too scared about what other people might think about the things you write. It really doesn’t matter what they think. You don’t have to write for anyone other than yourself.

If you write things that would entertain you as a reader, chances are very good that you’re going to end up entertaining other readers too.

So do it for you.

Believe in yourself.

If you do, you’re going to be very happy.

Trust me. I know what I’m talking about.

4. You’re not going to end up bald like Grandpa.

I know that’s one of the things you worry about, but it’s not going to happen. You will get grey hairs, but it’s okay because your wife loves how they look on you.

That’s where I’m going to leave things, my friend.

Have fun later when you’re at the arcade playing pinball.

On your drive home from there, listen to one of your mixtapes of either Journey or Van Halen. Be assured that you still listen to them and a lot of other music from the 1980s in the future.

It will drive your wife a little crazy at times, but she’ll still love you anyway.

All the best,

You

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