At 40

As December begins, today is my 40th birthday.

I can’ t thank everyone enough for all the support and encouragement over the years.

Earlier this morning, I received an email from the website Future Me. It was a letter that I wrote to myself on January 23rd, 2014. Dated for this date, in 2025. I didn’t think anything of it until it came back to me today.

I will post the letter in it’s entirety, knowing that me then couldn’t have imagined all that would’ve happened in the years since. I’m grateful that I’m still here to read what 2014 me had to say about his hopes for me today.

Without further adieu, the letter from my 2014 self…

Dear Future Oswald,

Today is Monday, December 1st 2025. It is your 40th birthday.

A lot happened in forty years. You managed to survive prematurity at birth and every associated condition that Cerebral Palsy came with. Through every surgery and situation, you’ve come out stronger on the other side. Walking on your own two feet unassisted, something that was unimaginable when you began senior year of high school.

Throughout your life, you’ve had some big successes: graduating elementary and middle school, graduating high school at 17 and getting your BA in Criminal Justice at 23. All the medals and volleyball trophies from elementary and middle school displayed athletic prowess.

Your life hasn’t been without it’s setbacks. The years from 2003-2013 are known as the “lost decade” where you struggled to find a job after college. Hopefully your thirties will see more success than your twenties did. At the least, have a direction to take your life in.

Hopefully, you will still keep in touch with your friends and family. They are the most important things in your life, and never forget that. Don’t let your insecurities take hold of you. You are a strong and confident person, despite what the inner critical voice says.

Here’s to you at 40, and wishing 40 more years of happiness and health!