Dear Me,
I'm writing you this letter from the future to advise you on a couple of very important things.
First thing: a job is not owed to you.
The job market will be extremely different from what you had been taught and from what you had imagined. The perfect job will not knock at your door and your skills will not be magically revealed from the attentive reading of your resume. Use social media, but don't you think for a minute they'll make things easier. The personal touch will be lost and all communications are going to be more distant than ever, you'll be required to double your efforts to make recruiters understand how good you are. The job market place is not like school! To be good, even to be the best is not enough. Your future Cum Laude (yes, we got it…) is not a key with which open the perfect job door, sometimes it will be a burden and you may have to justify the fact you were able to study and work altogether because being a nerd is not enough to get a job.
Second thing: travel.
Our region is wonderful, all mountains and nature, but you have been living there all your life and the world is out there. The United States experience is not going to be enough, you'll desire and thrive for more adventures. Traveling opens minds, it teaches you to improve your skills and to find the courage to confront yourself with all sorts of problems. Multicultural environments are not only enriching but also a great school to learn more about yourself, your limits, and your potential, never avoid confrontations.
Third thing: curiosity.
Be curious, always! George the monkey was right, being curious is the key to success. The old school is good for learning, but it's old. Be wary of those who are going to tell you: "we have always done this way" or "I'm older so I am always right" or "Your way is wrong just because your ideas are new and disruptive". You will not be always right (of course!), but sometimes you'll be. Don't be afraid to bring your ideas to life, because if you don't, someone else will, it always happens. Read a lot, learn a lot, invent a lot. Try and don't stop, failures are only another way to climb the ladder to success.
I really wish it were possible to send this letter to my past self, but I know it is not. Ten years ago I didn't know about all this, and maybe without those experiences (good and bad), I couldn't have today either. I can only think about what my future self would tell me to do today. I think she will encourage me to travel, read, update my cv constantly and always try something new. Change. Change is the key, adapt and evolve.
After all:
“When we least expect it, life sets us a challenge to test our
courage and willingness to change; at such a moment, there is no point in
pretending that nothing has happened or in saying that we are not yet ready.
The challenge will not wait. Life does not look back. A week is more than
enough time for us to decide whether or not to accept our destiny.”
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