I wrote this for a writing competition.
Dear Aaira of 2020,
This might come as a bit of shock to you. I can assure you that it is no prank pulled by your sister and that it is really me. Hi! I am Aaira from the year 2030. I am now twenty-five years old, and life couldn’t be better.
It was yesterday when my classmates at Uni brought the “Schreiben”, a new product on the market, which allows you to write to your past self. I had refused myself to do so, considering the effects of time paradox and even the effect on you. But the thing is, what I have to say is really important and it needs to be said right now.
I know how you are feeling in 2020. The quarantine, the condition of the world, the social life, and even your own studies. Every single thing is getting affected and you might be wondering when all of this will get over. I can’t tell you the exact date (due to some rules we need to follow while using this product) but it is going to be over soon.
You and I have always worried about the climate, the poverty, and the never-ending corruption that infiltrates every single part of our life. But, Aaira, 2030 is not like that! We, my generation, are voters now. We have the right to choose our leaders, the right to end poverty, and corruption. We are the youth and we have the power to change our country. I and my friends make decisions righteously and in the past seven years, our prime minister has been incredible. Poverty has decreased and the only way was education! The economy is growing as I write to you. Corrupt officers are being removed from their posts and as I said before, life couldn’t be better!
As for me, I am accomplishing my life goals, and only two months ago, I joined an NGO! It works for cleanliness and even reaches out to kids in slums, which are fortunately vanishing. The government has also imposed a few laws where people above the age of 20 need to have a job in any department which works for the welfare, which I consider as a great initiative. A few months ago, I joined another NGO, where we converted a ruined and abandoned village into a place for animals. It took us three weeks, but it was worth it. The place has turned out to be lusciously green and is now home to thousands of animals.
As for people, we are trying harder and harder to live sustainably. We no longer use plastic, but we instead use Sharon Barak’s plastic substitute, and honestly, I had been waiting for this since the first time I read about her. Crimes are also almost non-existent, as employment is increasing!
But here is an important message, the reason why I wrote this letter. You, right now, are in the crucial stages of your life, and the more you work today, the more you will gain in the future. And it's not just about you, it's also about how you serve as an individual to this society, for a true person works for not just his/her own wellbeing, but for the entire society.
I saw quarantine as an opportunity, for apart from studies, I could engage in everything else I wanted, and you can too. You could write articles, finish all the books, learn new songs on the guitar, learn as much as you want and so on. Honestly, the sky is the limit.
You can see the life that I am leading, here, in 2030, but remember, all of this didn’t just happen in one day. Years of hard work got me here and will get you too. So, the only solution is – hard work. It has always been the solution and will remain to be.
I am just merely advising you on what to do because believe me, I know the future. However, it all depends on you, it’s your life after all.
All the very best and will write to you more soon!
Bye for now
Aaira from 2030
(©Aaira Goswami, 2020. All rights reserved.)