2020 Bukola showed up
A letter from me to me :)
The most interesting thing happened to me last week, and I couldn't wait to share!
Back in 2020, when we were all busy making banana bread, joining the "Don't Rush" challenge, and hosting Zoom bridal showers, I stumbled upon this page called "Future Me."
It lets you write a letter to yourself and schedules it to be delivered in the future.
The idea blew my mind! Imagine writing something today and receiving it exactly five years later—same date, same time, but years apart. Wild, right?
I jumped at the chance and wrote a simple but what I thought was a meaningful email to myself.
Reading it years later brought such a huge smile to my face.
What I cherish most about that letter is how detailed it was about my life at that moment—where I was, where I worked, what I was doing, and the stage of life I was in. I wrote about things I hoped I'd never stop doing, goals I aspired to achieve, and even included the name of someone I wanted to stay connected with. If you know me, you understand why this was so important. Sometimes, out of sight can truly mean out of mind for me.
Reading it made me slightly emotional but hard guy hard guy. It’s intriguing how we expect so much change, yet some things must remain constant or become even better. The day I wrote that letter, I remember feeling quite irritated, but I deliberately avoided sharing those negative vibes. Who wants to send their future self negativity anyway? LOL... no please, abeg!
Back then, I was working at KPMG—since then, I've had three different full-time jobs. In 2020, living in Nigeria, I never imagined I'd complete my MBA or end up living in Canada. That was also the year I started consistently working out and joining NSPPD morning prayers, nurturing both my spiritual and physical self.
At that point, I hadn’t even met my husband or known that this amazing man existed. Two of my sisters didn’t even have babies yet—we were still praying and trusting God. Mehn, God is just amazing!
singing: see how far your brought me, Lord I want to worship you
Reflecting on this made me realize how often we only measure our progress in short-term increments.
But long-term progress deserves acknowledgment too!
Who were you in 2020? Could the 2020 version of you have envisioned your 2025 self? Have things improved, worsened, or stayed the same?
Is it time to applaud yourself, or is this a wake-up call? Could this be your chance to celebrate your achievements tomorrow, or perhaps an opportunity to reassess and refocus?
Think about your 2022 vision board—when you finally achieved your goals in 2025, did you even notice, or were you busy criticizing yourself for being late?
In all things, we thank God. Man proposes and God disposes (sometimes sef man proposes and man's laziness disposes). I've come to understand deeply that God operates on His own timing, and this awareness filled me with profound gratitude—gratitude for where I am now and for how far I've come.
Are there things I planned to do back in 2020 that I haven't yet accomplished? Absolutely! But remember, progress isn't linear, and life, by God's grace, is a long game.
Reading this letter also made me realize, there's things I'd call the "markers" of your life—the core elements that define who you truly are. These are the things you commit to daily or as regularly as possible. Your faith, your lifestyle, your values—these fundamentals shouldn’t change; they should only improve and deepen. They can be refined over the years but they should largely remain consistent.
Well, take this as your sign to define your life markers and engage in a multi-year reflection. Do a before-and-after (like you'd do with your pictures, the "established" ones, IYKYK) of your life in 2020 versus now.
Also, maybe write a letter to your 2030 self! Let me know if you do :)
P.S.: Can you believe I struggled to differentiate between "being" and "been" back in 2020? I still struggle till today and that's just embarrassing!
You have all my love,
Bukola :)
So sweet!
Let me go and write my future self