Gabrielle is an award-winning author and freelance writer based in regional New South Wales. She has published six books, including the young adult novels Remind Me How This Ends, Faking It and The Intern, which won the 2015 State Library of Victoria’s Gold Inky Award. Can’t Say It Went to Plan is her latest young adult novel, and she is currently working on her next project. Gabrielle loves sharing her passion for storytelling and creativity with readers and aspiring writers.
DEAR PAST GAB,
Greetings from the year 2021. Hold onto your Sony Discman and Civic Video membership card, my love, because this is a letter from Future You. Two decades on, I’m sorry to reveal you don’t own a hoverboard like Marty McFly in Back to the Future and can’t teleport to your friends’ houses. But there are still so many reasons to feel grateful for this big, messy life of yours. I won’t reveal too much about what’s to come as I want you to try to live for the moment. (But let me guess, you’re only half-reading this letter while plotting out your to-do list anyway!)
I will say I think of you often and am so damn proud of you. Past Gab, the only reason I’ve got to where I am is because of your choices: the good, the bad, the hilarious, the poorly judged, the awkward. I adore them all. At this point in your life, you’re a sensitive, brave, creative, open-hearted, curious, nerdy and hardworking high school student – seven things that help you carve your path from a country town to the world of media and book publishing in the city.
Own that sensitive side of yours. Turns out it’s a superpower that helps you to be a creative writer and published author, caring friend, empathetic partner, and loving mum (spoiler alert!). Feel those feelings and don’t apologise for it. Yes, I also said you’re brave. Hear me out! You are so much more capable than you think. I often draw on memories from high school to remind myself of your unwavering determination, even when you were shaking on the inside. I still get scared, a lot actually, but then I remember all the times you were brave, and it encourages me to keep pushing myself outside of my comfort zone, even when I’m terrified.
I also want to talk about mistakes. Right now, you wrongly believe that you shouldn’t ever make them. You expect perfection from yourself, but there’s no such thing. Everyone screws up! Mistakes are how we learn. Mistakes are how we grow. Mistakes are what makes life funny, challenging, entertaining, heartbreaking, and downright fascinating. Even Michael Jordan lost almost 300 games. (Yes, I’m throwing basketball facts at you. And stop wagging school sport, girl!). Try to learn from every failure and find the humour in your faults, and life will be more enriching for it. If I could go back in time and change one thing for you, it would be to remove the ridiculously high expectations you set for yourself. I also know you worry way too much about what other people think of you. Trust me, most of the time they’re too busy thinking about themselves! You do you.
This is all a lot to take in, but you don’t have to do any of it on your own. You have incredible friends by your side and the best bit is you’re still close with them, all these years on. You’ll also go on to collect more kindred spirits over the next few decades who light up your life. Think of them all as your Very Important People. You often let your favourite humans know how much they mean to you because grief has taught you that life is a gift, connection is everything and people deserve to know they’re loved. Never stop doing that.
Past Gab, we’re too entwined for this to be goodbye, but I’ll leave you with these thoughts for now: keep your VIPs close, trust your gut, stay brave, make mistakes, and look for the joy and magic in the everyday. After all, inspiration is everywhere. Oh, and as the iconic Nora Ephron believed, everything is copy, so pay attention and keep a notebook and pen handy. You’ve got this.
LOVE ALWAYS,
GAB FROM 2021 XX
