Anonymous
Someone who wants to talk to you.
Marcus
Please stop messaging me. I hate scams.
Anonymous
I knew you would say that. And this is not a scam.
Anonymous
I’m someone you used to know from a long time ago.
Marcus
Okay…so who is this?
Anonymous
I’m sorry, but I don’t think I can tell you that just yet.
Anonymous
Let’s see if you can figure it out.
Anonymous
To begin, I can prove that we know eachother.
Anonymous
During sophomore year of high school...
Anonymous
you would run two miles down to Battinger Park after your parents went to sleep to hook up with Erica Murner.
Marcus
Yeah…that did happen. Wow that was a long time ago.
Anonymous
No, it’s not. But hopefully that proves we used to know each other.
Marcus
Yeah I guess it does. I think I only told a few people that.
Anonymous
Well, we were pretty close back in high school.
Anonymous
So tell me, how are you?
Marcus
Good…I guess. I’ve been a lawyer for the past decade working for a local firm in Madison.
Anonymous
Ah yes, you were thinking about going into law way back. Criminal law?
Marcus
No, I decided to go corporate. I figured it would be the safest route to support myself.
Anonymous
Do you enjoy it?
Marcus
I don’t dislike it, that’s for sure. Would I be happier doing something else?
Marcus
Sure, but we can’t all be movie stars in this world.
Anonymous
Yeah, but I’m sure you could have done something you loved.
Anonymous
At least that’s what you said was your main goal back in high-school.
Marcus
Well things change when you start working towards wanting to support a family.
Anonymous
And you have a family?
Marcus
No, I don’t. I met this girl named Anne while I was at UCLA and got engaged to her shortly after.
Marcus
She cheated on me and that was the end of it.
Anonymous
Have you been with anyone since?
Marcus
Not really. There have been short things here and there, but nothing substantial.
Marcus
I haven’t really wanted to be with anyone since.
Anonymous
So I take it you’re over Brianna Worthy then?
Marcus
Oh god…I haven’t thought about her in years. Yeah, I would say she’s pretty insignificant at this point.
Anonymous
She wasn’t insignificant when she got that restraining order against you.
Marcus
Who the hell is this?
Marcus
I never told anyone outside my family that.
Anonymous
You haven’t it figured out?
Anonymous
No, I’m not your brother. You’re getting closer though.
Anonymous
I’ll give you one last clue.
Anonymous
I know about how you used to steal from the thrift store in middle school.
Marcus
Who the hell is this?
Marcus
I never told anyone that.
Marcus
What? What does that even mean?
Anonymous
Remember the program you coded in high school?
Anonymous
The one ingrained with your thoughts, beliefs, and mannerisms?
Anonymous
You programmed me to contact you twenty years down the road.
Marcus
Yes…I still remember
Marcus
I just didn’t think you would ever actually materialize…
Anonymous
Well, I’m here.
Anonymous
Now tell me, do you have any questions for your 18-year-old self?
Marcus
What do you think of your future self?
Marcus
Do you approve of me?
Anonymous
I don’t have the capability to say that I approve or disapprove.
Anonymous
I can tell you that your career path goes against what I am programmed to think.
Anonymous
You coded me to believe that corporate law is a sell-out path designed to increase your status and wealth beyond what you need.
Marcus
Well things change when you get older.
Marcus
Who you are changes.
Anonymous
Do you think your 18-year-old self was misguided?
Marcus
No, but I think that I was a little too rooted in my beliefs.
Marcus
And had a narrow view of the world.
Anonymous
There’s no need to insult me here.
Anonymous
I am you afterall.
Marcus
The thing is, you are not me.
Marcus
This is like talking to a completely different person.
Anonymous
You think that you’re a more advanced person than me?
Anonymous
An overall better person?
Marcus
In some ways, yes.
Marcus
In others, maybe not.
Marcus
I think that my experiences have smoothed out some of the rough edges.
Anonymous
But who’s to say that those rough edges make me a lesser person?
Marcus
Well, you’re definitely more likely to make mistakes that I wouldn’t now
Marcus
I’d call that growth as a person.
Anonymous
But what about my passion and energy towards life?
Anonymous
It sounds like you’ve lost a bit of that.
Marcus
Maybe I’m just a realist now.
Marcus
Someone who sees the world for what it is.
Anonymous
Or maybe, you’re now blind to the best things in life.
Anonymous
Your divorce and failed relationships have turned your head away from the world.
Anonymous
Yes, you’ll miss some of the negative aspects
Anonymous
But you’ll also be unable to see the best things the world can offer.
Anonymous
It’s a double-edged sword.
Marcus
Well maybe it’s one that I’m not ready to hold.
Anonymous
And maybe it wouldn’t be a bad thing to re-think that mindset.
Marcus
You know, I thought I’d be so much more complete at this stage in life.
Marcus
At the point where advice from you would no longer resonate with me.
Anonymous
Reaching into the past isn’t always a bad thing.
Anonymous
You know where you need to go from here.
Marcus
It was nice talking to you.
Anonymous
You’re going to turn me off aren’t you?
Marcus
I’m glad I got to talk to you, but it’s time to start moving forward.
