Springtide Research Institute

Letters to Our Younger Selves: Sage Advice

Posted September 5, 2024

Our newest offering, Thirteen: A First Look at Gen Alpha, uncovers what today’s 13-year-olds (who are the oldest of Generation Alpha) think, feel, and believe about their identities, religion and spirituality, media and technology, US politics, and COVID-19. In conjunction with this release, we invited members of the Springtide Ambassadors Program (SAP) to write letters to their 13-year-old selves, sharing wisdom they’ve gained in the years since. Below, Christian, 25, Aimee, 22, and Peyton, 14, tell their younger selves where their focus should lie as they move forward. Read more about Thirteen and download the report for free here.

Upon reflecting on what I would share with a young me, one thing I would recommend would be to get used to having a social media break every now and again. I try to implement a social media fast 2–3 times a month. I used to feel like I couldn’t live without social media, like I would be missing out on something. However, things on social media tend to stick around for a couple days. News stories, memes, music—you’ll get around to it. Also, during those social media breaks, always have a book started in your room. You don’t always have to read the book, but if you find that it’s 5:13 p.m., and you have to leave at 5:30 p.m., you could finish a chapter in that time. Maybe it’s a filler chapter that could leave you on the start of the climax of the story! Journaling is another good practice to take in. I went from aspiring to write one full page a day to a paragraph, and I’ve never felt more free to write whatever I want. If you miss a day, no worries! Just go right into the next. Finally, if possible, I would recommend sacrificing some of your own time to visit grandparents and family members who are older than you. The more that you hear stories from your family, the more comfortable in your identity and assurance of your vocational path you will be.

Christian, 25

Springtide Ambassador

Christian, 25

Springtide Ambassador

As we focus on generational differences and segmenting people into groups, what seems constant is a commentating, critiquing, and apprehensiveness of “the other” (both older to younger and vice versa). Perhaps this is an extension of a tribalistic fear of the unknown, ingrained in human nature.

Ed Catmull, cofounder of Pixar, writes about ideas that are emerging and not fully formed: “If, while in this vulnerable state, [ideas are] exposed to naysayers who fail to see [their] potential or lack the patience to let [them] evolve, [they] could be destroyed. Part of our job is to protect the new [emphasis added] from people who don’t understand that in order for greatness to emerge, there must be phases of not-so-greatness.” Now, interchange “new generations” for “ideas,” and reread his statement. I believe his sentiments remain.

One of my favorite quotes says to “be the person you needed when you were younger.” The word be calls us to focus on who we are rather than anything we can do. The phrase “The person you needed” acknowledges our need for others. “When you were younger” pushes us to reflect on our younger selves, which we sometimes forget or like to forget. It’s worth our time to remember who we were, just as much as who we are now and who we’d like to become.

People sometimes ask me how I’ve “gotten so good at talking to people.” I tell them that when I was in youth group at church in middle school, I felt like I was in the “outer” circle. I would try to insert myself into the “inner” circle, but I didn’t seem to connect anyway. One day, it dawned on me that others also had “no one to talk to.” And if I were to approach them, then we would both have someone to talk to.…I haven’t stopped talking since! The experience of having “no one to talk to” is what drives me to make sure that others feel welcome and included, even when I now find myself in an “inner” circle.

Put simply, Catmull writes, “The world is often unkind to new talent, new creations. The new needs friends.” Let’s befriend the new.

Aimee, 22

Springtide Ambassador

Aimee, 22

Springtide Ambassador

Dear Gen Alpha, did you know you only have this exact moment of your life once? So how are you going to spend this moment? Scrolling? Looking for the next best thing? Thinking about all of your regrets? I challenge you to try three things: love the moment, live in the moment, and seize your moment.

When I was younger, my sister and I were forced one summer to walk our dog every day, which we dreaded because we knew it would be hot and miserable. We were not allowed to have screen time before walking, so we’d rush through that walk to get home and play our new farming game. At the time, I dreaded those walks, but now looking back, it’s one of the most fond memories that I have of summer, and I wouldn’t trade those memories for the world. Love the moment you are in.

During the summer, my sister and I would also go to the local pool, every day, from open until close. The pool had a small waterslide, a low dive, and a high dive. My fear of the high dive was something I desperately wanted to overcome. I would spend days talking myself up there, only to back out at the last second. One day I finally got to the top, but it was then that I looked down—and I froze. I wanted to go back down but was not allowed. The only option was to jump. I stood up there for a good five minutes before a lifeguard was able to bribe me down with a free popsicle, but in the end, I overcame my fear. Live in the moment. Not through your phone, or through others, but by taking that jump. You won’t regret it.

One Halloween, my mom asked me if I was going trick-or-treating. I was unsure, but my sister begged me, and I eventually obliged. When I asked my friends most of them said they were done with Halloween. Even though I felt too old to go, I still went trick-or-treating. That night, my sister and I got so much candy we had to dump our buckets out in the car and refill them again. Don’t let others influence you. Seize your moment (there might even be candy).

I know that I will not forget these memories or the lessons I learned with them, and I just hope that others can learn from my little moments too.