Midterm Letter Assignment

Dear Samuel Edelsack,



By the time you're reading this, you must be about 50 years old by now in the year 2044. The person that's writing this letter is your 25-year-old self in the year 2020. How are you? Are you living your best life now as a video editor? Because I'm in the middle of trying to accomplish that dream job. I'm a junior at Rutgers University, majoring in video production. I plan on being a video editor for a production company. I have a skill in editing videos. So, I'm wondering, have you finally achieved your dream job, or are you working at a retail store for 24 years, and you abandon your dream job because you've hit roadblocks that were hard to get through? If you haven’t, that’s okay because life doesn’t play fair at times.

Do you have a wife/girlfriend? I've been single for 25 years and have been rejected for almost my entire life. What makes up my identity is that I'm a gentleman. My parents raised me well; they taught me always to be respectful to everyone, especially women. No matter how polite I am towards these girls when it comes to dating apps, they still reject me. They never give me a chance of showing my true self to them with these characteristics: friendly, helpful, caring, laid back, and fun to be around. It's been challenging to be single and knowing that you have friends that are in relationships, and they're having the best times of their lives with their boyfriends/girlfriends. It sucks big time. I hope you have a wife before the day who read this letter?

What's your home life? Please don't tell me you're still living with your parents because that's not productive of you; a fifty-year-old man who still isn't ready to live on his own. If you are living on your own, are you living in a house or apartment? I'm still living with my parents because it's hard to live on your own in New Jersey. It's costly to live here. I don't mind living with my parents because where else can I go? I live in Westfield, NJ, and when it comes to community and have no connection with it because the majority of people who live here are mostly white. White people make up 80% of Westfield's population, which makes me wonder if the community of Westfield is racial bias. I've been living in this town for 25 years, and I never notice that Westfield has this issue of diverse groups living in this town. When I walk downtown, I see fewer black people. Coincidence? I think not. I was raised to treat everyone with respect regardless of race, religion, cultural background, and I live in a town where minority groups don’t feel welcome. I’m hoping by now twenty-four years later that Westfield has changed, and a lot of minority groups are living there: blacks, Latinos, Hispanics, middle eastern, etc. It would finally be a diverse town. Are you still living in Westfield, by the way, or did you finally move away? If you did, is my house even there? Would you mind checking?

Lastly, right now, in America, there has been a lot of "drama" going on in this country. In terms of race relations issues, the economy, children being separated from their parents because their parents are undocumented, and this issue of "fake news." It's been not very easy here. I've been avoiding watching the news because it'll always be a story that'll upset me, but that's how the media makes a lot of money because these are the stories that get a lot of attention. My question is, Samuel, are things good now in America? Have the issues of race relations in the minority in areas decreased substantially? Can everyone afford health care and education? Are there no more issues of immigrants arriving in this country? Have news corporations have finally stopped giving "fake news" to the public to get a political gain for their party by making the other political party look bad? Also, has America finally had a woman to serve as President in the United States, or are we too weak and ignorant to understand that women can be in charge of anything, whether it’s an authoritative position? These are what I want to know. I hope 2044 reality of this country is nothing like the reality I’m in.

I hope you have a sweet life. If you haven't achieved your dream job as a video editor, it's never too late. You're fifty years old and still got time left. Same with finding a girlfriend and a wife. These things take time, and you shouldn't feel the pressure of forcing yourself in relationships. As long as you maintain your identity by being a gentleman as you are, then that should be a reminder that there's nothing wrong with you. You're doing fine. Just don't get discouraged. Life is too short for you to think that the world is against you.



Take care, buddy



Samuel Edelsack (from 2020)