{"id":6081,"date":"2025-01-06T14:26:55","date_gmt":"2025-01-06T14:26:55","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/momentsunfolded.com\/?p=6081"},"modified":"2025-01-06T14:27:18","modified_gmt":"2025-01-06T14:27:18","slug":"a-girls-heartfelt-letter-to-her-future-self-penned-months-before-her-passing","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/momentsunfolded.com\/archives\/6081","title":{"rendered":"A Girl\u2019s Heartfelt Letter to Her Future Self, Penned Months Before Her Passing"},"content":{"rendered":"
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The letter was meant to remain sealed for 10 years, but Tim and Mary chose to open it. What they discovered inside changed everything.\n\n
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Most teenagers\u00a0dream\u00a0of going to college, traveling the world, and forming lifelong friendships. Taylor Smith, a 12-year-old from Johnson City, Tennessee, was no exception. She cherished her time with family and friends and was a devoted fan of Doctor Who.\n

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Taylor Smith\n

In April 2013, Taylor penned a letter to her future self, outlining her dreams and aspirations. She carefully placed it in a box in her room with the instructions: \u201cTo be opened by Taylor Smith on April 12, 2023, only (unless said otherwise).\u201d\n

Tragically, Taylor never had the chance to open her letter. Just months after writing it, she passed away due to complications from a sudden onset of pneumonia. Her parents, Tim and Mary Ellen Smith, were left devastated by the loss of their vibrant daughter.\n

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Taylor Smith\n
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While going through her belongings, they discovered the letter. Touched by its content and the wisdom beyond Taylor\u2019s years, they decided to share it with the world, hoping her words could inspire and comfort others.\n

As Mary Ellen shared the letter, she wrote:\n

\u201cI can\u2019t physically resurrect her, I can\u2019t bring her back, but I\u2019m so grateful people have been inspired by her story.\u201d\n

Below is the letter Taylor wrote to her future self, a beautiful reflection of her dreams, faith, and love for life.\n

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Taylor Smith\n

Dear Taylor,\n

How\u2019s life? Life is pretty simple right now (10 years in your past). I know I\u2019m late for you, but as I\u2019m writing, this is early, so: congratulations on graduating high school! If you didn\u2019t, go back and keep trying. Get that degree! Are you (we) in college? If not, I understand. We do have pretty good reasoning, after all.\n

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Don\u2019t forget, it\u2019s Allana\u2019s 11th\u00a0birthday\u00a0today! Sheesh, 11 already? In my time, she just turned 1! I didn\u2019t get to go to that party though, because I was in Cranks, Kentucky, for my first mission trip. I\u2019ve only been back for six days!\n

Speaking of, how\u2019s your relationship with GOD? Have you prayed, worshipped, read the Bible, or gone to serve the Lord recently? If not, get up and do so NOW! I don\u2019t care what point in our life we\u2019re in right now, do it! He was mocked, beaten, tortured, and crucified for you! A sinless man, who never did you or any other person any wrong!\n

Now, have you gone on any more mission trips? Have you been out of the country yet? How about on a plane?\n

Is Doctor Who still on the air? If not, what regeneration did they end it with? You should go watch some Doctor Who! Later, though\u2014you gotta finish reading your own words of wisdom!\n

Do you have your own place yet? If we\u2019re in college, what are we majoring in? Right now, I wanna be a lawyer.\n

Have you been to Dollywood recently? Right now, their newest attraction is the Wild Eagle. It\u2019s so fun!\n

Also, I think I\u2019m going to sell my iPad and buy an iPad Mini. Don\u2019t forget to tell your kids that we\u2019re older than the tablet! Attached, I also have a drawing of an iPad so you can show them.\n

Well, I think that\u2019s all. But remember, it\u2019s been 10 years since I wrote this. Stuff has happened, good and bad. That\u2019s just how life works, and you have to go with it.\n

Sincerely,\n

Taylor Smith\n

Taylor\u2019s words reflect the hopes, faith, and optimism of a young girl who was taken far too soon. Her letter continues to inspire many who come across her story.\n\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

The letter was meant to remain sealed for 10 years, but Tim and Mary chose to open it. What they discovered inside changed everything. Most teenagers\u00a0dream\u00a0of going to college, traveling the world, and forming lifelong friendships. Taylor Smith, a 12-year-old from Johnson City, Tennessee, was no exception. She cherished her time with family and friends […]\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":6082,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-6081","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/momentsunfolded.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6081","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/momentsunfolded.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/momentsunfolded.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/momentsunfolded.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/momentsunfolded.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=6081"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/momentsunfolded.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6081\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":6084,"href":"https:\/\/momentsunfolded.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6081\/revisions\/6084"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/momentsunfolded.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/6082"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/momentsunfolded.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=6081"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/momentsunfolded.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=6081"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/momentsunfolded.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=6081"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}