While she was truly happy in the moment, this joy was interrupted with the realization that the moment would soon turn into a memory. The girl cried out for the future to give her a mere glimpse of the life that awaited her, but the future gave no response, for it would die once it answered any of her insurmountable questions. 

Eventually, however, she was shown the truth little by little. Before she knew it, the times she cherished playing outside with her sister faded away, and her dolls fell into an endless slumber. With the pounding rain of growing up, her sidewalk chalk drawings of hopscotch and butterflies washed away too.

The future couldn’t have shown her this, for it was certain that these realities would be too difficult to bear. The girl would be disheartened by the number of hours spent staring at a computer screen, typing nonsense that she would forget the next week. She would frown upon her future self’s poor choice in books—diving deep into history textbooks instead of The Boxcar Children or Harry Potter.

She would gape at the fact that this future version hadn’t made a Rainbow Loom bracelet or built a new Lego set in years. She loved that she was able to consume her time delicately weaving rubber bands to create colorful creations; she loved crafting different structures with the provided pieces. Always a rule-follower, she obeyed the guidelines of the construction manual until she became rebellious and scrapped everything for her own inventions. 

Without all of these activities that she loved, where would all her creativity go?

But upon closer inspection, she would realize that her creativity shined through other aspects of her future life. It was graciously poured onto Google Docs, writing for her school newspaper and scripts for her Odyssey of the Mind team. Sometimes she would even receive a spotlight, singing her heart out anywhere that could provide her with an audience. And finally, her musical talents would be further shown with her saxophone solos and her love for playing in the Marching Band. 

While this future version may not have time to play make-believe, she is still living out her dreams as a leader in the community. The little girl would discover that her passions carry her to the top of unclimbed mountains and provide her with opportunities for lifelong friendships. 

Her days will still be filled with smiles and laughter, not to mention all the freedom that comes with maturity. She will find herself with more friends than she could ever imagine and an amazing support group to fall back upon.

Even though the rain washed away her chalk drawings, her creativity remained untouched; the thunder took away pieces of her confidence, but it couldn’t take away from her growing spirit.

She still has millions of questions to ask, but she refrains from interrogating—knowing that answers require patience. Now, that girl can look the future in the eye and allow it to sweep her away with its beautiful unpredictability.