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I Met My Younger Self for Coffee This Morning

I met my younger self for coffee this morning. She was already at the table when I arrived, impatiently stirring sugar into her cup like it owed her money. Typical.

She looked up, eyes sharp, scanning me like a pop quiz I hadn’t studied for. “So… this is it?” she asked, gesturing vaguely at me.

I sipped my coffee. “Wow, no hello? Just straight to judgment?”

She smirked. “I’m you, remember?”

Fair.

Younger Me, let’s call her Mini-Me, leaned forward. “Okay, let’s get to it. Do I have my own house yet?”

I coughed into my cup. “Haha, let’s circle back to that.”

She frowned. “Okay, do we at least have money?”

“Define ‘money.’”

Mini-Me groaned, dragging her hands down her face. “Fine. Do we still live in chaos?”

I shrugged. “Less chaos, more, project management. I track everything now, money, work, learning. It’s my version of adulting.”

She blinked. “That is the saddest thing I’ve ever heard.”

“Excuse you, it’s called being responsible.”

“Sounds exhausting.”

I sighed. “Yeah, but I’ve got a system.”

Mini-Me sipped her coffee, considering. “Okay. Do we at least get along with Mum and Dad?”

I nodded. “Mum is still strict but supportive. Dad mmmh, it's complicated. You already knew that.”

She shrugged. “Yeah. But I was hoping.”

We sat in silence for a moment before she perked up. “Oh! Tell me we have a cool job?”

I grinned. “You’ll love it. It’s innovative, impactful, and right up our alley.”

She squinted. “Do we get paid enough?”

“Why do you ask so many questions?”

Mini-Me narrowed her eyes. “Because I am you. And I have goals.”

I sighed. “Let’s just say, you’re not where you thought you’d be. But it’s not a bad thing. You care about things now food security, energy access, gender, youth empowerment. You’re building something, even if you don’t have all the answers yet.”

She tapped her fingers on the table. “Sooo we’re doing okay?”

I smiled. “We’re figuring it out.”

She huffed. “Fine. But if Future Us ever gets to have this chat, tell her to show up with a house and a fat bank account.”

“Noted.”

We finished our coffee in silence, both knowing that despite the chaos, we wouldn’t trade the journey for anything.

Except maybe that house.

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