The summer after my 2L year, my BIGLAW firm took its summer associates on an Outward Bound daytrip. We did team building exercises with a few partners and associates at the firm who snuck away with us. At the end of the day, the exercise leader asked us to write letters to ourselves, which they then mailed to us three months later. I just found mine:
July 20, 2000
Dear Scheherazade,
Being watched, seen, supported, encouraged while you do something that is scary or hard feels really good. Although it sometimes feels artificial, there is something real, powerful, and genuine about community, even those communities you don't choose, those that are transient or formed out of necessity/convenience.
Give that feeling to yourself by making sure you have a community. Give it to others by letting them feel safe around you.
It's October when you'll be getting this letter and you've figured some things out. Remember to make room in your life for: sun/stretching/exploration. Solitude & sacredness. Community & teams. Connection feels great.
Think about [Name]'s loyalty and how winsome it is -- his willingness to sacrifice for the group. For whom do you display such selflessness / devotion?
You're doing great. Love, Scheherazade
I did the Outward Bound Hurrican Island sailing program in college, and we wrote ourselves letters in which we laid out 5 goals of adventurous/fun things we would like to accomplish. A couple years later I got the letter in the mail, and I hadn't done any of them. How depressing.
Posted by: Scott | January 24, 2005 at 02:40 PM