To my ten-year-old self, and myself in my twenties
Stop grasping onto time, I promise you got plenty
There are days when the world’s moving all too fast
There are days when you’d trade the present for the past

But don’t look back, at least not for too long
You’ll have time to reflect, but you gotta move along
You’re gonna go through loss, and it’ll hurt like hell
And man, I wish I would could say that all will be well

But life is meant to be messy, a mad work in progress
So live it for yourself, don’t consider it a contest
You’ll manage to achieve your childhood desires
But there are bolder dreams that you’re yet to acquire

In a way it all works out, and in a way it never does
You’ll find balance in what will be, what is, and what was
Your path is not set, you’ve got mountains to climb
Just don’t waste your life away fighting with Time 

To my younger self, you worry far too much about it all
I know it seems blurry, but you cannot rise without a fall
You will lose your innocence, you will lose some dreams
But I promise your youth remains stitched in your seams

There’s childhood bliss that you’ll ache to hold onto
But there’s a future calling, you ought to respond to
I’m sorry for the heartbreak I know you’ll endure
There’s meaningful growth when you cross through that door

The world awaits you, you haven’t seen the half of it
Friends and adventures, you really can’t imagine it
As I write you this letter, I’m thankful beyond words
Things do get better, you keep moving onwards

I’m so grateful I was just handed this overflowing cup
‘Cause honestly, my greatest fear has always just been growing up
But I’ve been never been more tapped in to my imagination
I’ve never been closer to achieving what I’m chasing

I’m deeply in love, and my love keeps on deepening
I’ve got daunting dreams that I won’t stop believing in
Obsessed with my craft, and fulfilled by my life
I’m not rushing the future, it will soon arrive

Perhaps sooner than later, those teenage years were fast
I’m coming to find the sweetest things never last
Now I’m wrestling with Time, hoping I can pin him down
Only twenty, but I fear the day they put me in the ground

What if I never achieve the greatness I’m pursuing?
What if those crowds in my head remain just an illusion?
I’ve embraced my adulthood, but I’m still afraid
That the passing of time is a double-edged blade

I miss my first adventure alone, I drove to Michigan
I wish that I could return home, have my first kiss again
People no longer see me as a kid, that’s a little strange
I’m not ready for this change, I’m not ready for this change

My world is so small, and yet my mind is infinite
Life’s got a rulebook, but I haven’t been given it
I’m ten years old, somehow I feel like I’m a King
My youth is too sweet to not be everlasting

Riding bikes on the paths in the park with my father
Could plan for the future, but why would I bother?
I live in the present, I cherish each moment
This bliss is so rare, and I don’t even know it

I never cared too much about my appearance
Even in a room full of faces, I stay fearless
The creatures that dwell in my brain keep me company
Might be at my peak, got the universe under me

Don’t care who’s in love with me, not for right now
My future’s lined up for me, I won’t strike out
Writing stories and books at my desk or in bed
I’ve got thousands of fans, they’re just all in my head

For most of this decade, I’ve been a bit delirious
Now my teachers tell me that it’s time to get serious
But that’s never been me, I refuse to concede
What if I lose my dreams, honestly I’m fearing this

And I think for the first time, judgement affects me
It’s like kids in these hallways just live to inspect me
Life is getting bizarre, is this the end of my youth?
I hear it’s time to grow up, and I fear it’s the truth

I put away my notebooks, throw ‘em in the drawer
I’m telling people don’t look, feeling insecure
It’s becoming clearer that my purity’s in danger
I look into the mirror, swear to God I see a stranger

Swept up in struggles, going through these motions
While trying to juggle uncertain emotions
I wish I had answers, ‘cause everything’s new to me
Worried I’m losing me, worried I’m losing me