hey so if you have time to waste

yes i know ive been yapping about my essay for the past week but ive finally finished it and idk man i think itd be funny to post it here . (also yes i already posted this as a bulletin but thats going to disappear and this wont)

keep in mind the word limit was only 500 words and when i originally wrote it out it was 1300 words so yeah A LOT of sacrifice had to be made (anyone who's read it before will notice that much ig).

This is for the harvard crimson global essay competetion and i chose the category "creative" so yeah here it is i guess. 

PROMPT: You receive a letter from your future self, dated 10 years from now. In it, your future self outlines a major decision you’ll soon have to make, one that could change the course of your life. As you read, you begin to question whether the future is truly set in stone, or if it’s shaped by the choices you make today. Explore how the knowledge of a future event alters your present decisions and how you balance fate with free will.

The Sun, the Moon, and the star. 

“Is five o’clock okay?”

My head snaps up at Diana’s voice, captivatingly magical. We’d been assigned projects in groups of three. Our third member was him. He stands there, discussing our project. It’s so casually tormenting. I’m right here, but so is she. My best friend, Diana, the perfect girl with the perfect face and personality. Undoubtedly, the prince pines for the princess. A time and place to rendezvous is agreed to begin working. As I tramp home down the frosted pavement, I debate whether I should show up at all. 

I flop onto my bed, grabbing my phone. Time slips away, and when I glance up, I notice something peculiar.  I reach a wary hand towards the envelope resting face down on my desk, my name scrawled onto it. It crackles with a faint blue static, stinging my fingers. I gingerly extract the letter, the handwriting so raw yet so familiar. 

Dearest Lyra of ten years past,

Choose the right person, or be cursed by heartbreak eternal, like me. 

Good luck,

Lyra. 

The paper feels so treacherous, yet so fragile in my quavering hands. I reread the words repeatedly, until it’s nothing but trifling gibberish to me. The idea of time travel is unfathomable, yet I find myself accepting it, for the envelope contains not only the letter, but a family heirloom. My grandmother’s wedding ring, one she’d promised to me as a child. Nothing else like it, I recall her saying. It’ll be yours once you graduate.

My phone rings, and it’s Diana, inquiring about my arrival. The clock reads ten minutes past five. Late. I reassure Diana of my coming before hanging up.

The moment her face appears from behind the door, the memory of the letter swoops down like a vulture upon prey.

I apologise for my tardiness, which Diana forgives. She ushers me inside, a gust of toasty air embracing me when I enter. He’s here. I utter a quick greeting, before settling onto one of the plush sofas opposite him. 

“How come you’re so late?” He queries, chestnut eyes sparkling. 

“Lost track of time, I guess,” I shrug, instinctively smoothing my skirt. He raises an eyebrow at my answer. 

“Are you su-” 

He’s interrupted by Diana’s entrance. His gaze latches onto her, eyes softening. Forget about him. Diana proceeds to describe our project. The letter terrorises my thoughts. I don’t want to have to choose between two people who mean so much to me, one who knows that, and one who doesn’t. Akin to the sun and moon, and I am the star. Doomed to be merely an onlooker. My heart twinges painfully. I make an excuse for the bathroom. I sink against the door, hating how unfair it is. Her or him. 

Me.

A curse of never being loved because I’d prevented others from having that chance was disconcerting. A new clarity blesses my perspective. I’ll find another star to build my kingdom with.

 It’s time I let go. 

thanks for reading it :3
also a few fun details i put in the essay because idk i jsut oculd. in the title , the 'S' for sun and the 'M' for moon is capital, but the 's' for star is lowercase. Its because usually in english you give capital letters to the start of words with importance, like a place, a name etc etc . the 's' in star is lowercase to showcase the 'insignificance' of the star, so to speak. also another fun thing, 'Lyra' is the name of a constellation which the main character is named after (and yes i was too lazy to think of names like that for the other two characters) . yeah but thats kind of just random stuff i thought was cool to add in and i should probably stop yapping atp so once again
thanks for reading !!