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#pounditTuesday, March 19, 2024

Notre Dame’s Jonathan Bonner predicted his future with letter in 8th grade

Jonathan-Bonner-Notre-DameFreshman defensive end Jonathan Bonner committed to Notre Dame the day he received his scholarship offer last June. The decision was a no-brainer, as the Missouri native has dreamed about playing for the Irish since he was a kid. And he has the letter to prove it.

Bonner wrote himself an incredibly mature letter as he was wrapping up 8th grade and heading off to high school. The letter, which starts off “Dear self,” was written from the point of view of an 18-year-old Bonner speaking to himself with a parental tone. The 6-foot-3, 245-pound defensive end tweeted the proof back in May.

The full text of the letter is below, courtesy of the South Bend Tribune:

Dear self,

This is you from eighth grade. I hope you’re doing okay. Off to college, huh? You better be. Think about how much freedom you’ll have. You’ve grown up and now you’re off on your own. You have a lot to look forward to.

It’s almost the end of your eighth grade school year. Right now you were looking forward to summer, high school, and the biggest thing, football. You need to get either that TE or DE position. Did you get it? Right now what you don’t what being a freshman will be like but you are anxious. Hopefully you played hard enough to go off to Notre Dame. If not, you better at least be going off to college.

In college there are some things you must avoid. First off, stay away from drugs and alcohol. If you have touched a drug I consider you a failure and you better change now or you are wasting your life. Same thing with alcohol, It will make you do stupid stuff and you will end up in bad situations. Second, stay away from knuckleheads (words from mom). They will get you in trouble. Finally, try to stay away from weapons. The only reason you should be using one is if you are going off into the army or you are in physical threat. DON’T LOOK FOR REVENGE! Use your hands if necessary. This should also be a last resort.

Here are some things you need to work hard at. First and most importantly, school. You will not get anywhere without it. Second off, work hard at football so, you can get yourself off to the NFL and make some money. You must also be respectful and responsibility to others and they will do the same to you. Your main goal is just to succeed.

Someone you need to be nice to is your sister. At this age in eighth grade she means everything to you and if you have lost her, you have lost yourself. You need her almost as much as you need yourself. She has been there for everything and anything your entire life so don’t even try to bail on her. Who knows?? You may need her someday.

As you should see you have grown and you have a lot of life left. Make it worthwhile and don’t screw up.

Yours Literally,

Jonathan Bonner.

How impressive is that? There aren’t many kids who are 13 or 14 with that type of perspective, let alone doing exactly what you set out to do at that age. Here’s hoping Bonner enjoys a successful career under Brian Kelly.

H/T Dr. Saturday

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