Notre Dame freshman predicted his future in letter from eighth grade

Notre Dame freshman Jonathan Bonner can predict the future -- at least the eighth-grade version of Bonner can.

Bonner, a 6-foot-3, 245-pound defensive end from Chesterfield, Mo., is a three-star recruit who committed to the Fighting Irish last June. Despite having offers from schools like Michigan State and Missouri, Bonner committed to Notre Dame the day he received his scholarship offer from the school.

Bonner did not have to think about the decision for very long -- Notre Dame was the school he envisioned himself attending for years.

Back in May, Bonner tweeted out a letter from eighth grade that he wrote to his future self. Now that he has arrived in South Bend, the letter, which offers words of advice for his future on and off the field, has made its way around social media.

The letter shows impressive maturity for someone that age. Since it’s pretty hard to read due to the size of the photo, here’s the full text of the letter, via 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

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Bonner is definitely the kind of player you can root for as he makes the transition to college. The advice from his eighth-grade self has definitely been worthwhile to this point.

For more Notre Dame news, visit IrishIllustrated.com.

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Sam Cooper is a contributor for the Yahoo Sports blogs. Have a tip? Email him or follow him on Twitter!

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