Mid January 2011, if memory serves me correct you're nervously waiting on your A Level results right now. I could just tell you how we did in that exam, but why deprive you of the thrill eh!
See, I am not writing this to tell you what you should do differently because of what I know now. I wish I knew what I know now 10 years ago and boy, I would have done a lot of things differently if I could do it all over again. But that's the beauty of it, there's the thrill of not knowing.
It's not about going back in the past and erasing my mistakes, it's about taking lessons from the mistakes. For if there were no mistakes, there are no lessons.
So why am I writing to you today?
The timing could not be better. In a couple of days you will have your A Level results. And no matter what happens, I want you to live in that moment. You will hear a lot of cynics telling you 10 years from now it won't matter anymore. Sure. But that's all the more reason to live in that moment, because 10 years from now it won't matter. But right now..? Right now it does matter and you should make the most of it.
Every little victory, in a few years time probably won't matter and what comes in a few years won't matter another few years later. The cycle goes on and on. We gotta live the moment we are in mate and not think too much about what will or won't matter in the future.
We've had it pretty easy up until high school. You know we did. Everything just seems to fall into place. So if there's something I would want different for you is, to be a bit more mentally prepared for what's about to come. I want you to be stronger than I was.
You are a smart kid, you know life is not going to be all peaches and cream all the time. You just need to be better prepared for when it's not. And don't forget to gracefully enjoy all the little victories even if you know it doesn't matter in the bigger scheme of things.
Of all the struggles we'll deal with in the coming days, there's something that I need to address. And it is very important that you listen to me carefully. Very, very carefully.
You don't know it yet, but soon things will no longer be as easy as they are right now. We will be tested with lust, greed and evil. And yes, every time we will be able to walk away but you know what! Every single time we'll heavily regret not indulging in the sweet pleasures of this world and we'll be tempted to go back and give in. But believe you me, many many years down the line, when I look back now, I do not feel regret for even a split second. All I feel is an immense amount of pride. It takes courage, and strength to walk away from what we have been tested with.
But more importantly, it takes integrity. Integrity is never to be compromised with no matter how much regret you feel at the spur of the moment. Do not let anyone tell you otherwise.
I can not teach you how to deal with the adversities. It would be wrong of me to try and impose my methods on you. Sounds funny since we are the same person. But if you think about it, we really are not. You still have 10 years of experience to go through to be the same person as I am today, but by the time you reach me today, I will have already moved on. Funny how time works isn't it!
No one dictated me on how to go about life. I figured it out myself. You will figure it out on your own too, I know you will :)
What I can tell you is, you can never please everyone. So don't lose sleep at night over it. It's not always going to be a win. There will be defeats, a lot of them and that's how life is intended to be.
Everything is not going to be perfect, but it is going to be okay.
You go get 'em kid! I'm sure once we are done, there will be peace.
I invite @xabi to participate in this edition of the BDCommunity Writing Contest.