Emendatus

I wish I could've gone back to my younger self and told me to be brave. That if I had wanted something, to fight for it, to chase it and pour my efforts and my life into it. So many of us have dreams that were never nurtured, aspirations that were quietly hushed to make way for more grounded ambitions. We are encouraged to follow a good, wholesome system, that will give us financial stability and a more secured future - and undeniably, these are all fantastic things. All the typical paths - the cliched professions, the wholesome values, traditional politics - they aren't wrong. But here's what I wish I could've just said to my younger self - that all my crazy dreams and lofty ideals? All the fantastical goals and curiosities? They are all valid. Did you want to be an astronaut? Or volunteer to teach in Africa? Did you ever want to climb Everest or have your name in books read by the nation? There are ways to do that - you CAN do that, you can still do that and it's never too late. There is always a moment of choice where you step out of the line and carve your own story. You might end up failing and cursing yourself, you might end up broke and worse off. Or you might end up changing history, and make yourself proud. At least you tried. At least you put yourself out there and fought for yourself. You'll grow from it, one way or another. You'll learn. You'll live.

From the archives, 2015.