I am sitting on a balcony in a country that is not my own. The sun is relentless, the pavement below warps slightly in the heat, but I can smell rain in the distance. It will arrive without warning. In the city I come from, I could always sense a storm before it broke. But here, things work differently. The rain arrives, mid-thought, mid-step, and if you’re not prepared, you get drenched.
I find myself writing a letter to myself, to the past. I want to tell you: learn to expect the storm, even on the sunniest day. Everything can turn in an hour. Years may pass slowly, but then comes the moment that demands a decision — urgent, irreversible. And sometimes, you won’t have a choice. In those moments, all you can do is try not to get soaked. Don’t blame yourself — survival is the best you can do. Wait for the moment when you can act.
Life is like a video game. You earn points, skills, and tokens. The more you gather, the more equipped you are for the unexpected. You never know what you’ll need, so gather as much as you can. Don’t waste time. Time is your most valuable currency. Understand this: in games, someone else might buy all the rare artifacts. In real life, others may seem to jump ahead — privileges inherited, advantages bought — while you grind away. So you learn to be clever. You learn to be efficient.
Create an image of yourself as the smart one — let it work in your favor. You might never become a walking Wikipedia or the Encyclopaedia Britannica. Don’t aim to win the Olympics on day one. Don’t chase grandeur on day one. Be patient. Trying too hard, too soon, will only disappoint you. Instead, be the smartest person in the room. Let others come to you for clarity, for insight. Reputation, like moss, grows slowly — but it spreads.
In the medieval imagination, kings were not just men; they were names, stories, legacies. Kings earned nicknames that history remembered. Louis the Universal Spider. Charles the Great. Ethelred the Unready. Edward the Miserable. Their nicknames stuck, not because they chose them, but because the world did. But you, you have the chance to choose your own. Decide who you want to be known as, and then earn it. Start with your circle. Let the name move outward. And if you call yourself a lion, then live like one.
Yesterday, I bought a retro Casio watch. The same model I once purchased with my first paycheck, back when I was sixteen. Some things don’t lose value over time. The truly valuable things — things-the ones that last—are few and recognizable, once you’ve learned how to see them. They are your parents. The friends who knew you before you knew yourself. They will be there, even when you’re wrong, long after the newer ones have wandered off.
That said, constancy doesn’t mean resisting change. I listen to the same songs on cassette tapes and on Spotify. I am not going to sleep through the artificial intelligence boom. The next decade is being written now. Keep your eyes open and be part of the innovation.
Yes, you’ll need money. Earn it. But ask yourself, is this job feeding your future? Or are you trading hours for dollars with nothing left for your own story?
Also: rest. Enjoy yourself. That’s why you’re here, on this planet. No one rewards the person who frowned the longest.
Wine and beer? They can be allies. They can spark ideas, unlock conversations, bring strangers into your orbit. But be warned — they can just burn everything down in one night. Use them, but they are unreliable allies.
And sometimes, do absolutely nothing. Leave space to daydream — the wild kind that borders on absurdity. If it doesn’t feel like a risk, it’s not a dream — it’s a plan. Plans need steps. Dreams need courage. Dream big enough to change the world. Or at least your life, and the lives of your friends.
While writing this, the rain finally arrived. A full, unapologetic downpour. And I smile, not because I asked for it, but because it came anyway.