A letter to my 17 year old self

Dear Dipra,

I’m writing this letter to you because I know you’ve just finished high school. You’ve got a lot of soppy graduation songs in your head, but now it’s time for some good old advice. I know you most likely won’t take any of it but here goes:

1. Don’t be afraid: yes you won’t admit it to anyone but I know you’re scared. You’ve had a dream run at high school and surely things can’t get much better. Well you’re going to be surprised. Yes you’ll be alone in a big bad world — but remember when you first came to high school and it felt really big? Well you didn’t let that stop you. And you won’t let the world stop you either. So don’t feel trepidation about what’s to come — feel excited and get ready to conquer the new world
2. Loosen up a bit: You’ve always worried about your image (actually that won’t change too much) but stop worrying a bit less. You’re never going to be perfect and you shouldn’t expect anyone to be either. Don’t judge people based on impressions.
3. Don’t be so stingy: this piece of advice only applies for the next four years. Because after that once you get your first job, you’re going to go the other extreme way, Then you should become a bit more stingy (that letter will come later!). You value money a lot — you’ve worked hard and you’ve saved money and you’re proud of that. Problem is that your money won’t last… So next time you go to a Malaysian restaurant, buy a teh o ais limau. It won’t make any difference in the scheme of things.
4. Your high school grades or high school achievements won’t matter: I know you’re not that worried anyway but your high school grades and all those countless clubs you joined — well none of that will matter. No one will really care about whether you were a prefect or not — or if you were house captain. Oh and you know the CV you wrote with all your achievements at high school (yep the two page one)— yeah that’s going to be become one line that says “Attended Mt Roskill Grammar in 2005”. Seriously. Now that doesn’t mean it was all a waste — what will make a difference is the skills you’ve learnt and the people you’ve met.
5. Be humble: Yeah you’re going to struggle with this at times. Your arrogance has definitely faded through high school but you’ve got a bit more work to do. Once you get to Uni and get rejected for a few jobs, you’ll get there. So spare yourself the misery, and just be humble. That don’t mean you don’t celebrate your achievements — just do it discreetly.
6. You’ve made some lifelong friendships: I know you’re doubting this bit. Some of your best friends are going offshore to a land filled with kangaroos and snakes— some of them are going to a strange campus called AUT in a far land called Albany, and you’re convinced that some of these friendships will struggle. Don’t worry. You and your friends have built lifelong connections that will last a long time — you may even start a not for profit and a business with two of them!
   p.s. There’s this thing called Facebook that isn’t yet available but it will make it really easy for you to connect with all your friends. And you know, you’ll all have to leave NZ to go and get a job :P
7. Don’t underestimate your peers: yes, you’d think going to a Decile Four public school your peers will rot away and end up on the Dole or at best end up become mediocre right? Well you’re wrong. Your peers will turn out to astound you. Your classmates will become
   - doctors (someday you’ll need them)
   - lawyers (really good ones too)
   - engineers (ones that go to Stanford, Cambridge, Oxford… yea I know pretty ridiculous)
   - accountants (with great jobs)
   - teachers (amazing ones at that)
   - athletes
   - actors
   - entrepreneurs
   - fathers, mothers and just genuinely awesome all round people.

And last, but not least:

Be brave and aim to be world class: You’ll realise this is a lot later — but you along with all your peers can truly be world class. You haven’t yet been familiar with this phrase but it means you genuinely aim to be the best of the best in the whole world. So don’t be afraid — don’t listen to the Vitamin C Graduation Song on repeat — get out there, be brave and build something that you and the world can truly be proud of.

All the best,

I’ll see you in ten years,

DR