A LETTER TO MY 21-YEAR-OLD SELF.

Dear Peter,

I know you’re feeling anxious now, but your paternal grandfather has some good advice, which is, “Most of the things you regret aren’t the things that you did but the things that you didn’t do when you had the chance.” Three years ago, you could have made a serious blunder by going to Japan with someone who didn’t really care about you. Now, you have the opportunity you’ve been waiting for, and it costs you far less than that would have.

On that trip, you’ll see a side to that woman that you wanted that will make you see that your initial instincts about her were right. You weren’t sure if you liked her, but she grew on you, but she wasn’t showing you her true self.

This is your first overseas trip, and the TWA disaster three days earlier, justifiably made you scared, just like, if you had been on the way to the airport with the intention of acting as a drug courier in Malaysia, on July 7, 1986, and you heard that Barlow and Chambers had been executed. It wasn’t a terrorist attack, it was poor maintenance, and as the man you knew from university told you, his brother is a flight attendant and there’s literally thousands of planes in the air at any given time, so your chances are low.

Once you get up into the sky, it will feel like a lounge room even in Economy Class. The woman behind you will say that she can’t believe that you took off from Brisbane that morning and are landing in Tokyo that night, but you tell her you are. You will have a great time on this trip. You’ll see Shinto Shrines, temples, old shops, a doll factory, a brewery and have the time of your life.

They say that youth is wasted on the young, but it isn’t on you, even if others say you are old before your time. There’s nothing wrong with being sensible.

Yours Truly,

Peter.