It’s always stayed with me.

“In 1994 I’ll be 13 years old, in 1995 I’ll be 14 years old, in 1996 I’ll be 15 years old, and after that I’ll be old.”

I have a very distinct memory of doing this maths on my fingers when I was 10 or so. It stayed with me. From my 16th birthday on, I had no real view of what the following year might look like, and I didn’t really care. That has also stayed with me. When opportunities present themselves, and seem positive and beneficial, I’ll generally take them. After all, I have no 5 year plan. I have no one year plan. And that has always stayed with me.

Thankfully, I’ve never felt the need to be solemn in order to be deliberate.