Future You

I spent a lot of time trying to figure everything out alone because I did not dare to ask. My advice: do not wait until a question feels smart enough. Often the most important thing is simply to start the conversation.

When I was your age, I imagined all scientists as Nobel Prize winners who were so smart they did nothing but sit locked in their laboratories. Now I understand that scientists play volleyball, grow tomatoes, sometimes avoid housework, and eat kebabs too.

When it feels uncomfortable to meet someone who seems far more accomplished, I remind myself of one phrase: that person also once started from the point where I am now.

There is no point watering the grass if later you forbid children from running on it.

When I was in the senior classes at school and later a student, I did not have a person I could look up to, receive encouragement from, or simply talk to about my choices. My world was mostly defined by the environment I was in at the time. Only well after turning 30 did I realize how much I could have discovered earlier, so today I invite you not to be afraid to reach out. Sometimes one conversation with the right person can help you see more opportunities than you can imagine at that moment.