A letter from October 11th, 2020

Hey, How are you doing? Everything is in turmoil right now. It's a few weeks before the election and Trump has Covid (lmao) and everything sucks because of the coronavirus. I'm applying to UChicago and MIT early action. (Maybe you chose a different school entirely? Maybe you became a surfer dude at UCSB? Did you take that gap year you always wanted?) Who even are you now? I have no idea what I want to do in the future, and it's strange, because I was never the type of person to say that. But now I am. I don't know if I want to go into research, or industry, or found a startup, or snatch SpaceX from Elon. (Kidding.) Anyway, I hope you're happy with your choice. I hope you don't forget that you would rather die than do harm to the world. Please don't forget. I have very little sympathy for myself, so I'm sure you hate me too as you're reading this. But from one Alistair to another—please, please don't forget what's important. Please bring your values into everything. Buy Sage a birthday present, even if you don't talk anymore. We broke up a few months ago, but maybe we'll get back together, who knows? I have to go work on college apps now. I hope everything is okay. I am concerned about you, sometimes. Please, be alive and well.