Dear Raphael, the Rajable, Sweet Potato, Buttman,
It could take ages for me to list all the nicknames I've made for you, LOL.
Happy birthday!
Apologies that I couldn't be with you for your birthday. Dad has been trapped by work for a while. It's funny that everyone says AI is making our lives easier, yet I'm only getting busier, hah. I am on my way chasing my dream, and I wish you could do the same one day. And I know you are already on your way, and I am proud of you.
Alright, let's get back to our letter. This is an organic, hand-typed letter, every word from my heart. It may sound weird, but I believe that soon enough, it will be very difficult to find anything in the world that AI hasn't touched. So let's make a bet here: let's look forward to your next birthday and see how AI changes the world! A letter like this could be extremely rare by then!
You are turning 10 years old, and it is quite a meaningful birthday. Welcome to the double-digit club! I have been preparing this letter for a long time, and I didn't know where to start. I have been traveling a lot these days, seeing a lot and experiencing a lot. Sometimes I really wish I could take you around with me. Well, I guess that day won't be too far away, and I am really looking forward to it coming true.
Let me start with the first thing I want to share with you: the world. I remember that exactly 20 years ago, around this time in 2006, I went overseas for the first time and arrived in Australia. There were no smartphones, no iPads, and the PS3 hadn't even come out yet. YouTube had launched not long before, and the internet was not as popular as it is today. I don't know what other people think of that time, but in my opinion, everything seemed slow-paced. Then the internet and all the new technology started exploding into people's lives and made everything faster. It may sound awkward to say, but I truly feel that this world had its fast-forward button pressed after that, and it is only getting faster every single day with AI. Soon enough, we will see cars driving themselves, robots running everywhere, and a world so much different from today. I wish you could remember this moment, and look back on today when you grow up.
But the world is not only about fast-growing technology. The world is big, and there is so much to experience: different cultures, different countries, and different people. I wish you could embrace the world, think about the world, and always stay open-minded. I am really looking forward to our next trip, when you can pack your violin and we can travel as a family and experience the world together. Remember, no matter how the world changes, we should stay true to ourselves and live our lives the way we want.
So this is the first thing I want to share with you: embrace technology, embrace the world, and be prepared for the future!
Aside from technology, I think human beings are more important. No matter how fast technology develops, one way or another, we will adapt to all of it. We still have to live our lives. You are smart, and you know how to focus and work hard. I have no doubt that you will soon learn how to take charge of your life and start making difficult decisions by yourself.
However, I want to share the bitter side of life. Things don't always go according to your plan. As people often say, God has a plan, and sometimes it is not on your side. One of the most important things about being an adult is being able to accept failure and difficulties. No plan is perfect, and no one is perfect. We all have our own weaknesses, and fate has its own plans. The most important thing in our life, in my opinion, is the capacity to tolerate failure, pain, and the bitter side of life. Sweetness only tastes better after bitterness, and success always comes after failure.
You will meet people you don't like, people who hurt you, and things that let you down. When that happens, I want you to try one thing, and to remember this advice whenever life gets hard: look back on your life. You will find that no matter how hard things are right now, they will eventually become the past. And the past will only lie there quietly, as one chapter in the story of your life.
Remember: no matter what happens, no matter how hard things get, good or bad, one day it will all be the past. Time smooths everything out.
This too shall pass.
This is the second thing I want to share with you.
Alright, time is up, let me bring this letter to an end. Once again, congratulations on turning 10! I want to leave you with one of my favourite quotes, from the philosopher Immanuel Kant:
Two things fill the mind with ever new and increasing admiration and awe, the oftener and the more steadily we reflect on them: the starry heavens above and the moral law within.
Immanuel Kant
Funny enough, it's also two things, just like this letter. The starry heavens are the big world out there: the places I want to show you, and the future that is coming so fast. The moral law within is the person you are inside: the one who stays honest, and who keeps going through the bitter days. Look up, and stay curious about the world. Look inside, and stay true to yourself.
One day, when you're older and you read this again, go outside on a clear night, look up at the stars, and think of me. Wherever I am, I'll be looking at the same sky, and I'll be proud of you.
Happy 10th birthday, my Sweet Potato.
Love you always,