Happy 20th!

My dear fellow, 

I have to tell you something that you perhaps don't know. I have been thinking about how to make this news less difficult to hear - how to paint it in brighter colors, add to it promises of Paradise, visions of the Absolute, provide esoteric explanations - but they do not apply.

Taking a deep breath, and prepare yourself. I have to be blunt, and I assure you, I am absolutely certain of what I'm telling you. It is an infallible prediction, without any doubt whatsoever. It's the following: you are going to die. It may be tomorrow or fifty years from now, but - sooner or later - you are going to die. Even if you would rather not. Even if you have other plans. Think carefully about what you are going to do today. And tomorrow. And  with the rest of your life. Live as long as you may, the first twenty years are the longest half of your life.