Without realising it, summer 2021 has ended. In the past we knew it’s summer when we had holidays and roamed over the sweating hot streets in Mongkok, not knowing (and couldn’t care less) what would happen next. You know you’ve grown up when friends are even busier in August, a month meant for relaxation in the past.

For a certain adult who experienced enough midlife crisis that he went back to school, full-time, he certainly enjoyed a month off in August. But that did not necessarily mean he could care nothing about what happens next. Being an adult means one carries so much burden that life simply cannot pause. When one endeavour offers you a break, another responsibility arises and consumes every bit of your soul. That’s what being an adult means.

When do we take a break? For the lucky ones, they finally earn everything they’ll possibility need at their 50s or 60s and retire, in exchange for their youth and, sadly, their innocent and pure souls. They then “enjoy” (the remainder of) life, with an exhausted body that can barely move. If they’re rich enough, they can afford fancy luxuries that they couldn’t buy when they were young, like a sports car, Leica cameras, or vacations on first-class flights and in 5-star hotels. But they only get to enjoy such luxuries in a body with grey hair, rheumatoid arthritis and hypertension.

But remember, the above is already for the lucky ones. For those unfortunate souls, they die early; or worse, their loved ones died early. That’s how gloomy I suddenly realized life is.

How to avoid disappointments and regrets? SJ offered a solution in a motivating speech: live life as if every day is your last. That way, we focus on what’s really important, what we are truly passionate about, and put aside things we don’t care.