Reddit co-founder Alexis Ohanian’s note to his younger self

In a fascinating piece for CBS News, Alexis Ohanian, co-founder of Reddit, writes a letter to his former self. Here are some paragraphs from it:

“When you walk out of the LSAT without finishing it in order to go to the Waffle House, you’re making the right choice. The decision is going to change your life. Because there, between those syrupy bites of waffles, you’re gonna realize that you’re meant to be an entrepreneur, not a lawyer.”

“All those jobs you had growing up, from CompUSA sales guy to Pizza Hut cook, are going to help you tremendously when you co-found Reddit. But nothing could prepare you for your mom getting diagnosed with terminal brain cancer just a few months after graduating from college and starting your company.”

“You’re going to wish you could remember all the little details: her accented voice, her breathless laughter, the intensity of her hugs, and the charm of her high fives. She’ll show you what it means to be truly courageous and selfless. And you’ll spend the rest of your life working to make her sacrifices worth it. Let her hug and kiss you in public. It doesn’t make you any less tough and it means everything to her. You’ll understand when you’re a father and you’ve got your own little Schatz.”

“Speaking of dad, he’ll show you what it means to be a man. He spent most of your childhood working late nights in order to provide for the family. And he’ll support his wife throughout it all. He’ll be an advocate through every chemo treatment and rock for her amidst all the uncertainty, until the end. The whole ordeal gives you a wisdom at a young age — to realize what matters in life are the people and experiences (not things) one acquires along the way.”

You can read the whole letter in the article here.