My “Before”

Wednesday 22 July 2026

I did not actually sleep on it. I slept around it for a few days.

I have a rule for things that show up in my head at 11:47 pm. I don’t trust them until I see them at 9:00 am. Most midnight ideas are bad. The ones that survive breakfast are the ones to take seriously. (This same rule is starting to feel useful at the internship too, so I’ve taken to writing it in my notebook there too. Different problem, same rule.)

This one survived a few breakfasts. So I made a list of things I needed to know before I let myself start anything.

Question 1: Does something like this already exist? If it does, I should help that thing, not start a new thing.

Question 2: If it doesn’t exist, is there a reason it doesn’t? Maybe the reason is good and I should respect it.

Question 3: Am I actually the right person to do this? Or am I a fifteen-year-old who watched too many “let me tell you my story” TikToks?

I told my papa about all this over breakfast. He listened in the way he listens when he’s deciding whether to laugh or be impressed. He chose impressed. Which I’m grateful for, because I think laughing would have ended the project before it began.

He said two things I’m going to remember.

One: Before you build anything, find out who else is in the room.

Two: If you are still serious about this in three weeks, we will help you.

The second one was kind. The first one is a homework assignment.

The internship ends Friday. From Monday next week I will be in Italy for the competitive swimming camp and hopefully I will have some time to think about ‘this’ (not sure how to call it yet, it’s an idea at this stage and can’t be called a project just yet).

— D.