@samsher.sidhu is. 8 years old?

i know what you’re thinking. no, i’m not actually 8. from afar, i’m a 20-year-old college student at the university of pittsburg. sure, my humor may be childish, but there is a MUCH greater significance.

i’ve only been conscious for 8 years.

in 2012, i had a snowboarding accident that wiped my memory. i could recognize people but not remember their names or what I did with them. i lost all my math skills, gained a stutter, and could no longer speak punjabi.

i had to relearn everything i lost in my accident without letting the school system or friends notice. it felt like i was parading around school in someone else’s corpse. everybody else gets to know who i am except me? that’s bullsh*t!

i distinctly remember trying to finish an addition/subtraction timed-test and just breaking down into tears. i was dangerously close to giving in and ending it. thankfully, this is when i met my friend, peter.

peter was (and still is) the smartest guy i know (elon musk would be intimidated by this dude). when we met in a lego robotics class, he patiently taught me all about engineering. these moments flipped a switch inside of me, and thus began my unquenchable thirst for self-improvement.

peter showed me that intelligence is malleable. if we set goals and have a vision, we can learn and do anything. it sounds cheesy, but this mindset fundamentally changed me! my accident no longer defined who i was, it was now a mere setback in a lifelong learning journey.

there’s a saying that depicts this whole story. “show me your friends. i’ll show you your future.” without Peter, i would have never moved past my accident. because of him and our group (coined “my dudes”), i’m now living on my own and working an internship….only a year out of high school!

lads and lasses, find friends that give your life meaning. if you already have them, treasure them. because one day, they could end up saving your life.