“What you choose today will make what you become tomorrow”

Recently, eight men, including four Nigerians, were executed in Indonesia on allegations of drug related crimes. Australian Andrew Chan was one of them.

The news shook the entire world with many condemning the sentence of a death penalty carried out on these men. I do not in anyway support the death penalty and I think it should be totally abolished in every country.

Sadly, Andrew Chan is now dead, but before he died he wrote this letter to children in school, advising them not to follow his footsteps. I found it very inspiring and just had to share it here. The letter was read out by Chan himself, from inside his Indonesian prison cell, as part of a documentary made available to schools. After introducing himself, the Australian said:

Now the reason why I’m writing you this letter is to address you guys about the dangers of drugs and the effects it can have on you and also others. To tell you a little bit about my life story, I was once 15, 16 and it wasn’t too long ago I was sitting in a class just like you guys.
I was an average kid and let me tell you that my teachers didn’t like me one bit and I was no teacher’s pet. But to cut a long story short, I got mixed up with drugs at a pretty young age and by the time I was 15 I was merged into the scene.
I’ve done things which I am not proud of in my life and I’ve made some pretty silly decisions. My life is a perfect example of an absolute waste.
Now to elaborate the effects of where I am, I’ve missed weddings, I’ve missed funerals and the simple presence of my own family.
The hurt and pain – I don’t just put it onto myself, but the pain I put on my family is agonizing. A simple touch such as a hug is not possible for a condemned man like me. I have nothing but an iron bar to hug rather than to be embraced by those I love and who I miss.
What you choose today will make what you become tomorrow. If you want to be a thug and a big bad wolf, I’ll see you soon inside. But for those that want to do something in life I’d like you guys to see how important it is to put your head down and study hard.
I hope these words will penetrate in your minds and in your hearts and I hope that most of you, if not all of you, will achieve more than I ever did.

His message is very true. “What you choose today will make what you become tomorrow“. The choices you make today will determine how your tomorrow will be. Just like the proverb that says: “As you lay your bed, so you will lie on it”.

Again, this is not to celebrate his death, but to learn from one of the last messages he made to the world. I pray his soul rests in peace.

It is up to us to choose whether to make good or bad choices and I hope we all choose good ones for a better tomorrow.

xoxo

SL