Letter to Colin Ferguson, aged 16.

Firstly, how the devil did this happen you are now in your 32nd year, double your age and by god the second half was lots of fun.

If I remember right you are a shy, baby-faced wain yet to hit the milestone of puberty and petrified of speaking to girls (you probably think I’m over dramatising, but picture evidence exists).

You’re still in school waiting patiently for the final bell to ring on that chapter of your life.

Don’t wish that time away, the friendships and knowledge gained will be unmatched.

The exams, lectures and deadlines still exist in working life just as much if not more, and most importantly tell your English teacher who thinks you’ll never amount to anything that you’ll be asked to write for a national publication one day.

Life won’t be a smooth journey, but you’ll be working towards achieving the ambitions, goals and hopes you’ve set – complete them and then set even more ridiculous ones – never stop challenging yourself.

In the next few years you’ll head off to college to start your career in agriculture, desperate to start working life.

After graduating you’ll try to find opportunities to escape the daily routine as time away from farm life becomes increasingly important.

You’ll need to find a balance and remember that often the hard work that sometimes feels unrewarding will pay off and reward you in the future.

In your mid-20s you’ll experience imposter syndrome, this is something that will keep happening, but by your early 30s you’ll have started to learn not to worry so much about what others think... what an amazing turning point that will be.

It’s easy to fall through life following trends and aligning yourself with others – DON’T. Listen, learn, read and make your own journey. Have the confidence to share your thoughts and views.

Be researched enough to be able to stand by them. You won’t always fall on the right side of right and wrong, but you’ll be respected for it.

Grab every opportunity and walk through every door that opens or is opened for you.

You’ll travel, you’ll fall in love, you’ll make mistakes, you’ll drink too much, work too much, have highs, have lows and realise that your family will always have your back (even though right now you think you don’t need them and yes, Mum’s cooking is still the best). But the next 16 years of your life will shape you into the person writing this letter and I wouldn’t change a thing.