St Paul's College Class of 2016

It is difficult to comprehend how quickly a decade can pass. What once felt like the present — the classrooms, the friendships, the banter, the ambitions, the mistakes, and the uncertainty of what life would become — now feels like a chapter from another lifetime.

Our Class of 2016 reunion was more than simply a night of old friends coming together. It was a night of recollection, reflection and, unexpectedly, lessons. Seeing the people we once knew as schoolboys and now seeing the men they have become offered a unique perspective on how much can change in ten years — and how much of a person remains embedded in them.

Time moves forward, but certain moments never really leave us.

There are experiences in life that become permanently embedded in our memory. Some are significant because of how happy they made us; others because of how difficult, embarrassing or painful they were. Some moments seem insignificant when they happen, only for us to realise years later that they shaped our character, our confidence, our relationships or the way we approach the world.

The reunion reminded me that the same is true of the way we treat people.

The conversations we have, the loyalty we demonstrate, the opportunities we give others, the promises we keep, the mistakes we make and even the way we conduct ourselves when nobody is watching can leave an impression that lasts far longer than we realise. People may forget the exact words we said, but they often remember how we made them feel. They remember our character.

That is a powerful lesson.

It means that we need to tread carefully through life. Not out of fear, but with awareness. Every decision contributes to the person we are becoming, and every relationship we build becomes part of the life we create.

Life is, in many ways, an art of strategy. It requires belief, vision, ambition, discipline and the ability to play the hand that you have been dealt. We cannot control every circumstance, nor can we choose where we begin. But we can control how we respond, what we learn, who we surround ourselves with and what direction we decide to take.

Over the last ten years, every person in that room had made different decisions. Some took risks. Some played it safe. Some experienced success early. Others faced setbacks. Some remained on the straight and narrow, while others had to find their way back to it. There were different paths, different circumstances and different outcomes.

But every path carried lessons.

The mistakes we have made should not simply be remembered as failures. They should become information. They should teach us what not to repeat, where our weaknesses lie and what we need to improve. Likewise, the opportunities ahead of us should not simply be viewed as possibilities — they should be approached with intention.

The next ten years will pass just as quickly as the last ten.

The question is: Who do I want to become by the time we meet again?

That question requires more than vague ambition. It requires deliberate action.

Define yourself before others define you. Control your mind before your emotions control your decisions. Develop discipline. Build competence. Understand your strengths and weaknesses. Set meaningful goals and create strategic plans to achieve them. Use your advantages intelligently, minimise unnecessary risks, anticipate obstacles and understand the difference between a risk worth taking and a risk driven by impulse.

Learn the rules before you try to change the game.

And most importantly, understand that the person you become is not simply the result of what happens to you. It is shaped by the decisions you make in response to what happens to you.

The reunion also gave me a deeper appreciation for the different characteristics that have kept certain people on their path. Looking at the men around me, I could see how qualities such as discipline, humility, resilience, loyalty, ambition, patience and the ability to make calculated decisions can influence the trajectory of a person's life.

Everyone has their own story.

Behind every successful person are decisions that others may never have seen. Behind every setback are lessons that may have changed someone's direction. The paths we see today are the product of thousands of small decisions made over years.

That is perhaps one of the most valuable things a reunion can provide: perspective.

It allows you to step outside your own life for a moment and observe the different trajectories of people who started from a similar point. We were once boys sitting in the same classrooms, yet ten years later we have taken remarkably different journeys.

And that makes me think carefully about my own trajectory.

The next stage of my life is not only about personal achievement. It is about becoming a man capable of building something meaningful and providing for the people who will ultimately depend on me.

That means becoming more capable, more disciplined, more financially responsible, more emotionally intelligent and more deliberate in the decisions I make.

It also means being more intentional about the people I allow into my life.

Choose your friends carefully. Choose your business partners carefully. Choose the people you learn from carefully. The people around you influence your standards, your thinking, your behaviour and ultimately your trajectory.

And when it comes to choosing a life partner, the stakes are even higher.

It is important to understand not only someone's personality, but their values, character, behaviour under pressure, decision-making, ambitions, weaknesses, strengths and long-term vision. Two people can care deeply for each other and still be moving in fundamentally different directions. A successful long-term partnership requires more than love; it requires alignment, communication, trust, shared values and a willingness to build towards the same future.

The person beside you can either reinforce the life you are trying to build or constantly pull you away from it.

That is why the decisions we make today matter so much.

Ten years ago, we were teenagers with limited understanding of the world and almost no appreciation for how quickly time would pass. Today, we have the benefit of experience. We have seen more of life, made mistakes, experienced success and failure, and developed a clearer understanding of ourselves.

We should use that knowledge.

The reunion was a reminder that life is moving whether we are ready for it or not. Another ten years will arrive regardless of whether we have a plan.

So I want to approach the next decade with greater intention.

To build. To learn. To take calculated risks. To protect the relationships that matter. To become financially and emotionally capable. To surround myself with people who elevate me. To learn from the mistakes of the past without becoming trapped by them. To create a vision for the future and then have the discipline to execute it.

Most importantly, I want to become the kind of man I would be proud to look back on ten years from now.

The Class of 2016 reunion was therefore more than a night of nostalgia.

It was a mirror.

A reminder of where we came from, how far we have travelled, the people we have become, and the people we still have the opportunity to become.

Ten years have passed.

The next ten will pass too.

The question is what we choose to do with them.