A teacher once drew this on a board and asked his audience: What do you want to do with yours? There is a simple image that captures one of the most profound questions you will ever face. Imagine a blackboard with just three things written on it: the word birth, a dash, and the word death. Two certainties bookend your entire existence, and between them sits a small, easily overlooked mark. That dash is your life.

Have you ever heard of a mystery flight? It's exactly what it sounds like, you buy a ticket, board a plane, and don't find out where you're landing until you get there. No itinerary, no agenda, no plans. Just show up somewhere and work it out as you go. As a one-off adventure, it sounds genuinely exciting. The spontaneity, the novelty, the freedom from expectation.

Nearly half of all Australian teenagers will experience a diagnosable mental health condition before they turn 20. Let that number sit for a moment. In any secondary school classroom, statistically speaking, almost half the students are navigating anxiety, depression, or another mental health challenge, often without adequate support, and often without the adults in their lives fully understanding what's happening.