I’m getting a post up early mostly out of necessity: I’ll be in the air (or in less dependable airports than San Francisco International) for the next ten hours, and I’d rather not worry about making a post while also making a connection!

I did find myself a serendipitous airport spot. Behind me is an art installation at the airport (gosh, that’s SMART) by Susan O’Malley, an American artist who lived from 1976-2015. The collection is called “Advice from My 80-Year-Old Self,” and the placard just over my left shoulder reads:

Susan O’Malley asked everyday people, ranging in age from seven to eight-eight, “What advice would your 80-year-old self give you?” She began this project at a period in her life when she was considering leaving her “grown-up job” to focus on her artistic endeavors, and while her mother was suffering from a rapidly degenerative disease. O’Malley distilled over one hundred interviews into vibrantly-colored text-based works. The inspirational words of these sixteen prints vary in content from the sincere to the silly and allude to the idea that the wisdom of our 80-year-old selves might already exist within us.

This feels like a great writing prompt found out in the wild (or as wild as SFO gets). If you pick up this prompt, please leave a link to your post in the comments — I’d love to hear from the 80-year-olds in all of us.

(My advice from my 80-year-old self? Surround yourself with good people. The rest will follow.)