The Early Chapters

Answer side by side

Who were you back then that you no longer are?

The question sits across the top; you each answer on your own page. Whoever writes second reads the first answer before writing — agree, argue, or correct the record.

Why this question

The habits, the worries, the ambitions of that earlier version of you.

And once you’ve both answered

What would that version make of the two of us still at it now?

Answering it honestly

  • Whoever writes second reads the first answer before writing — properly, not a skim. Your page can agree, argue, or correct the record.
  • Be specific. Dates, places, what was playing, who else was there. Wrong details are welcome; they're evidence.
  • Don't negotiate a joint version. Two accounts that refuse to match are worth more than one polished one.

And the house rule, whatever the mode: leave a blank rather than write a lie. A blank can be filled later; a lie sits in the archive forever, and you both have to live with the paperwork.

More from The Early Chapters

What did you get wrong about me in the early days?

What is one of the earliest running jokes or private languages we developed?

What was the first test this friendship passed?