I write each of my kids a letter each year on their birthday. We keep them in a binder, one for each child. My daughter is turning 16 tomorrow, and this is what I have written her. Thoughts, comments, improvements? Thanks.
To my beautiful daughter on her sixteenth birthday,
So, this year I%26#039;ve decided to go a different route for your birthday letter; you are holding in your hands every nugget of wisdom I%26#039;ve gleaned in my forty-five years. Now, don%26#039;t get smart; I realize there are only five things. That%26#039;s because this is the abridged version. These are the top five things I%26#039;d like you to know before you turn sixteen.
1. It%26#039;s your responsibility to have a good day. I know you%26#039;ve heard the whole %26quot;pick your attitude%26quot; thing before, but it%26#039;s just so, so true and so vital to leading a happy life, which is what I want for you. Everyday when you wake up, you have a choice to make: you can either choose to be the Tigger, or you can choose to be the Eeyore. I want you to understand that happiness isn%26#039;t a feeling, it%26#039;s not a state of mind, luck isn%26#039;t involved; it is a choice. Bad things happen sometimes, but we can%26#039;t control that. The only thing we can control is how we react to those bad things. You can choose to smile, even if it%26#039;s raining.
2. When you get the choice to sit it out or dance, dance. Take advantage of every opportunity life throws your way, because you never know which will be the one to change your life. Experience everything you possibly can. Get your tongue stuck on a flagpole. Ride a rollercoaster. Take a chance, and ask him out. Volunteer your time. Walk in the rain without an umbrella. Sing at the top of your lungs. Supposedly your life flashes before your eyes right before you die. Make yours worth watching. Live your life with arms wide open.
3. Believe in something. I can%26#039;t make you believe in God; all I can do is tell you how much believing in Him has enriched my life. It%26#039;s such an incredible feeling to know that you%26#039;re not going through life alone, and to give yourself and your life up to something bigger than you are. And I desperately want you to know that, but at the same time I know that you%26#039;ll have your own journey of faith, one that%26#039;s really just starting. Just know that you don%26#039;t have to define your beliefs, not if you don%26#039;t want to. It doesn%26#039;t have to fit into anybody else%26#039;s ideas about religion, just yours. Find something that you believe in, something that works for you, and hold onto it. Don%26#039;t let anyone take it away from you.
4. Normal is just a setting on the washing machine. You have a set of personality traits, likes and dislikes, features and feelings that are unique to only you. You%26#039;re not a cardboard cut-out, you are an explosion of life; a streak of white across a canvas of black. Embrace it. Don%26#039;t buy into society%26#039;s bullshit: you do not have to hang out with a certain group of people, or listen to a certain kind of music, or shop at a certain store in order to be accepted. Stand your ground, when everybody%26#039;s giving in. You are an amazing person, and all you%26#039;ll ever need to do to be %26quot;cool%26quot;, is be exactly who you are. And if that ever isn%26#039;t enough for someone, then I hope you realize that they%26#039;re not your friend. You%26#039;re beautiful the way you are.
5. Do what you love, and **** the rest. Everybody is good at something. Find what you%26#039;re good at, what you love to do, and do it. For the rest of your life, do it. Don%26#039;t let other things clutter your path. Sometimes they%26#039;re necessary, don%26#039;t get me wrong, but always have that one thing you can come back to at the end of the day, because if you try hard enough, you can make the things you love count for more than everything else. And that%26#039;s the way to live your life.
Now, I did a lot of deliberating over which points to include in this letter, but I%26#039;m satisfied with the above. There are lots of other things I want to tell you, things that mostly I think you already know, like be a good person and eat your vegetables, but these are the five I wanted to focus on for the time being. These are the five things I wish someone had told me when I was your age.
As far as whether or not they all make sense at the moment, well, I%26#039;m not going to insult your intelligence by insinuating that you won%26#039;t understand them, cause, let%26#039;s face it, you%26#039;re a bright kid. So we%26#039;ll just say that it%26#039;s okay if you want to scoff and roll your eyes when you read this for the first time, but I do hope that the next time you have just an awful day at school or at work or with your boyfriend or whatever, you%26#039;ll come find this letter. I hope it can help, even just a little.
I love you everyday,
MomWhat do you think of my letter to my daughter?Katie-Mom - AWESOME!! She may not %26#039;get%26#039; all of these at 16, but she%26#039;ll be able to read it again maybe at 18 and glean more from it.
Well written, and very heartfelt.What do you think of my letter to my daughter?Beautiful just the way it is. I think I may steal this idea for my own kids. ;)What do you think of my letter to my daughter?Wow!!! I wish I was as eloquent as you! I tried writing my daughter a letter when she was born. It was very short because I am not a great writer. Your letter is wonderful and I%26#039;m sure your daughter will keep it forever!awwww
your daughter will aprechiate that you did this for her for the rest of her life and that is so sweet and such a great idea!I%26#039;m getting teary-eyed, because you seem to be a very involved parent!I love it! I%26#039;m not her, and everyone thinks for themselves, and I%26#039;m not sixteen, but it%26#039;s awesome. I would look through it in the eyes of a sixteen year old, or even better, find someone who has just turned sixteen and is a girl and ask her what she thinks.Aww your a sweet and wonderful mom. God bless you =]Im glad I got mine the car..she wouldnt appreciate this at all
