Letter to my daughter

Daughter, when these words will truly reach your soul you will probably be my age, and by then you will have realized that this world isn’t perfect, but you can still make it wonderful each day that you step in it, fierce, but still with the primitive fear of a baby who’s just born. You will have learned that there are friends who weren’t really friends, and lovers that didn’t really love you. There will be relationships that will not work, and people that you must leave behind. There will be tears to be cried and laughter that will make you forget about the bitterness of those tears. There will be disappointments that will feel like the world has stopped, and mornings where the sun will shine so bright that you’ll feel like you can hold the entire world in the palm of your hand. There will be jobs that will exhaust your energy to its very core, and nights spent trying to keep your eyes on a Math book that speaks Greek to you. There will be cars breaking down on you when you’re already late for an important meeting. There will be nights so damn long that you’ll feel like tomorrow won’t ever come fast enough. There will be exams, and tests, and assessments to take, over and over and over again. There will be scores to be achieved, and plans to be laid out before you. There will be goals you’ll never reach, and promises that won’t be kept. There will be people who will misunderstand your intentions, and lies that will make you wonder if there are still good people left out there. There will be cars that drive so fast that the world will feel like it’s at your feet, and accidents that’ll happen when you least expect them (and that’s why they call them accidents).

Through it all, don’t you fear the downs, and don’t get too excited about the ups. Through it all and above all, don’t let other people make the decisions that belong to you, and don’t let anybody plan your route for you. Don’t let unloving partners stomp on your heart more than once, and unworthy friends get the best of you. Be your own best friend, and respect yourself above anybody else. Leave incompetent coworkers behind, and focus on your own work only. Everybody gets what they deserve, sooner or later. Find the right job and put your whole self, mind and soul in it, every day, passionately, is if every day were your first day. But don’t forget about family, friends and lovers in the attempt to get to the top because they will be the ones to wipe your tears when disaster strikes. Remember that for every person that lets you down, there will always be another one that will pick you up and dust you off when you can’t do it on your own. For every exam you will fail, there will a promotion that will earn you respect, glory and gratification. For every Math equation you won’t understand, there will be a friend who will care so much for you to take the exam for you (where applicable, of course). And for every Math exam you will fail, you will score an A in another subject which will make you feel like a specialist in the field. For every job you will lose, for every chance you won’t get, there will be a better job and a better chance. Just wait and see. For every lover that will shatter your heart, there will be a man so kind and devoted that all past hurt will be forgotten in the very moment your souls fuse together.

Remember, never look back in anger. Forgiveness and love are the only way forward, the only way to get past the failures. Hate for a moment, maybe for a day. Then grant forgiveness to the people whose carelessness broke your heart. They will be left empty handed. You will be left with peace. Travel, travel the world. Always keep in your heart the very first time you took your very first flight; the anxiety, the excitement, the shiver you felt when the plane took off. Remember that feeling and make it the inspiration to your every day, the emotion to your every experience. Take chances. Take all the chances you can take. Sometimes they will involve separation and distance from the things you love the most; but chances are chances and they won’t be waiting for you. Plan your future, but don’t live in the future. Remember your past, but don’t live for the past. There is a time for everything, but the present is all you can really be able to experience. So be wise and look forward, but don’t forget to feel, taste, and smell the things that surround you now, in this very moment you are breathing in.

Lastly, my baby, among all these uncertainties and doubts I must have faced you with, there is one unbreakable, undeniable and unmistakable truth. And that is that I will be there for you, in every step of the way, to catch you when you fall and celebrate the victories when you succeed. I gave you life, but you don’t belong to me. You didn’t belong to me anymore in the very moment I put you in this world, and with that knowledge came the fear that I can’t protect you from the mistakes you will make, and clear the way when obstacles arise. But I can sure be there to love you.

Infinitely.

Unconditionally.

Eternally.

Your Mother