Remember: Advice to My Daughter as She Graduates

I wrote this for my daughter many years ago, before she graduated high school.

To my precious daughter,

Remember to stand tall. Shoulders back. Head up. Carry yourself with the spectacular you are. The world will treat you as you expect to be treated. You are mighty.

Remember that humility is not the opposite of confidence. Humility is to ask, to listen, to learn and to grow.

Remember to apologize. Do this. You must.

Remember to forgive yourself and them. This is very hard. Be patient.

Remember that you’re no one’s fool or doormat or plaything. It’s better to be hated than to hate yourself.

Remember that true friendship begins with trust.

Remember to speak your truth. Some will hate you for this. Do it anyway.

Remember that beauty is by chance, that character is painstaking and earned. Don’t compromise on character, ever.

Remember that your body is a gift to nurture and to share as you decide. Don’t compromise your body, ever.

Remember to be safe and smart in your choices. One mindless decision can alter your life forever.

Remember to create your image on your terms, not his, or hers, or theirs. Only you should define you.

Remember that joy is the point of life, it really is. Don’t let anyone convince you this is selfish. Joy without harm is never selfish.

Remember how deeply loved you are by family and friends. It’s big. It’s wide. It’s forever.

Remember that hostile mean hard people are sometimes in pain. I forget this often.

Remember that kindness is the most important “thing” you can give another human being.

Remember to be open to the “other.” Celebrate diversity because doing this I promise, will make your life feel more connected and alive.

Remember to travel to “strange” lands, to eat “strange” foods and to delight in other cultures.

Remember to ask life’s big questions and then to sit comfortably in not knowing.

Remember that science and faith are never at war. One fills the gap where the other simply cannot. And when you think about it, isn’t that wonderful?

Remember to have faith in the unseen. Faith doesn’t have to mean God. Faith can be wonder in the infinite universe and our spectacular natural world.

Remember that all men and women are created equal. You’re not special. But indeed, you are special.

Remember that wonder is life’s greatest free entertainment. Wonder never needs a screen or to re-charge its battery.

Remember to forge your own path. It’s yours, and it will be surprising and glorious.

Remember to live your life with unquenchable curiosity.

Be giddy. Be ridiculous. Laugh as easily as you breathe. Laugh with people who understand your family’s chronic sarcastic irreverent humor. Humor saves us.

Remember to be courageous and to pick-yourself-up again and again and again.

Remember when you fall, and you will fall, to ask for help. The strong ask.

Remember that your version of God or spirit, is yours to decide.

Remember that the good in your life will return, because good always returns.

Remember that the Golden Rule is perfect. It’s divine. It’s the way.

Remember to be a voice for the voiceless, because there are millions who need yours.

Remember that when you need to cry, do it. Do it unashamed. Do it big. Sometimes our weeping puddles are our only relief.

Remember to be grateful. Gratitude will give you strength and healing. Gratitude for merely the soft warm wind against our tears is sometimes our only, and I mean only, comfort.

Remember that although I don’t always say this, or feel this, or remember this:

That most people are good.

That life is good.

Default to that. Live that. Feel that. Convey that.

This will lift you. I promise it will. And then my sweet girl, you will soar.

Love always,

Mom

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This post was previously published on Human Nature – Laura G Owens – Writer.

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