A Letter to my Daughters

15 years ago today I gave birth to two amazing little people.  Flash forward through 10 plus surgeries, honor's nights, countless recitals, the many Father - Daughter dances, house fires, hundreds of colds, hundreds of shed tears, a handful of broken hearts, thousands of moments of laughter and smiles, and here we are.  

You are both 15 years old today.  

You have grown into such beautiful young ladies.  You are both intelligent beyond your years, however you are still just 15.  There are still things you have yet to learn. 

So on this day, your birthday,  I thought some advice would be in order, so here we go.  

You were born to be you, and only you.  Even though you look alike, you are each your own individual person.  You were meant to be here, you are important to this world, you're part of the greater plan of this world.  

You're bombarded by media each and everyday, telling you what you should wear, how you should look, and what you should buy.  Don't fall for it.  Again, you are your own person, completely unique.  Love yourself completely.  

There will be people that want nothing more than to bring you down, and make you have feelings of worthlessness.  Again, don't fall for it.  When you are truly happy, and love yourself, it will carry you forward, and it will carry you past those people.   

Don't ever compare yourself to others.  You will find fault in yourself.  There will always be someone you perceive to be better than you.  Truth is, you never fully know what's on their own plates.  

Someday, someone will fall in love with you.  Make sure that they fall in love with the "real" you, not a "you" that you create in order to fit in.  Don't ever change to fit in, you were clearly meant to stand out, and stand above the rest.  

Take care of you first.  You will never be able to take care of others, if you don't always remember to take care of you.  

You are young, but always remember that your time here is limited.  Make each and every day count, don't waste it.  

Never settle.  Remember that anything worth doing, or worth having is going to take hard work.

Don't dwell on sadness, always remember that behind every harsh moment there will be laughter and smiles.  

Learn.  

Find your wisdom.  

Find your path.  

Be compassionate.  

Be honest. 

Love unconditionally.  

Travel.

Make sure you say, "I'm glad I did", more than you say, "I wish I had".

Never build a wall around your heart.  You may end up getting hurt a few more times, but you won't miss new opportunities either.  

Remember to laugh at yourself.  It's a lot easier to brush it off  when others laugh at you.  

Don't let fear stop you.  Let it empower you.  Let fear give you the springboard you need to jump. 

Never doubt.  Never doubt your strength.  Never doubt your courage.  Strength and courage never go away, just sometimes you have to dig a little deeper to find it.  

I guarantee you will have hard days, and make wrong decisions.  I guarantee that you will have days that you forget some of these little pieces of advice.  

I' will always be here to remind of these you when you do.