Dear Daughter

There are so many things I need to tell you.
Things I should have known long ago.
Things I should have learned before you were born
so that I could teach them to you as you grew.
Things that I am only learning now for myself,
as you are almost ready to go into the world on your own.
But I couldn't have known these things then.
You can only learn them through living them.
And I had not yet learned to truly live.
There isn't much in this world that I can give you.
Material things mean nothing compared to the love you have given me.
I have given you my heart and soul,
yet somehow it doesn't seem enough.
I have given you my time, and some days every ounce of energy I had,
But I still feel the need to give you more.
These words are all I have left.

It is your life to live.
Live it on your own terms.
Decide how you want to live your life.
Then live it by the rules you set.
Let no one convince you to compromise.
Do not settle for less than you deserve.
Stand firm in what you believe.

Don't let your world define you.
You define it.
When things around you are less than you hope for,
don't just sit there and whine about it.
Change it.
Make it what you want.
When it seems that your world is falling apart,
you are the only one who can pull it back together again.
Don't depend on someone else to do it for you.

Don't let the rest of the world tell you what you should be.
You decide who you are,
how you should look,
how you should act.
Love those who embrace you as you are.
Tell the rest to go to hell.

The past is for remembering.
Not reliving.
Remember the past so that you can learn from it.
Don't hang on to the past so tightly that you can't see today.

Make no excuses.
If you've made a mistake,
own it.
Don't hide from it.
Don't run from it.
Take what knowledge you can from it.
Then move on.

Hold on to no regrets.
Regrets hold you in the past.
They prevent you from living today to the fullest.

If you know in your heart that you have done nothing wrong,
make no apologies.
Let no one make you feel you did something wrong when you know you didn't.

Stand by your decisions.
Don't let anyone make you feel like you are less than they are for making a different decision than they would have made.

I know there are more things than these that I should teach you,
but I have not yet learned them.
I know that although I've told you these things,
you will still need to learn them for yourself.
I know that you will stumble and fall as you try to make your own life.
Each time you do, you will learn something new.
Take each of those lessons and hold them close to your heart.
And know always that I am with you.