A Letter to My Daughter

Micaela K. - The best thing that ever changed my life...

There comes a time in your life where the only thing that matters is you. That time is now.

You are the center of my world. Everything I do and have done is for you. The mistakes I've made are voiced so you know what they are. So you know where I've been and you know where not to go. They are your visual realization that a mistake does not have to weigh you down. You can adapt and overcome.

Growing up is hard to do. It's a choice everyone makes at some point in their lives. You have shown me numerous times that I am raising a woman and not a child anymore. You have grown in to someone I wish I could have been my entire life. You feel pain and you rise above it. You feel heartache and you don't let it become you. The better person in life is the person who knows they have been let down by someone, but they know they are raised above all others by someone else and that is what matters more than the let down.

For someone your age, you have been able to handle more than most can handle in a lifetime and I am so very proud of you for that. Something so simple is something more powerful than what some people believe it to be. The little things in life do matter. The little things are what you will remember for the rest of your life.

If nothing else, please remember these things:

You will be hurt - You hurt to remind you that you are alive. If it wasn't for hurt, you wouldn't know what pain was and you would lose compassion and heart for those around you. Hurt makes you understand things better. Hurt helps you get through hard times by reminding you that you are alive. The pain will subside, and you will overcome the emotion.

You will have regrets - When you get older, and look back on your life, the things that will disappoint you the most, will not be the things that you did do. The things that will disappoint you the most will be the things that you didn't do. Do everything. Dream big, and don't look back. Like you said - Shoot for the stars and by all-means do not miss!

One day, you will want to give up - One of the worst feelings in the world to have is the feeling of not knowing whether to hold on to something or give up. Look to your heart for answers. Not your mind, your mind is an evil thing that only wants something "right now". Your heart wants "forever". If you are holding on to something that only makes you feel good today, but can't make you feel good tomorrow or yesterday - your heart wants you to let it go. But remember this - Never give up on me, because I have never, and will never, give up on you.

There will come a time in your life that you will lose someone that you love - This reminds you that life is precious and that everything around you should never be taken for granted because one day it will be gone.

Someone will take advantage of you - When taken advantage of, you lose a piece of who you really are. A part of your spirit dies each time someone abuses your caring nature, your selfless acts, or your heart. Let people in, but don't let them take a piece of you when they leave.

You will build walls - It's okay to keep walls up. The people that hurt you the most deserve to stay on the outside of the perimeter, but never hold out the people that you need closest to you. Your closest allies are the ones that have been your constant believers.

and lastly....

The World Is Yours...  - Do not ever doubt yourself. You can be and will be, more than anyone could have imagined. You're strong. Your independent, and you are a miraculous woman. You can do anything you set your mind to. Accomplish things you never thought you could, and never let anyone tell you that you can't.

I love you very much. I hold you to high standards, and expect the most out of you. That's not because I don't care about you or because I don't want you to be a kid. It's because I love you, because I believe in you, because you are my legacy. You are who you are because you did it, not because anyone else did. You are who you are because you are made that way. You come from a long line of women that are watching over your every move. Watching your steps, and watching you become what they never could have been.

Nothing you do will ever change my love for you. I am here, not behind you, but beside you, every step of your way through life. One day you will understand my love for you. One day you will be everything I ever dreamed you to be and I can not wait to see you become who you were always meant to be.

You're my heart, my soul, my everything. I'm nothing without you.