Open Letter to my Daughter

There will be many times your integrity will be tested.  You will face a situation where you know in your gut you are right, but other forces upon you will make you question your sanity.  It is in these times you will have to make a decision and pause for thoughtful reflection.  It won’t be in some large, grand moment.  Those are the easy times to take up arms and voice your soul for all to hear.  It’s obvious in the face of major injustice which side of the truth you want to be on.  America is a free nation. People have a right to live. Fascism is bad.  

But what about the smaller moments? What about the moments others may not see?  These moments can be swept under the rug never to be seen again. It will be easy to ignore them and move on with the rest of your life. When you stop in these moments, you need to remind yourself, this IS the rest of your life.  It is in these small moments that help define who you are as a person and who you want to be.  Who you want to represent yourself as.  And, no one else can write that story for you, no matter what others say, it is your story and you are in charge.

I’ve always told you to trust your gut.  But what is your gut?  Your gut is a combination of your intellect, your intuition, your emotion and your morals.  They all come together to produce that feeling in your gut that tells you what to feel, to recognize right from wrong even before you can verbalize what you’re feeling. It allows you to make decisions w/o having to articulate the reasons, especially in quick moments where the luxury of analysis and sources are not available. Your gut is what keeps you from trusting those that do not have your best interest.  Your gut is what draws you to good people who want to help and uplift you.  Your gut is your instinct that will keep you from harm’s way and surround you with people who are looking out for your best interest. We’ve worked hard to create this village and I am so thankful for all of the amazing people who have crossed our path. God has put amazing people in our lives for a reason and we are lucky and better people for knowing them.

So do not fear. You are my daughter.  You champion for the good and you seek the positive in life.  You work on yourself so you can be there for others.  You help those in need and you remember to put your oxygen mask on first so you can be there for those who cannot.  You will not stand for injustice. You will not be mansplained.  You will approach life with curiosity and humility.  Never forget your worth and let others convince you otherwise. Rest in the knowledge that you will not be gaslighted and you will stay true to your morals and your conscious and no one can take that away from you.  Fall back on your village when needed.  We have created a wonderful network of amazing men and women who know right from wrong, bad from good, and they will be there for you when you need them. We are lucky and we will not lose sight of what is important in life and all the good we can do.