Dear Everest,
I've been thinking for awhile about what I would write in this letter, knowing that I want to convey to you how proud I am of you but wanting to say more than the typical phrases.
Phrases like:
so proud of how far you've come
you've accomplished so much
excited for what's ahead
so amazed with who you are as a person
These are all words I could use.
They are true.
But I want to say more.
I was having trouble finding the right words, but as it often is with creativity, an idea came to me quickly as soon as I stopped thinking and trying.
I was driving on ___ Road, which often makes me think of you, because you seem to like that route best compared to Hwy ____.
____ Road is scenic, winding, and fun to drive, and it gets you to your destination in the same amount of time.
As the driver, you get to choose.
So you do.
This is a very simple example of a bigger concept: you get to choose.
I think it often feels like in life, we have to do things a certain way or be a certain way to be successful and happy.
But there is no one right way to do life, no one size fits all approach.
We all have to figure out what we like, what works for us, what values and beliefs are important to us.
How do we do that?
I think it happens incrementally over time, through trying and exploring and noticing what feels true to us -- and what doesn't.
Throughout your life, and especially over that past four years, I've watched you do exactly that: try, explore, and notice: tentatively at first, and with more eagerness as you gained confidence.
I think one of the reasons I was so dawn to the senior picture of you reaching into the pond for a stone is because it's the perfect image to represent how I see you:
collecting bits of treasure as you go through life,
pocketing the pieces that feel like you,
tossing back the bits that don't.
I hope you never stop doing that.
I hope your soul is always looking for was what mirrors you back to you, and that you continue to be open and brave and curious as you explore life.
It's in the little things, from taking the road less traveled simply because you like it, to the music you're dawn to, to the style you've developed piece by piece over time.
Its in the bigger things, like what you choose to study, who you're drawn to hang out with, how you spend your time.
All of it -- every choice you make -- is part of the artful, honest, authentic, kind, vibrant mosaic that is you, created by you.
You get to choose, Everest.
You get to try and explore and notice.
You get to keep building and broadening the mosaic of you.
I'm so proud to be your parent, and I want you to hear loud and clear that your dad and I are always on your side -- with you and for you always.
I love you so much.
Happy graduation!
Love,
Mom
