Dear Sister,
With each growing day you make me more and more proud. That little girl I once played dress up with is now all grown up and taking life by the reins. But before you take one more blazing leap into your ever-so-changing life, I want to offer you some guidance.
You deserve the chance to live a brilliant and fulfilling life, like every woman does, so here are a few words of advice from your older sister who has decided to take her own life and live it well.
1. Don’t take yourself too seriously. This doesn’t mean forgetting your value or self-worth. It means that your polished Instagram posts do not define your life. You are human, so laugh at yourself from time to time and give away your smiles freely like the innocent little girl deep inside of you.
2. Women and girls are capable of incredible things. This has been true throughout history, but thanks to all the powerful women before us, now is our time to shine! Run that marathon, audition for the lead role in the play and ask out your dream date. The only person who can say we “cannot” is ourselves. Be bold. Be brave.
3. No one can avoid the challenges that lie ahead. How you overcome them will define your character. Whether it’s ending a relationship or forgetting an ingredient in the cookie recipe, these life problems will come and go. Handle them with integrity and class. This is your greatest super power.
4. There is no universal definition of love. You will have your very own that’s different from the rest. We are conditioned to believe that prince charming will ride up on his white horse one day and sweep us off our feet – all thanks to Disney. But that day may and will most likely never come. Don’t sweat it. You’ll find love in the most peculiar places in life, and not only will it make you feel all warm and fuzzy inside, it’ll come with a great story too. Trust me.
5. Everyone is on the pursuit of happiness. Just remember that it does not coincide with money. Sure – the idea of making millions sounds like an ideal way of living, but it’s the thrilling, unexpected things in life that will leave you breathless. Let your quest for fulfillment be full of adventure, activity, unlikely friends, unusual foods and laugh-out-loud moments. At the end of the day you will count your blessings, not your dollars.
6. Life is tough – but so are you. There will be plenty of roadblocks that’ll make you stop and question whether to keep moving, but do keep moving forward. Face your fears head on because it’ll be that bold decision to conquer all of life’s obstacles that’ll make you most proud. You are so much stronger than you know.
When in doubt, just live by the glorious words of Wendy Wassertein. “Don’t live down to expectations. Go out there and do something remarkable.”
SHARE the love and pass it on!
