Carrot,
Sweet 16… ok, I’m not saying that you’re not sweet because
certainly you can be (when you want to ;p) but I am going to take a minute to
call out an outdated cultural reference. In the 50s Sweet 16 was a appropriate,
perfectly suited to girls who didn’t sail all the way around the world alone
(see Laura Dekker), starting their own businesses or getting into Harvard
(fingers crossed). Sooo, now that I’ve
warmed up to my subject I’m deeming you Spirited 16 and “sweet” can go jump off
a cliff – it’ll be good for it, give it a little spunk and then Maybe it’ll be
worthy of you. J
Some of my favorite quotes in life are from you. I know I’ve
reminded you of them many times but now I’m going to record them here as well,
for posterity. Someday I’ll be too old to remember them, so it’s good to get
them down now.
“I like fish tacos.” said while staring at the fish tank in
the Alpha Delta Chi house, 2ish years old
“Coconut tree, coconut tree,” lather, rinse and repeat this
one as you said it Many times in a row dance/running in a circle, also 2ish
years old
“Mom, my hamburger’s all discombobulated.” 3 1/2 years, “What’s discombobulated mean?”
my brother John, 14
“Don’t leave the flowers at the door… door door door.” 5 or
6 maybe?
“I’m only doing cheer so that I don’t have to have a PE
class and I’ll have room in my schedule to take Physics.” -14
These are just a few of the quotes that come immediately to
mind but we both know you said many more amusing/amazing things. You’re a
verbose individual… it’s a gift.
I’ve also loved seeing you in your various shows but the
most memorable one for me was when you played the Changeling Child and got your
American Girl doll. Well, that and The Importance of Being Earnest because that
happens to be an all time favorite play.
I’m so glad that you were able to come visit Alissia and me
in Chicago this summer. It was lovely spending time with an almost grownup version of you. I enjoyed
tooling around your museum, seeing Sue and dancing in the Maori ballroom but of
course that day leads to another quote which will live on in infamy.
“EHHHHHHHHHHH!”
Sooo my advice for your next 16 years is as follows:
- Give orange chicken to strangers, you never know when it may save your life.
- Do not, under any circumstances, date any boys who don’t know who the Dr. is.
- Take random dance breaks in the middle of long term papers, it’s good for your brain.
- Always keep rolls of toilet paper in your car, you never know when you might want to TP someone’s house or have a bathroom EMERGENCY.
- Take plenty of pictures, things you think you’ll always remember, fade sooner than you’d think.
- Take your parents’ advice at least once a year, even when you really don’t want to. Trust me, they’re wrong less than you’d think.
- Never, ever lose Bix, if you can possibly help it.
- Cherish your relationships with your siblings. They may be a pain in the butt sometimes but you’re incredibly lucky to have those 3 people in your life just as they are supremely lucky to have you as a big sister.
- Call your Aunt Koo Koo every once in a while to tell her what kinds of awesome things you’re up to.
- Try new things whenever you get the opportunity, the sooner the better, who knows what you’ll discover that you’ve missed out on all 16 years you’ve already been around.
- Love God, love yourself, love the world. While I think most people aspire to the first one, and try their best on the third, in my experience, very few Really get the second one. Figure that out and the other two will naturally fall in place. You are already smart enough, pretty enough, talented enough… in short, you’re enough, just the way God made you. Don’t waste years trying to be anything else.
- Catch yourself doing the right thing and reward yourself generously.
- Don’t flick boogers in children’s hair, you’ll just feel bad about it later.
- What you pay attention to, abounds, so don’t pay attention to negative things. When you catch yourself focusing on something you didn’t handle in a way you feel proud of, simply accept it and plan what you’ll do going forward. Don’t beat yourself up for what’s already done.
- Memorize the 4 Agreements (yes, I realize you’ll probably have to look them up but I promise, there is great emotional freedom in living by these principles… unsurprisingly, they’re all Biblical, though the wording may not be verbatim)
- Play more it inspires better work, I swear.
Ok, I think 16 pieces of advice should suffice for a
Spirited 16 birthday. I love you and I wish you the best senior year of high
school that anyone has ever had in the history of senior years of high school.
Go forth and make the world a better place, just by being you.
Love,
Aunt Kieta
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