Dear Chandler,
It is hard to put into words how proud I am of you and your recent accomplishments. I googled to come up with a quote or two and found so many different things I liked both funny and serious so I decided to incorporate them into my letter. I wanted to impart some advice I wish had been given to me as I was released into the adult working world that can be so overwhelming and unforgiving at times.
It is so funny to me that we are nearly 2 decades apart, yet you have taught me so much in your last 2 years of college. You accomplished in a short time what many only dream of…. a new city, a new school, new lifetime friends, a dream degree, a dream internship and all with an upbeat smile on your face. I’ve often wondered why you had to experience the uphill battle you did when you first moved to Milledgeville. I don’t wonder it anymore. I feel it is a part of you and happened to help mold you into the strong, beautiful, hard working, confident young woman you are today.
Your time on earth is limited; so don’t waste it living someone else’s life. Don’t let the noise of others’ opinions drown out your own inner voice. And most important, have the courage to follow your heart and intuition – they both somehow already know what your truly want to become in life. Everything else is secondary.
I want you to be an actor in your own life. Infuse your life with action. Don’t wait for it to happen. Make it happen. Make your own future. Make your own hope. Make your own love. And whatever your beliefs, honor your creator, not by passively waiting for grace to come down from up on high, but by doing what you can to make grace happen yourself, right now, right down here on earth.
Have no fear. God has your back. And sometimes, you find out what you are supposed to be doing by doing the things you are not supposed to do. So don’t expect the perfect job that defines your life’s work to come along next week. If that does happen, take the blessing and run with it. But, if not, be grateful to be on the path where you eventually want to live. Abide in the space of gratitude, because this is what I know for sure…that only through being grateful for how far you’ve come in your past can you leave room for more blessings to flow. Blessings flow in the space of gratitude. Everything in your life is happening to teach you more about yourself so even in a crisis, be grateful. When you experience disappointment, be grateful. When things aren’t going the way you want them to, be grateful that you have sense enough to turn it around.
It is one of those remarkable truths of life that when God becomes strongly present in our awareness, the wisdom, strength and guidance we need flow effortlessly into us. So yield to the quiet summons to pause and reflect. Reject the pressure to carry the weight of the world. Take moments to cease from activity and struggle in order to become aware of God in your life. You may well find more than you looked for.
ON A FINAL NOTE…. ELLEN DEGENERES SAID IT BEST…
“Life is like one big Mardi Gras but instead of showing your boobs, show people your brain and if they like what they see you'll have more beads than you'll know what do with.”
While I know you aspire to be strolling down the red carpet with a microphone, you know you don’t have to be famous…. you just have to make your mother and father proud of you and you already have.
Bravo to you!
I love you as if you were my own.
Congratulations Chan Chan!
Love, Aunt Nat
