An Open Letter To My Soon-To-Be Niece

Dear Lil’ Niece,

You can arrive any day now, so I wanted to organize my thoughts into a very personal message posted on the Internet for all the world to see.

What, you may be thinking? Girl, you’re going to be born in 2016! This is how we do things. But really, I hope you look at this letter one day and smile and laugh and maybe even cry a little.

So first off, I’m not going to lie and pretend that I know everything. I’m 21 years old, about to graduate and have more questions than answers. What I do know is that you have such a large and loving family anxiously waiting to meet you. Everybody else is excited to see how cute you look and don’t get me wrong, so am I, but I’m especially looking forward to when you grow older. Specifically when you start going through puberty and attending middle school.

I know this may sound odd because that’s the time every parent says their kid gets an attitude and starts rebelling. I see it differently. I see it as the beginning to when you truly start searching and solidifying your personality: your likes and dislikes, your beliefs and passions. And I can’t wait to be a witness of that.

I hope you’ll feel close enough with me to call me when you had a rough day at school, when a friendship is on the rocks, when you have a question and don’t know who else to turn to. Being on the other end of the line will be an honor and I promise to try not to jump to conclusions or sound judgmental.

I hope you have a high self esteem and a positive body image. I can only imagine the monster that social media will be by the time you get your first cell phone (hopefully that won’t be too young!), but let me tell you now to not let the negativity bring you down. Tune out the haters and love yourself.

I hope you’re proud to be an American and of your diverse heritage. Your grandparents are naturalized citizens and your Mom and I are first-generation Americans; this is home and I want you to feel grateful for the opportunities people can reach in this country.

I hope you’re ambitious and I have no shame admitting that I’ll be a tad of a “Tiger Aunt.” When you start high school, I’ll make sure to ask what you want to be when you grow up because trust me, the sooner you figure that out, the more successful you’re going to be. Your Mom, Dad and I all went to the same university, but I don’t want you to continue the legacy. I want you to go someplace better. I want the best for you and that means I’ll be nagging you to always try your best.

But most importantly, I hope you’re fearless. I don’t expect you to be a mini-me of anybody in the family. No, I’d rather have you never be afraid to ask “why?” so that you’re always discovering something new.

By blood, I’ll be your aunt. But I hope that I’m your friend by choice.

Love,

Aunty Raquel

Image credit: Angela (Flickr Creative Commons)

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