Letters from the Young
I reached out to a couple of people with the following prompt:
"I am getting a couple of people to write letters to their older selves. I recently read Gabrielle Union's letter to her younger self in Essence and thought that there might be value in writing something to our older selves. While we learn a lot with age, some things get lost as well - ie. spontaneity, love, empathy, persistence, etc (from what I've seen... :)). So perhaps you can add your writing to this - something you cherish now that you don't want to lose sight of as you get older or something you had/knew when you were younger and want to incorporate back into your life."
And a few people have accepted the challenged - some different types of people. So as the year 2012 ends, I am going to post a couple of these responses. I think it will be great way to end the year on this blog - to culminate with different voices on what matters to people. Moreover, I think these letters will be incredibly profound to find or come across some years from now.
I am honored to share Jasmine's letter as the first:
Dear Jasmine,
The world is your classroom, Ms. Drake. Never forget this fact. You are the quintessential scholar, always creating a space of learning through didactic discussion and meaningful reading wherever you translocate yourself. Learning is your thing, from the social relationships you build to the content you force yourself to read at times, you are always learning.
The past can haunt us, as it has haunted you in the past, consistently knocking at the door to your mental peace, igniting scenarios of “Mommy has no money to support me in my endeavors” or “Another person was shot and killed in my neighborhood back at home.” These experiences, these tribulations, only augment the strength you continue to exude compared to your privileged, not so culturally in tuned colleagues. Don't throw these experiences into your mental garbage pail; they are an integral component of who you are, now.
You may or may not be 100 pounds less than where you are as of now, and this is OK. I know, your physical health is very important. It will always be important. But just know that you are such a beautiful person on the inside, that the physical embodiment does not have the slightest weight on your character. Continue to be a gracious spirit, for the weight only represents how much you appreciate cuisine and have a sweet tooth for culture.
Jasmine, I am proud of you. Words cannot fully describe how many impediments you walked over. No one could have predicted that a woman such as yourself, weighing the mass of a sun with a high dosage of melanin to complement your beauty, would be intellectually cognizant of the classroom surrounding you. How could a South Bronx resident such as yourself travel all over the world, with such a low income? Well, I'll admit, you always were a social butterfly, sustaining your social network to open up opportunities for learning. Yes, your big mouth actually established you into a world traveler. You have the gift of gab, an ability to show individuals how your marginalized background actually prepared you for challenging situations, how it prepared you to socially transcend blurred boundaries. No wonder you are always inducing individuals to donate to “the cause,” with your powerful and soul quenching rhetoric encompassing your passion to learn about the world around you.
Thank God for your wisdom, because your story is one that no one could predict if only believing what their eyes captured from the first view of you; your story is important, it is necessary, and it is inspiring.
"I am getting a couple of people to write letters to their older selves. I recently read Gabrielle Union's letter to her younger self in Essence and thought that there might be value in writing something to our older selves. While we learn a lot with age, some things get lost as well - ie. spontaneity, love, empathy, persistence, etc (from what I've seen... :)). So perhaps you can add your writing to this - something you cherish now that you don't want to lose sight of as you get older or something you had/knew when you were younger and want to incorporate back into your life."
And a few people have accepted the challenged - some different types of people. So as the year 2012 ends, I am going to post a couple of these responses. I think it will be great way to end the year on this blog - to culminate with different voices on what matters to people. Moreover, I think these letters will be incredibly profound to find or come across some years from now.
I am honored to share Jasmine's letter as the first:
Dear Jasmine,
The world is your classroom, Ms. Drake. Never forget this fact. You are the quintessential scholar, always creating a space of learning through didactic discussion and meaningful reading wherever you translocate yourself. Learning is your thing, from the social relationships you build to the content you force yourself to read at times, you are always learning.
The past can haunt us, as it has haunted you in the past, consistently knocking at the door to your mental peace, igniting scenarios of “Mommy has no money to support me in my endeavors” or “Another person was shot and killed in my neighborhood back at home.” These experiences, these tribulations, only augment the strength you continue to exude compared to your privileged, not so culturally in tuned colleagues. Don't throw these experiences into your mental garbage pail; they are an integral component of who you are, now.
You may or may not be 100 pounds less than where you are as of now, and this is OK. I know, your physical health is very important. It will always be important. But just know that you are such a beautiful person on the inside, that the physical embodiment does not have the slightest weight on your character. Continue to be a gracious spirit, for the weight only represents how much you appreciate cuisine and have a sweet tooth for culture.
Jasmine, I am proud of you. Words cannot fully describe how many impediments you walked over. No one could have predicted that a woman such as yourself, weighing the mass of a sun with a high dosage of melanin to complement your beauty, would be intellectually cognizant of the classroom surrounding you. How could a South Bronx resident such as yourself travel all over the world, with such a low income? Well, I'll admit, you always were a social butterfly, sustaining your social network to open up opportunities for learning. Yes, your big mouth actually established you into a world traveler. You have the gift of gab, an ability to show individuals how your marginalized background actually prepared you for challenging situations, how it prepared you to socially transcend blurred boundaries. No wonder you are always inducing individuals to donate to “the cause,” with your powerful and soul quenching rhetoric encompassing your passion to learn about the world around you.
Thank God for your wisdom, because your story is one that no one could predict if only believing what their eyes captured from the first view of you; your story is important, it is necessary, and it is inspiring.
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