10 April 2013
Dear H,
I hope you got my last letter and you had a good birthday. I hope Easter was a good break and you have done some nice things. My Easter break included two ribs.. again! Skiing this time but at least it was on the last day so didn’t miss out on the great snow. I hope your School trip was great fun and you enjoyed equally good conditions. I dream that one day you and I will ski together.
I read your School report and was surprised that it was more measured than usual and slightly inconsistent between subjects. This worried me. Not because the report is bad. No far from it, it is a good report but it does tell me that you are perhaps distracted or unhappy with your choices or other things are going on that is impacting you and School.
My initial thoughts were oh god, Boys! You’re in love and you are distracted! It then occurred to me that perhaps you were unhappy and that was causing the change in performance. Then I thought maybe you just have other things you prefer to focus on like music or sport. Ultimately you are growing up, changing and probably questioning the purpose of all this hard work and education and sick of it all (I know I was by 17!). I don’t and cannot know the answer and whether you are going though all those normal teenage emotions or worse I can only guess. I know I am the last person you would come to or confide in but it does not mean I am not concerned and I do care more than you will ever understand. So what to do/ what to say?
However it might feel at present, the next few years are critical to your whole life and will decide what you do, how far you go and ultimately the legacy you leave. Whatever you do, you will never please everyone, you will always make mistakes and the key thing is to learn from them. I know that it is unheard of for a teenager to listen to a parent, especially one of my caliber but on the off chance you do, I will sign off with some thoughts.
· Listen to your heart and the voice inside your head.
· Ask yourself Why are you doing what you are doing? If the answer is you don’t know then you are probably not doing the right things for you.
· Ask yourself What is the work/study/ activity you cannot not do? -ie. the stuff that makes you whole, that completes you! Stick to that!
· Follow that passion. Find whatever it is that gives you certainty, variety, significance, connection, growth and contributes beyond yourself and you will be happy.
The earlier in your life you find it the sooner you will be truly happy. On the last bullet point For your Mum and I it was different things in our work, but ultimately it was and is You!
à la prochaine!
mon petit lièvre brun
Opmerkingen