Dear Big Al,

( Here is a letter /tribute to my baby sister on her graduation day.I also mean for it to apply to all of her friends that will graduate college this month who I love like my own sisters.Minda, Ashley,Melmo...etc... oh and please forgive the sappy cheesetastic-ness )

Dear Big Al,

     The first thing that you should know is that you are an amazing person. So many people love you more than words can express, me especially. You are part of what makes my life amazing. You make me feel happy and loved and special, and one of my favorite things is to give that right back to you. You are strange,beautiful, funny and spirited. You are a blessing and a gift. Everyone is so proud of you today,

     Secondly, that cheap polyester gown and hood means something. You worked for this. You lost sleep, you didn't eat anything except almonds and wheat thins. Your freakish dedication and over-studying concerned your parents and sisters. You consistently rejected our phone calls because you lived in the library, and we pretended not to be offended. You had no money.You mooched free dinners off of us, made our cars run out of gas, and consistently stole my earrings.You moved far away for a little and had to deal with a crap-ton of snow. You always had multiple jobs and a packed schedule.It sucked sometimes... and we desperately wished that you would let us help you. But you are frustratingly independent, and you achieved it all on your own.

     You also had some wonderful experiences and grew up so much. My favorite part was watching  you enchant and dazzle new groups of people with your amazing personality. Everyone that you meet ends up amused by you, even the bellhops at the Ritz.  People fell in love with you, and those relationships will mean something later in life.

You are doing something today that not many people can pull off. It may not feel that way as you sit in a huge crowd of twenty-somethings, wearing the same color as you, achieving the same thing.  It really does. I mean it... I actually looked up statistics and stuff. Less than 50 percent of people that start college actually finish. You are so intelligent and passionate about the things that you have learned.  Don't diminish the amazing achievement of today. You earned it.

     Now for the future: the thing that I want you to remember most is to forgive and love yourself. You have so many things to learn as you become a real grown up. You will make mistakes. You could hurt someone, or let yourself be hurt.You might buy the wrong car, choose the wrong job or be late on a payment of something. It's really OK. I know you are scared of the mistakes that you haven't made yet, and the things that you think you will never achieve.

Me too.
Everyone is.
   
     Remember what I said about your ambition? I know you want wonderful things out of life. You want to make big decisions.You want a sophisticated job with a matching wardrobe. You want to blaze new trails,and live in a big city. Your big ideas and "life plans" change all the time, and we all love that about you. The hardest thing that you will have to learn is how to balance your ambition with your gratefulness, and how to let go of your plan and accept God's plan . If you don't get everything, you haven't failed; your story has just changed a little.

I know that you know this.. but you forget sometimes.

Also, call us, text us and hang out with us constantly. You are not a burden, even when you are being really annoying. We know that your tendency to overwork yourself leaves you with limited open schedule space. We will make it work, because we really DO love you. We are here to support you through every step of the way. Your family and friends are a gift. Don't forget this.

One more thing. As you become a grown-up, please don't become a total grown up. I hope you still sing in inappropriate social situations and clear the  floor with your sweet dance moves. I hope you continue to text shocking and hilarious things to our mother. Keep stealing my clothes, even when you inevitably make more money than me. Don't grow out of that feminism that causes you to tell off men with harsh honesty and put them in their place. Please don't stop wearing 5 inch heels  and overdressing for most occasions. Please keep making sales people and waitresses your best friends. You are you. Don't let the pressure of adulthood beat that out of you.

I know it's cheesy of me to say that you have your whole life ahead of you, but you do,

And it's going to be an amazing one.

Happy Graduation Al,

- Love always,
Ange