…If I’m To Have A Daughter

If I am to have a daughter, the first thing I would tell her is to always be a strong and powerful woman. There are going to be people out there who tell you that you can’t do something and I’m here to reassure you that YOU CAN and YOU WILL. If you put full force into it, it can happen. I promise.

If I am to have a daughter, I would tell her not to be afraid of failing. Whether it’s the chemistry test you studied hard for or if it’s not making the cheerleading team – at least you tried. At least you tried. You put yourself out there and even though you failed – at least you tried. Because if you hadn’t, you would have never known the outcome.

If I am to have a daughter, I would tell her that this life will hit you hard. It will hit you so hard in the face that it knocks you on your butt, knocks the breath out of you and when you look up you’ll see the sky. And you’ll see that it’s beautiful and there are still beautiful things out there even though right now the world is showing you the ugliest part of it.

If I am to have a daughter, I would tell her to always apologize if she’s done something wrong. But do not apologize for the way your hair curls around your ears, for the way your cheeks get rosy when you get embarrassed, for the way your second toe might be longer than your big toe and don’t apologize for who you love. Because who you love, is who you love and no one should have the power to change that besides you.

If I am to have a daughter, I would tell her that hurt cannot always be healed by band-aids and Neosporin. That hurt can be healed with laughs. That hurt can be healed by eating pizza and watching movies by yourself. That hurt can be healed by crying it all out in the Wal-Mart parking lot. And that hurt can healed with time. If you allow yourself that time. And please, allow yourself that time.

If I am to have a daughter, I would tell her that her first heartbreak will be the hardest. That he might have changed his mind, and that’s fine. He’s walking out of your life and you don’t need to chase someone who doesn’t want to be in yours. You need to let him walk. If he wants to come back in, that’s your choice to let him back in but promise me this. That you won’t let someone control you enough to the point where you lose yourself. Where you lose who you are as a person and you forget about everything else that is important. And this heartbreak, any heartbreak, is going to hurt. It is going to sting, it is going to drain you and make you bitter at times. But remember, you will get through this. That you will find better boys and you don’t deserve that kind of love.

If I am to have a daughter, I would tell her that I love her. No matter how many mistakes she makes, no matter how many messes she makes or when she leaves the house without cleaning her room. I will love her regardless.