Dear Little Brother,
You are no longer little having grown taller than me in stature. You are about to embark on a new life filled with new adventures. There are so many things I want to tell you and so much I want to share, I don’t even know where to start. You mean a lot to me and I am very proud of all that you have achieved. I’m sure there is much more that you will achieve and continue to do.
Life is lived in happy moments and little adventures. Life is not about how long you are going to live but how well you live it. So, go all out. Do everything from your heart. Have your little adventures. Make those memories. Have deep conversations with friends. The most important memories that you will have after you pass college will not be the chapters you studied or the exams you wrote or even the grades you didn’t get. It will be about the night before the exams where you were up with friends laughing like there is no tomorrow. It will be in those moments you will skip class to go for a movie or go on trips to see new places.
Explore. What is life without some exploring? Learn something new everyday. When you feel like you have three continuous days where you haven’t learnt anything new or have not found yourself feeling curious about something, then look at what you want to change to make your day and life more enriching.
Experiment. You are too young to put yourself in a box and label yourself saying this is who I am. Now is the time for you to find yourself. Try new things. See what you like. See what you don’t like. See what’s good and what’s needed. Don’t say no to life and what it has to offer. Listen to new music, see a new place, read a new book, try a new hairstyle.
Love yourself for who you are. It’s easy to compare and feel less because you may see flaws or things you don’t like. Be kind to yourself. Be generous. Especially when you fail at something. Remember, when you feel like you are a loser or you have failed at something or let someone down – don’t lose heart. You haven’t failed as a person. You have merely not succeeded in a situation. You can always look at the reasons for not succeeding, work on those aspects, try and succeed.
Never think you are not good enough. Your confidence needs to come from a place where you feel you know your strengths. Focus on your strengths. Be aware of your weaknesses and work on them as well. Strive to be someone that you feel proud of. When you look at yourself in the mirror, you need to be able to look yourself in the eye – love and accept yourself.
Make good friends. It’s not important how popular you are or how many friends you have. What matters are friends who are true even if they are a few. They’ll be there for you for many more years. Friends that you make in college will be there for life. So choose wisely. Be open, communicate and don’t let petty misunderstandings, situations, ego and other things get in the way between your relationship with your friends.
Love someone and love deeply. You may get your heart broken. You may not. But, you will be ok. In that journey you will discover yourself. You will know yourself better.
Be responsible. You are responsible for your life, your thoughts, words and actions. Use them for spreading love, positivity and joy. Don’t do to others what you wouldn’t want them to do to you. You are also responsible for your education, life and everything else. Take ownership of it all and do what needs to be done with sincerity. You are also responsible for how you use your time. Fill it up with good. Use your time wisely.
There’s so much more I can say but the most important thing would be to say is, always remember that you are loved unconditionally. That you will always find home in our hearts. That no matter where in the world you go or what you choose to pursue, you will always have your family praying for you and being your biggest cheerleaders. We will always love you for who you were, who you are and who you will be.
Lots of love,
Your elder sister
Ramblings of Anusha 