I wrote this in the first couple of pages of a book I gifted my daughter last month when she graduated from high school. For those who are curious, it was Randy Pausch’s inspiring “The Last Lecture”. Anyway, I thought I’d share it here:
Change is coming. You can’t stop it. Some say it’s the only constant we have in life.
You’re going off to college soon. You’re going to make new friends. Figure out new passions. Study new topics that inspire you. Travel to new places that wow you. Find some relationships that bring you joy and some relationships that bring you sorrow. You’re going to have incredible highs and (hopefully not too many) agonizing lows.
But even they will change. Day to day. Month to month. Semester to semester. Year to year.
That’s the beautiful part of change. It keeps us on our toes and prepares us for whatever comes. Life is a whirlwind. And it will test you. It will test your will. And dare you to defy it. And you will. And your mother, your brother, and I will be there to cheer you on at every step.
But there’s one thing that the “some” don’t factor in. You see, they’re wrong about change being the only constant. Because they forget about a father’s love. A father’s love for his daughter is the most constant constant you can imagine. It knows no bounds. Nothing can pierce it. Nothing can tarnish it. It is evergreen and everlasting.
From the very moment the doctor handed your little crying body to me, I knew I was changed forever. Looking down at your small face as you searched for what to do now, I knew what the purpose in my life was. It was to love you, and let everything flow from that simple fact.
You make me so proud, Caroline. And I have no doubt the best is yet to come.
Change is coming, yes, and it will be great. Embrace it and let it take you places you can’t even dream of now. Because everywhere you go, a little piece of my heart will be with you.
Go get ‘em, baby girl!
