Dear Children, From An Adult

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Dear Children:

As a young adult who barely survived my own childhood, I shall describe and explain the Earth to your innocent minds - so you can have a better transition into adulthood than I did. Yes, adulthood can be very scary - but adulthood can also lead to tremendous freedom.

Welcome to life.

Our grand and enormous universe - with our stars, planets, comets and galaxies - is influenced by a powerful, metaphysical force called time. There are 60 minutes in an hour, 24 hours in a day and seven days in a week. There are 12 months in a year, and every time you successfully survive another year in your life, you celebrate a special occasion called a birthday. Across our forests and mountains, there are different periods of time called seasons. Spring happens when our trees and flowers grow, as our beautiful world becomes colorful with fruits and berries that are far more valuable than red rubies, blue sapphires and green emeralds. Summer is when you can swim in the pools, lakes and oceans. Remember to wear your sunscreen! The summer sun can scorch and burn your sensitive skin. In the autumn, the weather starts to become cool and crisp - and the leaves begin to change colors on the trees, such as red and gold. As you walk on the cobblestone streets with a scarf around your neck, you can drink a special-brewed coffee called a pumpkin spice latte - but be careful when you hold this drink in your hand, because you might be seen as "basic." In the winter, beautiful snow falls onto the bare trees - and you should wear a very large coat so you can protect yourself from the cold weather.

Every season has a purpose in your life.

As spring changes into summer, and summer changes into autumn and winter, there is a particular question that will compel you to feel imprisoned - or compel you to feel liberated - depending on the perspective that you choose to see life. Once you answer this question with your own conscience, your entire life will change - and you must be courageous enough to let that change influence your heart, mind and soul. What is this question, you may ask? Well, I have decided to mention this particular question at the end of this letter, since we must explore a certain word first - a very special word that can empower you to answer this mysterious question once you are ready to change your life.

Across our immense world, there is a significant word that has confounded humans for centuries. There are the scientists who wear their white lab coats, as they curiously examine the tiny cells inside a Petri dish beneath a microscope. As scientists and mathematicians study and measure the anatomical features behind our organs and muscles, they might ask scientific questions such as "Why does a person's heart race when that human becomes nervous? What causes a person's brain to create certain thoughts in the first place? How do humans breathe oxygen to survive in our world?" There are the priests, gurus, rabbis and imams who scrutinize the sacred words that are written and carved across their pages and temples. As they pray on their knees, and they gaze at the sunlight that softly illuminates their windows, they whisper and chant their prayers with faith in their hearts. When certain people become religious, they might ask theological questions such as "Does God exist? If God exists, why did He create me? How can I protect my faith in a world that is corrupted with temptation and sin?" Beneath bright spotlights, singers and musicians resound chords and melodies that can haunt your mind for days, as you remember your own memories with heartbreak and pain. In galleries and museums, there are beautiful portraits with colors and shapes that inspire you to think about this significant word:

Existence.

The word Existence comes from the Latin phrase exsistere, which has various definitions: "to appear, to arise, to become and to be" - but from an etymological perspective, exsistere can also mean "to stand out" (since ex- is the Latin prefix for "out" and sistere is the causative form of the Latin verb stare, which means "to stand")

From your cradle to your grave, you will suffer from certain emotions such as pain, fear and doubt - but you will also heal from other emotions such as peace, joy and hope. In your own existence, when you become an adult, you will have the power to choose which emotions will remain in your conscience.

When you were born, the doctors and nurses carried your tiny body in their gloved hands - as your exhausted mother cried tears of relief that her labor had finally ended. As the nurse gently placed your fragile body into your mother's arms, you can only stare at your mother's face with gentle curiosity in your eyes - as your underdeveloped brain struggled to comprehend the bright light around you. When you became a little toddler, you stumbled and fell onto the floor as you repeatedly learned to walk - until your cute, wobbly legs finally stepped forward into the world that seemed innocent and pure to you (a gentle world that can never, ever hurt you).

When you became a child, the world became even more vibrant and colorful for you - since your developing brain was starting to gain enough neural connections that absorbs more light and shapes into your conscience. With your bright creativity and wild imagination, your childhood is a magical experience filled with toys, candy, ice cream and Disney songs. Your crayons on paper will illustrate a perfect, ideal world - a world that deserves to be built.

Unfortunately, our world can be dark, cruel and unfair.

When you become a teenager, everything will change in your life.

Once you reach puberty, your voice will deepen, and your body will experience physical changes that will permanently affect your self-esteem as you look at your reflection in the mirror. When you become a student in high school, you will soon learn that there are certain lessons in life that can never be taught inside a classroom - since academic textbooks, charts and teachers can be slightly flawed. When you become a teenager, you might act painfully silent inside your dark bedroom as your parents argue about your future - an uncertain future that makes you feel lost, confused and scared. You will begin to confront a very serious problem called peer pressure, as you notice other teenagers who smoke cigarettes and drink alcohol. This rebellious behavior might compel you to feel "lame and uncool" if you never belong to the popular crowd. A monstrous fear will start to crawl into your eyes as your Disney songs and Pixar films grotesquely mutate into the terrible news that you see on your laptops and cellphones, with glass screens as fragile (and easily broken) as your faith in humanity. Bloody wars, economic inequality, social protests, and political turmoil will force you to confront very difficult questions about life - questions that may never have answers in this lifetime. How can some humans act so cruel and evil? Why is there so much hate, pain and intolerance across our world? As the hope begins to fade from your eyes, you might silently wonder "Is there a solution to these problems?"

Yes.

Yes, there is a solution to our world's problems.

You might gasp and think "Where?"

Just look at your reflection in the mirror.

You.

You are the solution to our world's problems:
because you - and the other children from your generation - represent the beautiful world that is still possible in the future.

As an adult, my own generation and I have a moral responsibility - to teach you the very difficult lessons that we learned from our own mistakes. When different generations unite, we can finally build a world that is influenced by peace, hope and love - rather than conflict, hate and ignorance.

What is adulthood? When you finally become an adult like me, you will soon realize that your long-sought freedom is both a blessing and a curse. You can travel to a new city and start to build a life with your own rules - but if you ever let yourself suffer from low self-esteem, your freedom can actually mutate into loneliness - a crippling sense of loneliness that will make you ask very difficult questions about your self-worth. Am I truly capable enough to build my very own life without my family? What if I make one, tiny mistake that can ruin my entire life?

What if I become a failure?

With your hands in your pockets, and your shifty eyes wary of danger, you will walk the dark streets with neon signs and apathetic faces - where sex, drugs, alcohol and money are worshiped like gods. You will enter a dark world - a very empty world that will force you to confront your own vices: lust, greed, sloth, envy, pride, jealousy and gluttony. When you become an adult, you must always remember that another world is still possible - a beautiful world where peace, love, hope and happiness can exist.

During your first job interview, I want you to take a deep breath and always remember that you are special, intelligent and worthy. When you pay your first bill and wash your own laundry, I want you to feel immensely proud of yourself that you are finally learning to stand on your own two feet. When you graduate from college, and you start to question the direction of your own life, I want you to remember certain virtues that will empower you to overcome any challenge: bravery, compassion, patience and wisdom.

When you become an adult, you will meet certain friends who will break your heart - but you will also meet other friends who will restore your faith in humanity. Some friendships will end. Some friendships will continue - but every friendship will teach you a very important lesson about life, and you must be humble enough (and compassionate enough) to learn those lessons. With romance, you will fall in love and you will have your heart broken - but in the future, when you are ready to take another risk, you will fall in love again - and this time, your heart will be protected and cherished by someone who will never let you go, because that person is your soulmate. To gain love, you must be willing to give love too - and love is the most powerful emotion in the world.

Even self-love.

Your outlook on life is a direct reflection of how much you love yourself.

Imagine that your soul is like a tree. Although spring and summer seem like the only two seasons that are good for you, the other two seasons - autumn and winter - can also contribute to your own self-growth. In the autumn, you will notice that letting go of meaningless circumstances - like the dead leaves that fall from the trees - are sometimes necessary for your self-growth, so you can have another chance in your life to create more fruition in the future. During the winter, the seeds that lie dormant in the soil can teach us that patience is often crucial during times of hardship and pain, especially when we feel cold and distant from the warm light.

Every season has a purpose in your life.

As spring changes into summer, and summer changes into autumn and winter, there is a particular question that will compel you to feel imprisoned - or compel you to feel liberated - depending on the perspective that you choose to see life. Once you answer this question with your own conscience, your entire life will change - and you must be courageous enough to let that change influence your heart, mind and soul.

The Irish poet Oscar Wilde once said "To live is the rarest thing in the world. Most people exist, that is all."

This question is:

"Why do I want to live?"

Signed,
A friend who cares about your future