Dear Danielle, An Open Letter.
Dear Danielle,
We have a long, rough journey ahead of us but, every moment we have in our life is just a special lesson to us. I wish you could see the inner growth we had as we grew older. I wish I had known things sooner. I know we will have our breakdown moments, desiring to end our lives simply. Breathe.
The things you’re going through are just temporary. Be vulnerable, real, and honest. It is okay to cry.
You’re not alone.
You may feel that way sometimes, but you have people in your future that are going to be worth fighting for. Yes, we will go through trials and tribulations ahead—but we will make it. We did make it, but not as we expected. Expectations in others aren’t needed.
Dive deeper into our creative self. Don’t let people walk all over you. Keep reading books. Don’t seek best friends, they always aren’t the ones we hoped to have. A lot of people you know aren’t going to be supportive, and I’m okay with that. Smile more often, they like our infectious smile. It is crazy but, true. Love yourself. You are just more beautiful than you think or feel. When mom encourages us to enroll at Gallaudet University, choose RIT/NTID instead—trust me.
The passion of becoming a deaf teacher no longer exists, replaced with a hidden passion we later discovered. We still have the passion to teach people sign language but, it has become a bigger important part of our lives. We wanted to find out more about our identity, and where we truly belong.
We have two cochlear implants, it has become very successful for us. We have inspired so many people with our own stories and experiences. They wanted to know more about us. When we once thought that we would spend our lives with our childhood lover, we didn’t. We never had the chance to. Mental health worsens but, in the end, we are healing, finding ourselves. We have a kid so far, still only 3 left to go. Despite the struggles we faced, we have a lot of positive outcomes in the future.
We lost our childhood love, so spend time with him closer. We will regret it if we don’t. That’s something I wish I had done. People in your life right now aren’t going to be part of the future but, you will have better friendships. Don’t worry about love, it’ll come when it’s ready. It will come, trust me. Don’t give up too quickly when something you worked hard for has failed.
Keep trying, girl. You got this. Focus on who you are, don’t worry about what others think of you. Keep being silly, continue to make others laugh. People in our life ahead need that. Set healthy boundaries. Learn how to say no. Learn how to protect ourselves. We have to. Please don’t be too hard on yourself, everyone makes mistakes daily. Appreciate our parents more. I know we may not understand our mom but, in life ahead, she has always been there for us. Try to get closer to Dad. The relationship itself hasn’t improved as we thought it would. Our kid loves us more than we think, do not believe that you’re a bad mom. You’re honestly better. Yes, our kid is our mini-best friend. Just check his diapers more often…
