Dear Daughter..

All too often milestones in our lives go unnoticed and unappreciated. This wasn't one of those times, and that probably made it more difficult, as it was a clear, defined change in your direction and how things will be in the future.

As a parent, my role has been to prepare you and to ensure you're able to stand on your own two feet and be a happy, productive member of society. As your Dad my job has been to protect you, care for you, provide for you and ensure that you know you are loved. As you have gone through this change in your own life, it's also time to assess where I stand, and to determine how I did as well, on both the parental and paternal fronts.

As I can't live your next days for you, and in fact I can't even be there to watch you (which is difficult), let me address the change from my own perspective and observations only.

You are intelligent and able to be employed. Case in point, you have held a job for years and were a promoted individual and your skills and abilities were independently recognized by others at the ripe old age of 16. You have succeeded in virtually every role you have tried, and throw your passion and energy into tasks that you take on this way. Outside of formal employment, you have a wide and deep circle of people you socialize with, being appreciated for your sense of humour and the ability to organize friends - a thankless task relating to teenagers everywhere. So, are you a productive and happy member of society at large, and have you demonstrated the potential to keep this going into the future ? The answer is definitively yes - so much so that different countries should be soliciting you to be their citizen.

On the more personal front, I think we did pretty well. You never came to harm outside of normal kid stuff, and despite your trim figure, were never at a loss for things to eat, or a roof overhead. You experienced exposure to other cultures, and have even enjoyed a few accents already in your own life. You seem happy - that's very changeable understandably - but you are rarely at a loss for a smile or the ability to pass along a small kindness. Children and dogs like you which is always a sure sign of good things. So, with your state of being, I'm pretty happy and comfortable.

Which brings me back to the impact that big milestones have in our lives - and this is a big one. We can prepare, but won't know if were really ready until we can look back at the experience. Hindsight alone is 20/20. We can learn to bear down and do what it takes to succeed when faced with new obstacles, and I see you doing that - using your experience and knowledge that has guided you well in the past. That's no guarantee of success of course, but one of the last lessons I'll offer is that there isn't ever a guarantee of success. We do what we think we need to do to successfully move though life's stages - and you've already demonstrated wisdom in how you're approaching this change.

I'm proud of you, and for what it's worth, I reserve the right to continue to do the Dad stuff. But know this - I've no fear that this change will be too much for you, or that it will be too difficult. You are ready for this.

Dad xo