My 38-day old niece just got named. I'm sharing the letter I wrote to her on this day.
Dear M,
Congratulations! You have your own name
now! I’d like to think that I had something to do with your being given this
name - I was the one who first suggested it to your Mum. You may not understand everything that I am saying in this letter now but I am
requesting your Mum to explain it to you when you are old enough. Till then, I
am also asking her to keep it safe to give it to you later.
Along with a new name, you will receive
many things today – countless blessings, new clothes, toys and other goodies. Your Uncle and I thought hard about what I should give
you…We recollected the joy we had felt on the 11th of July 2016 when we got to know that our nephew has a baby sister. You are a precious little girl
because you are the first girl to be born in the family among all
boys in your generation. Girls make a family complete. So we were thrilled when
your GrandPa announced to us that your Mum had delivered a baby girl that
day. You are a special girl and we wanted to give you something special today – the gift we want to give you is a love for travel.
Great men and women have said great things
about what makes travel important for life. Someday I will tell you how
travelling changed my life. But today I want to share with you five reasons
that you should travel when you grow up.
#1 There is no teacher like travel because it
lets you experience things first hand. When you travel, you will learn about
new places, different cultures, people, language, food and lifestyle. Travel will
give you a new perspective on why people behave in a certain way, how various problems
can be solved, and how you can make your life better, easier and happier.
#2 Travel will help you to appreciate
differences and diversity. When you meet people from a different culture, you
learn to understand the reason for their differences, which may be a result of
their history, location or surroundings. When you appreciate such differences
with an open mind, you make yourself more likeable to the new people you meet. Travel
will also help you to appreciate your own culture. You will value what you
learn from your family, village, city, state and country more when you can relate
it to other cultures. It will help you understand yourself better too – your
likes, dislikes, your ability to change, your tolerance to be patient, you
attitude towards taking risks, and your openness to enjoyment too.
#3 Through travel you will get to make new
friends in different parts of the world. It will help to improve your social
skills even when there may be barriers of language and culture. It will make
you realise how people around the world are more same in many ways than they
are different. It will give you memories for life.
#4 Travel will give you a sense of adventure.
It will teach you about dangers of being in a strange land in the midst of
unknown people and about taking measured risks. It will make you resourceful
and flexible. It will help you to deal with change rather than avoid it. It
will make you less fearful in tough situations.
#5 Finally, travel will teach you the value of
money. It will show you how money is extremely important in life but also that
the quality of your experience and what you learn from it matter more.
When you come of age, you will reach a phase in your life when you
will want to explore the world on your own terms. At that time, I want you to
know that your Uncle and I will be there to help you with your dreams.
And so, little M, we have set aside
today a small investment, which will grow as you grow into a confident young
lady. It will be a resource for you to draw upon for your travelling
adventures, with friends or family or (perhaps) even alone. We are holding the
investment for you in trust until you turn 18 but we want you to know that you
will be entitled to it completely. We hope you have many enjoyable, memorable
travels.
We wish you a long, happy, healthy life!
Yours lovingly,
No comments:
Post a Comment