My beloved daughter,
I can't believe you are eight years old now! You are such a force of positive energy! Whenever mama thinks about you, the image of you hopping and jumping with an ear-to-ear smile on your face enters my mind. You are a powerful sun ray that can pierce through thick, gloomy clouds; you brighten the lives of everyone around you.
You have a heart of gold. You are compassionate, understanding, and gentle. You are a great companion to people; you feel what people feel and are almost always considerate towards others. You are also the protector of all animals; you connect with all animals and care for them. Your favorite are dogs; you have been begging us to get you a puppy since you started speaking at two years old.
Every night, you remind mama at least ten times to put out cat food for Jiji, the stray cat we couldn't adopt, but our neighbors did. Because Jiji came to our house first to seek refugee, we consider him "ours" and would love to pamper him with some treats in the garden. That might have caused him to be slightly overweight because our sweet neighbors care for him well. Hence, we switched to a "weight control" brand of cat food and reduced the amount of our secret treats for him.
You struck a deal with us to get a puppy on your 10th birthday, under the condition of excelling in maths, reading, coding, and fencing. You are on track to realize the terms of the deal and will eventually succeed in honoring the agreement. We are all so proud of you!
Talking about being proud, mama is so very proud today watching you win most of the fights on the fencing field with your classmates. You are naturally built to excel in fencing; you have lightning-fast reflexes and an incredibly agile mind; You understand complex strategies and are confident to use them; your body is compact, flexible, with surprising strength; but most importantly, you have genuinely put in work and improved significantly since the past year.
Whenever I check in with your coaches, lovely Coach Bogdan and Ilya from Ukraine, they have great words about your potential and praise your efforts. Mama hopes you continue to make a great effort to learn to fence, be more focused and disciplined, and one day win in regional and national competitions.
I am delighted you have found and are sticking to your favorite sport after trying out Taekwondo, gymnastics, horse riding, skiing, and swimming for years. You are a talented athlete and active person; I'm sure you will enjoy recreational skiing, swimming, and horse riding throughout your lifetime.
Last year, we both experienced great excitement cheering for Kamala Harris when she was fighting the presidential election in America, remember? Mama has never taken down the signs of her name from your window and wall of your bedroom, mama's laptop, and Tesla, too. It will remain one of the most cherished memories of your childhood when a brave and accomplished woman who looked exactly like you fought to protect this country, freedom, and democracy.
Remember the birth dream I had when you were residing inside mama's belly? Mama has a surreal sense that what I saw in that dream is happening now - the world is being ravaged by a gang of giant snakes. And remember the ending of the dream? You are the breathtaking black female snake who will save our forest. Mama can't predict the future, but I can put seeds in your heart, seeds of compassion, confidence, and love.
No matter what you choose to do in the future, you can choose whatever you want by the way, remember to root yourself in the ground, deep and wide. And the ground comprises Mother Earth that gave birth to you, the voiceless and powerless people who desperately need your help, and the wise voices from human's past. Mama has unwavering faith that you will help make this world a better place, kinder and more tolerant, full of love but not hatred.
Mama is deeply sorry that I was not capable of changing the world for you, and you still need to face gender and racial discrimination growing up. But hey, we are strong girls and women right? Making the world a better place for the billions of girls and women around the globe is not going to be a task of one generation. I will never stop fighting for it and stand by your side when you are big enough to fight.
Yes, generally speaking, girls and women are born smaller physically, but our brains are as big as boys' and men's, as fast as well. Whatever they can use their brains to do, we surely can. The truth is women have been put down for thousands of years in past human history; we have lost the sense of how powerful we actually are. Why do we compare to men's achievements? Isn't our current world built by them and filled with constant conflicts, wars, chaos, and self-destruction? We have got to jump out of the box when it comes to reimagining a better world, a world profoundly connected by respect, understanding, and love. Love is what our brains and hearts are most renowned for, and we shall be brave enough to reclaim the space for it in this world and heal it.
My beautiful daughter, mama is so thrilled that I have brought you here with us. With your enthusiasm and optimism, your endurance and perseverance, and your infinite ability to love and care, you will make a difference in many people's lives.
Mama is proud of you and loves you forever and ever!
Love, Mama
2025.2.22
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