DEAR ME Dear 18-yearold Joyce,
DAWNE GEE, 6
JOYCE SEYMOUR, 18
Dear 6-year-old Dawne,
Dear 8-year-old Charla,
Every day is special. So, don’t wait to wear your favorite shirt or use your pretty plates until you think the day is special enough. We are promised nothing in this life — not even the next day. Every day is special, and the tragedy is not using something too much, but not using it enough and wishing you had. The days are long, but the years are short. Embrace every moment as if it were your first love. Make sure you let everyone you love KNOW IT! Don’t pay attention to those who make fun of you because your heart is big. Better a big heart than a big mouth with nothing good to say. You are here for a purpose. Live it! Embrace it! Life is only as good as you make it, and you only get one. But if you do it right, one is enough.
Stop that crying! You’re just 8 years old. You’re much younger than your competitors, and you still won second prize in that oratorical contest. You stood upright. You pronounced your words articulately. You had great charm and charisma on stage, and you will use all of those skills to muscle your way through life. Stop listening so much to what others think you can accomplish. Stop relying on their opinions of you, and tap into your own Power. That Power will serve you well. It will get you out of tough spots, and it will be the very core and platform of your purpose-filled life and purpose on Earth. You will not win every time, but you’ve got the POWER!
Love, Dawne Gee WAVE 3 News Anchor and Community Caretaker; Age 50 34
DECEMBER
2013
CHARLA YOUNG, 8
Love, Charla Young CEO and Talk Show Host, Power to Change; Age 41
I know you’re struggling to get a summer job at camp and shaking in your sneakers, saying, “I want to work at camp, doing anything, and you don’t have to pay me.” But you’re going to get your first full-time job and an opportunity to build your self-confidence and self-esteem. Of course, you’ll make mistakes. But you’ll find opportunities to practice skills like ethics, compromise, firmness, listening, and collaboration. Those skills will lead you to become the executive staff member of Girl Scouts of the USA. The culture you’re creating at camp will give you and others an opportunity to achieve whatever you set your mind to. Passion, desire, communication, leadership, and compassion for others will enable you to face the challenges of your future. I believe in you.
Love, Joyce Seymour
Women 4 Women Administrator; Age 75
TODAY’S WOMAN