It's OK to Enjoy being 10

Gabrielle,

I know that you are quickly becoming a young lady. Likewise, many of your friends are becoming young adults and wearing teenage clothes and doing teenage things. This is fine. Please dabble in the teenage things and figure out what you will like when you are a teenager. That being said you need to relish these pre-teen years. Being a teenager is not a bed of roses. There are many cliques and social pressures that you will not necessarily experience in middle school.

These pressures and social morays will only get stronger and seemingly more important as each year goes on. In the end they are not but you will not realize that until you reach your 20's. The main reason I wanted to write this letter is to tell you to go ahead and be a 10 year old. If you want to play with your Build-a-Bears, go ahead. Do things from your earlier years. You will soon cherish those memories and they are passing soon enough. Fifth graders are stilled allowed to play with stuffed animals or tea sets or Barbies or whatever you please. You are growing up to fast but don't rush it.

Love
Daddy