A Letter for You to Keep...

Dear Cata,

The moment you arrived, my life changed. From that day forward, everything I did had the purpose of teaching you something. Since then, your life has been in constant change: from saying your first words to later holding your own conversations; from barely being able to crawl to running around the house nonstop. Every day you now find yourself making new friends, eating new foods, and discovering something new about the world. The list goes on and on. At the tender age of seven, these experiences have just started and hopefully you will not cease to experience them for a lifetime.

There are so many experiences and exciting changes to come for you, Cata. I’m so excited to watch you experience them! But I also want to share a little trick with you.

When a new experience lies in front of you, whether it be sharing your school supplies with your brother or flying to an amazing new country with your family, you must say to yourself “I am thankful for this moment.” This way you can take moments, independently of how they make you feel, and learn from them.

By making the most of these learning opportunities, you will remain true to your essence. That means being proud of who and what you love. That also means respecting that each and every person you meet needs to be respected for who and what they love to do. You should also know that sometimes, things will not make sense. When faced with that, don’t ever stop doing what you do now: Ask why? When? How? What? Sometimes you will get an answer, but other times, you will get something else. That “something” will help you fuel your determination.

Cata, your ability to question, your determination to continue moving forward and your empathetic heart will change the world. Be inspired by change; be inspired to change. Change what you eat, change your aspirations in life, change what needs to change all around you! That’s why the only way to make ourselves and the world a better place is to be accepting of change.

So go on and become the first female president of the USA, become the first woman to win a F1 race, or why not, get us all to simply say you were the first person to walk on Mars. But don’t forget that first, you must become your own reason to succeed!

Since the day you were born my life’s focus has been making sure you live your life to its fullest. That you enjoy a simple meal, to see you happy while playing with friends, and to dream about what’s to come.

I hope to be next to you for a long time, helping every moment I can and every moment you need. When I am not with you, I hope this letter leaves you with a few thoughts that could help you enjoy life while changing the world bit by bit.

With all my love,

Papá