Busting Through Doorways

It's a lot to ask of our seventeen and eighteen year olds to know what they want to do with the rest of their lives, isn't it? Some do, but others, like my daughter Grace, do not. And that's okay. She thinks the syllogism of her life is; elementary school + middle school + high school + college = the rest of her life. It may feel like that to her, but it's not. College is just the next step in her life, not the defining step. It's hard to see the bigger picture at seventeen years old when there's still so much life to experience.

The summer before her junior year, she had to face what life after high school is going to look like. She knew it would be college, but that was about it. She was overwhelmed and didn't know where to start. What doorways would she have to walk through to get where she wanted to be? A lot. But I knew she could do it, because I have watched Grace go through doorways her whole life.

There was Kindergarten Grace who fearlessly walked into school, found her name tag, then hugged me good bye without any tears (well, except for my own tears). Then came Second Grade Grace who could not pass a spelling test no matter how much she studied those godforsaken words. She persevered through those tortuous years until she finally reached the age of Chromebooks and autocorrect. Fourth Grade Grace had to adjust to a new school, and Fifth Grade Grace navigated the changes in her friend group as the girls found different interests and went their separate ways.

Sixth Grade Grace decided she wanted to be in the school play, and suffered through her first role as a piece of seaweed in the production of The Little Mermaid. She went on to spectacularly deliver her one, singular line in the seventh grade production of Newsies; then landed leading roles in the eighth, tenth and twelfth grade productions. We can't forget Ninth Grade Grace who decided to join show choir even though she discovered during the middle school musicals that choreography was not her strong suit - it was a little reminiscent of her second grade spelling challenges. But she practiced, and practiced, and practiced, until she turned those two left feet into dancing feet. Tenth Grade Grace bravely asked for help to find her way through a deep depression. Eleventh Grade Grace faced her fears, made her way to her guidance counselors office numerous times, and figured that whole college admissions thing out; and Twelfth Grade Grace got accepted into seven colleges, applied for over a dozen scholarships, and has it narrowed down to her top two picks.

I can't wait to see what College Grace, Twenty Year Old Grace, Thirty Year Old Grace, and all The Graces to come will do. Because my Grace doesn't just walk through doors, she busts right on through.

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Dear Grace

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