Dear Great, Great Nephew,
I’m writing you this letter at time when I don’t even know if one of your great grandparents or great aunt/uncles were privileged produce you to our family lineage. Hopefully, you will never have to experience the likes of what I’m experiencing today. I want to you to be able to enjoy life, yet I want to you to learn from your experiences. My first important lesson I want you to learn is that it is important to always be true to yourself. Your great, great auntie didn’t start off following her own advice. In fact, it took me a lot of years to adhere to this advice. I was born into the wrong body. Yes nephew, auntie is transgendered. I knew as a little child I was different. I didn’t understand what I was going through, yet I continued to maintain a gender facade in order to appease my family and society. People, especially children, can be cruel and blatantly hurt your feelings. Despite this, you must never conform to other’s expectations of you. Be proud of yourself in spite of your ethnicity, gender, sexual preference, or handicaps. Never lose who you are because it could eventually damage the mental psyche.
My next lesson to you nephew is that you research you family history. Your family began in Virginia. You come from a line of doctors, lawyers, and even journalists such as me. My love of words and writing drove me to achieve dream as a professional writer by obtaining my bachelor’s degree from Rutgers University in 2020. Never be afraid of success or failure. It may sound cliché but if you fall, get back up. There may times where you may feel a since of uncertainty. Lord knows, I’m experiencing that feeling right now with the presence of this unknown global pandemic called the coronavirus. Learn from your mistakes as well as mine and the rest of your family. This will ensure that you will avoid making the same errors in judgement committed by your ancestors.
Lesson three is to maintain love for everyone including your enemies. You’ll learn through your growth in life that everyone will not like you. You will encounter opposition from individuals who you may know and those you may not know. It’s okay! You may agree to disagree as long as you maintain a level of respect for them. When I say love your enemies, I don’t mean that you have to be in love with them. Human decency is required. Any act of kindness or charity, big or small, goes a long way. If you don’t believe me nephew, I would challenge you to read the Bible, Matthew 5:44. I’m unaware of your religious faith however reading this will reinforce my advice on the importance of loving your enemies. This lesson will tie in to my fourth lesson.
The fourth lesson has to do with religion. Our family believed in Christianity of various denominations. Be it Baptist, Episcopalian, or Church of God In Christ (COGIC), our family has had rich tradition that is steeped in the roots of the church. I can’t and won’t suggest what religion you decide on adapting. I will, however, suggest that you do find belief in some higher power that will guide you through life during both happy times as well as times of strife and chaos. You will find comfort in that faith during some of the dark times you may come across. I am using my religious faith that this letter will reach you long after I’m gone from this earth. I pray that this letter reaches you in good health and a blissful juncture in your life.
My fifth and final lesson to you nephew is to dare to dream. If you can dream it, you can bring it into fruition. Create your reality by living out your dreams. I may never realize my dreams due to the spread of the coronavirus that is happening today. I’ve seemed to have fallen slightly ill and not I’m not sure if it due to the viral outbreak. As a matter of fact, I’m not sure if I will graduate of from college because the mass postponements that are occurring today. I’m trying to remain calm and stay optimistic amongst all of the confusion and uncertainty. However, because this virus has so many unknown factors, my future on this earth is also unknown. I don’t know how my story is going to end. I was unfortunate to produce any offspring of my own which deprives you of additional cousins. I do draw faith in that I know that you nephew will continue our family legacy. This legacy will continue whether you were born my nephew, biologically or not. Keep love alive.
Love eternally,
Auntie Imani Hayes
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