Be Yourself. Trite, But True.

Dear Daphne,

Don't ever let anyone make you feel like you're not good enough. You are awesome, and they are wrong. When I was younger, I always tried to make myself into what other people wanted me to be. I wanted to be what other people thought was cool, what other people thought was pretty, and what other people thought was smart. I didn't realize until I got older that most other people didn't know any more about cool, pretty or smart than I did.


Surround yourself with people who think you're great, and who think they're great, too. People who don't like themselves will usually try to make you dislike yourself. You don't have time for people like that.

Mean kids might make fun of your name. They may tease you because you share a name with a girl from Scooby Doo, an old cartoon from when I was a kid. Try not to let this bother you. Instead, smile and remind those ass hats that Daphne was the coolest chick on the show.

Be smart. One day, you're going to meet someone, maybe several someones, who try to tell you that smart girls aren't attractive. This is a lie. I have never met a guy (or a girl, if that's how you turn out) worth a damn who didn't think that smart girls were the hottest thing going. If you have to get glasses, wear them with pride. But pick a cute pair. Being a nerd doesn't mean you can't look your best.

Remember that there is nothing wrong with being a nerd. Some of the coolest things in life are nerdy: Buffy the Vampire Slayer, Battlestar Galactica, Dollhouse, The Wheel of Time series, Wired Magazine, The History Channel, video games, Neal Stephenson, William Gibson, anime, manga, The Discovery Channel, Carnegie Mellon, Buggy, Dr. Horrible's Sing-Along Blog and Weezer all kick serious ass.

And speaking of things that kick ass, I'll just leave this here for you:

I'm so proud to be your mother, and I think you're the greatest kid on the planet.

Love,
Mom

P.S. It is also perfectly acceptable to your father and me if you decide that you're NOT a nerd. You can be whatever you want to be. Except a Mean Girl. More on those later.