Saturday, June 4, 2011

A letter to my nephew...

Dear Jonas,

First off, I just want to say what an amazing kid you are. You are so creative and outgoing and fun. I am proud to be your uncle.

I know you are in school now, and I wanted to take this opportunity to say a few things to you that I wish someone had said to me when I was first starting school.

In school, you will meet a lot of kids who will try to tell you what is "cool." They will tell you how to dress, how to act, what to be interested in. Looking back on my school days, I now see that a lot of the things kids in school thought were cool actually weren't that cool.

Some of the "cool" kids were pretty mean to the kids who weren't "cool." They would make fun of kids who were smart or creative or different, or didn't dress like the "cool" kids. In school, there is a lot of pressure to be like the "cool" kids, even if you know in your heart that they are not very nice people.

Let me tell you something, buddy. The absolute coolest thing you can do is to be yourself, to be exactly who you are. You are smart. Don't be ashamed of that. You are creative. Keep on creating. Keep writing songs, drawing pictures, making up stories.

As I've gotten older, I have realized something that is really really important--no one can tell you what is "cool." You get to decide what is cool. And let me tell you--you are one of the coolest kids I know, just the way you are. I love your artwork, your songs, your stories, your sense of humor.

Be exactly who you are, and if some "cool" kids try to tell you to be someone you are not, don't listen to them, buddy. Know that you are cool just the way you are.

Love,

Uncle Jesse