Fifth in a series

Respect Everyone but Be Intimidated by No One

My letters to a woman on her eighteenth birthday

By Ridvan Celik on iStock (image licensed by author)

This is the fifth in a series of letters I wrote to my granddaughter when she was six to be read on her eighteenth birthday. I hope to be there for the big event… but in a world of uncertainty, and being a guy of a certain age, there are no guarantees of a tomorrow, which prompted this letter and the many others to her containing thoughts on life, love and finding your way as a young woman in this sometimes hard life.

My life has been a wondrous journey. I have been privileged to work with thousands of young adults trying to find their place and way forward in the world and I have learned much from them

Their struggles and lessons are things we can all learn from, especially one who just turns eighteen and is finding her own path forward.

This wisdom of the years is something I want to share with my granddaughter, but I may not be there for her as the person she might need to help her find her way, but my words can carry the love and hope I have for her and her future.

I wrote these letters to her in the hope my hard-acquired lessons of life might ease her journey when she is old enough to understand and perhaps learn from what I…