20

This is an open letter to all of the important people in my life.

“Surround yourself with the dreamers and the doers, the believers, and the thinkers, but most of all, surround yourself with those who see the greatness within you, even when you don’t see it yourself” -Edmund Lee 

There are a lot of people in my life whom I would like to thank for the impact they’ve had on me, and unfortunately I don’t always have to chance to let these people know how much they really mean. I’ve been alive for twenty years now, and so I think it’s time for me to thank those who saw, and continue to see greatness in me, even when I don’t see it in myself.

To my parents:

I remember a few years ago you asked me what I thought of you, and I told you that it was probably best that you didn’t know. Well, now is the time for a partial response to your question because I’m sure that my perception of you will change (hopefully for the better!). You said I would appreciate you once I’m thirty-five, but I’m here to say that I’m fifteen years early.

You were the first people I met when I came into this world, you, collectively, are the reason I exist. I don’t think to say thank you, would even begin to do justice for all of the love and support you’ve given me over the last twenty years.

Thank you, for always pushing me to do better, to be better, and to never say, “I can’t” without trying first. Thank you for always telling me to keep my feet on the ground and never let anyone, or anything walk over me. Thank you for believing in me when I didn’t believe in myself, and for telling me to be proud of my strengths, despite how I unimportant I felt they were.

Thank you for helping me embrace who I am, and be proud of my bicultural identity, rather than try to shut it down, and for raising me bilingual. I don’t think I would’ve picked up a third language and be minoring it in had it not been for you. Thank you for taking me places with you, and showing me the world and all of the wonderful things that each country has to offer, and teaching me to appreciate all of the diversity that exists across the globe. I think if I hadn’t been so well traveled, and had such well-developed appreciation for global diversity, International Development wouldn’t have been my major, though now I can’t imagine myself studying anything else.

I know that this is something that I’m still coming to terms with, but moving around so much has really allowed me to have a broader view of the world and see what it is like to live in different places, and interact with people who have different mindsets. I know that because of all of our moves I don’t necessarily have a well defined “home”, but you instilled in me that as long as we, as a family were in one place, that was home.

You’re both two of the smartest and most hardworking people I know, and you continue to inspire me to have a love for learning, to constantly question and be curious about anything and everything, and to never say “no” to new things, even if they seem hard at first. You’ve taught me a lot about life, and continue to give me advice, even when I don’t ask for it! I don’t think I could have ever asked for better parents, and I will always be grateful to you for all that you’ve been able to provide for me throughout my entire life. And as always, I love you both dearly.

To my older brother:

As siblings, I know we’ve always had an interesting relationship. We fought when we were kids, and then I guess you decided to grow up (and maybe I did too). Pranjal, you’ve taught me a lot, more than you probably are aware of, but having you as my older brother has been a really fulfilling experience. First of all, I admire you for being so smart, seriously, you’re ability to learn things so quickly and your drive towards success is incredible. Even though we’re like fire and ice when it comes to our interests, I really respect you for being able to understand abstract concepts, and have such a passion for math and science. Through seeing you be so passionate about your interests, I think I’ve been able to use your example and try to learn as much as I can about the things that interest me. Second of all, now I probably don’t think I would ever find myself saying this, but thank you for being annoying, and for teasing me to the extent that you did—now I can use all of your tricks on other people! Even if I’ll never be able to defeat you and your ability to annoy me, you’ve taught me to deal with a lot of people whom I’ve come across thus far in life. Lastly, thank you for allowing me to learn from your experiences, I often find your advice to be quite useful. After all you were the first one to do just about everything! It’s been fun to watch you grow and change, and I can’t wait to see where you’ll end up in life because I’m sure you’ll be doing something really amazing!

To all of my friends:

I wouldn’t call myself someone who has ever had a lot of friends, but I think I’m definitely someone who goes for quality over quantity. For all of my friends who I’m no longer in touch with, I want you to know that I’ll never forget all of the fun memories that we shared. There will always be things that remind me of you, and I’m grateful to have known you when I did. Of course, Facebook keeps us somewhat connected, but maybe one day down the road we’ll meet up again, and it’ll be as if we never went our separate ways. I hope you’re all doing well, and leading lives that you’re proud of. I want to tell you, that if you ever need me, I’m here for you, no matter how many years have passed since we’ve seen one another.

For all of my current friends, my college friends, you guys are the best. I couldn’t have asked for better friends to spend every living second of every day with, you’re all incredible people. You guys get me through the good times and the bad, you’re all so supportive, smart, and funny— Thank you for being able to put up with my insanity, and for being my family away from home.  I can count on of all of you at any time of day (literally), for absolutely anything, and you’ll be there. I can’t wait to see where you all end up in life because I’m sure you’ll all go on to go amazing things in this world, and if any of you become famous, I’ll be proud to say I knew you. Soon, we too will go our separate ways, but I hope we stay in touch, and I hope that one day we meet again.

To everyone:

I’m so glad that I’ve had the chance to get to know all of you over the last twenty years because you’ve all had such powerful impacts on me. Whether I met you at birth, or just a year ago, thank you for coming into my life, and for sticking by me through thick and thin.

I wish all of you nothing but the best in life because that’s exactly what you all deserve. I couldn’t have asked to share my life thus far with more incredible people, and I can’t wait to see where the next twenty years will take me!

Love always,

Krithi