Dear Son,
Happy 18th bud! I’m so happy to see you develop all of these years and finally become an
adult. There have been so many ups and downs, but the one thing that’s important is that we’ve
gone through everything together and I want you to know who proud I am of you. You are
exactly what me and your mother wanted you to be, and I’m grateful to be apart of your life. I
want to tell you a story that I’ve never told you before. I really want to make this birthday a
special one.
It was December 31st, 2032. By this time, me and your mother were still dating. We were
in New York celebrating the ball drop. It was almost time for midnight, and I was scared to make
the next move. We had been talking about marrying and having a baby for the longest time, but
we didn’t think that would come to fruition. Once the ball dropped, I did it. I proposed. Everyone
was looking at us. Even the TV aired us. It took a moment for everything to process. Do I even
need to elaborate what happened next? She said yes to both opportunities. I thought it was the
most perfect opportunity to do it. Brand new year. Brand new us. Brand new everything. We
were ready for what was next. We had to give up a lot of time. Mom couldn’t go to work and I
had to sacrifice time to be with her. But guess what? 9 months later, you were brought into this
world, and we have never been that excited before.
I wanted you to be better than me. Since you were an infant, I wanted you to be the best
you could be. I sacrificed a lot to be there for you whenever you needed it. Your mother
sacrificed a lot to take care of you. There were some hard times we had to go through. But that
made everything worthwhile; I would sacrifice more time if I had to. You are the most important
priority to me, and that is a characteristic I want you to pass down. It was passed down to me by
your grandfather and I can’t thank him enough for that. If you do this, you will make your kids
even better than you, and that is the ultimate goal. Staying selfless throughout the process will
carry you more than you think. Make sure to always be loving your children. I’m glad that we
have a secure attachment, and that bond will never break. Be the same.
I’ve always wanted to cater to you. Obviously, rules are rules, and I wanted those to be
respected. You did a good job following those. There were times you broke rules, and I had to
lay down the hammer. But getting in trouble is good, too. It makes you learn what not to do in
life. Sometimes, the times you got in trouble made me proud, yet your mother was not happy
about it. Like that one time you fought a kid during the football game in self-defense. I respected
you even more after that incident. It is what it is, I wanted you to fight for yourself. I wanted you
to gain a sense of freedom as you grew up. I wanted you to be yourself. That’s the job of an
authoritative parenting style. I think I did a great job at letting you be yourself.
Like mentioned earlier, I want you to be selfless as you keep growing. Keeping your head
down and staying humble is an important characteristic a lot of people will respect. I want you to
take risks. If you don’t take risks, you’ll be staying at the same spot for the rest of your life. It
could be something you fail at, but at least you’ll learn how to comeback from that. Perhaps that
one business risk you take turns you into the richest person in the world. Nobody will know that
except for you. Sacrifice a lot of things for the things you love. When it comes to your girlfriend,
work, family, school, hobbies, do everything in your power to keep those your priorities.
Whenever you have kids, I want you to sacrifice a lot to be with them as much as possible.
Always be improving. No one is perfect, and me, your mother, the richest person in the world,
and even you are definitely not perfect. I want you to always look for ways to improve your
weakest points and strengthening the others. Never be satisfied. And always be you. Never try to
be someone else. You were created as an individual, and you need to stay that way. Use your
traits to your best ability. And if you ever need any help with any of these, you can always ask
for help. Don’t try to do things yourself. Me and your mother will always be there for you.
I hope that this letter makes you realize how much we love you. We want you to keep this
letter as a guide to your future life. It is only up from here, buddy!
Love,
Your father
Dear Mom and Dad,
Life has been pretty good. I’m doing well in all my academics, having great relationships
with my friends, and participating in things I’ve been wanting to do. I’m very happy that you
guys pushed me through the barriers when it came to school, work, chores, etc. It was definitely
the nurturing you both provided me with. Without those, I wouldn’t be the same as I currently
am. You both did everything in your power to love and care for me. I felt love, care, warmth, etc.
I never felt like I wasn’t being your main priority. I never felt a break in trust. I never
experienced anything that would influence our relationship. You all taught me how to interact
with other people. I remember being taught to respect everybody and abide by the golden rule. I
remember being taught to stick up for yourself whenever you feel you’re being attacked. I
remember being taught what not to say to other people. Those have influenced how I act around
other people. That influenced the great relationships I have today. You taught me how to deal
with morals. I know how to tell right from wrong. I know how to do what’s best and not what’s
easy or popular. You all only taught me how to do good and I can’t thank you enough. Those
factors have easily shaped my cognitive, social, and moral development.
You all have great strengths that shaped me. You guys are always acknowledgeable.
Whenever I had an issue, you would step in and assist me. Whether it be homework, advice, or
anything, I looked up to you first and you delivered. I appreciate the trust we can share together.
Another characteristic I’ll mention is keeping me in check. Obviously, I was a great kid growing
up; I never really got into trouble that much. Whenever it looked like I was doing something
wrong, you both would be the first ones to step in. And when I did get in trouble, you made sure
I wouldn’t do it again. Making dumb decisions will end in bad consequences, and I’m glad you
did all you could to put me back on track. It made me appreciate how good I have it compared to
many others. It taught me how to act and present myself. You both also pushed me through every
barrier as mentioned above. There were times I struggled. There were times I couldn’t overcome
anything. There were times I wasn’t doing anything to improve. You both stepped in and
provided me with a plan to keep moving forward. I can’t stress enough how thankful I am for
that. There are instances here in college where I don’t want to do anything with academics. I then
remember how I raised. It motivates me to get my homework done and then some more. Your
authoritarian parenting style was strict and sometimes hard to follow, but it made me keep my
head down and keep going. I knew growing up that not doing anything won’t benefit me in any
way. Now I can say I stay on the grind.
There is one thing I will comment on. I understand that yelling at your kids might get
them to do what you want, but it isn’t the best solution. I never felt disconnected from you all
because of the yelling; the secure attachment was and will always be there. I just want you to
realize how I really feel about it. Being yelled at isn’t the best feeling, and even though it did
help me, I feel like there are other things you could do to make things happen. Even when I did
something wrong in the house, something that makes me understand what I did wrong and to
prevent that from happening in a softer way would be a better solution. With that being said, you
all still made me a respectable man. I just wish some things were done differently.
I think you all influenced my cognitive and moral development the most. You all are the
most loving parents I can ever have. Tough love is real love. Even throughout the times I was
being a struggle, you still loved me and showed me how to love. I can use that love with my
future wife and my children. You all also showed me how to decipher right from wrong. By
experiencing everything with you all, internet, TV, or in-person, you gave me lessons on why
things are right or wrong. Nowadays, I can tell right from wrong on my own away from home.
I wanted to write this letter to show you how much I appreciate and love you both. You
all don’t realize how much these things mean to me. I’ll be sure to pass this along to my children.
You all will always be my role models in life and I can’t wait to see you both soon.
Love,
Greg Sarceno