Dawn Walker
My age has crept up on me. I mean, while I have always been aware of each passing birthday, the actual age of my physical body has crept up on me. I consider myself culturally hip. I will read anything. I will watch almost anything. I will talk about anything. One would think that all of these things equal a mature person. However, this is not to be true about me. I am vainer than I will ever admit aloud. I find myself more aware of my physical image. I know, I know – it’s what’s on the inside that counts, right. No – not for me. While I don’t care what you look like and I only care about your soul, I care about my looks. The skin around my eyes isn’t quite as tight as I remember it being just a short time ago. Another thing, a two piece bathing suit doesn’t actually look as good on me as I think it should. I am also finding that I would rather wear things with a stretchy waist band – do cute clothes even come in stretchy waist band sizes? Am I even too old to worry about cute clothes? It doesn’t help that I am around a beautiful young seventeen year old almost every day. She is a student worker who just went to the prom and is eagerly awaiting graduation (10 days and counting). Her heart is as big as Texas and her brain is on the verge of learning more about the world than she ever thought possible. This sweet soul often seeks my counsel on everything from shoes, her parents, college, and what she is going to be “when she grows up.” I have spent the last few weeks listening to her and aching for her. The world is at her feet and she isn’t even aware of life beyond her graduation night. I have been keeping an ongoing list of the things I want to tell her but won’t because she will learn them soon enough.
~Take care of your skin – all the tanning in the world may look great against the beautiful prom dress, but when I thought that too. I have since had three cancerous “sun spots” removed from my twice her age body.
~ Take care of your spirit. Don’t allow anyone to tear you down or apart now or ever. Grow into a strong woman with a mind of your own and self-esteem.
~ Set a good example for my little girl and all of the little girls who are watching you age. Many will idolize you and emulate your choices just because they love you.
~Of all the friends you have today, there will only be one, maybe two, that you will keep throughout your life. Choose your friends wisely.
~Don’t rush into adulthood. Be responsible but don’t make adult decisions with your body and mind that you aren’t physically, financially, or emotionally ready to live with for the rest of your life. Be young and free just as long as you can.
~Your job, body, home, and many other things may be taken away or permanently change. However, an education is something that can never be taken away from you. Don’t stop with high school.
~Exercise your body and spirit and don’t be afraid of change. There is an old saying that the only thing that doesn’t change is change itself. Believe it – nothing stays the same.
There are probably a ton of other things that I will wish I had told this young person long after she has left my life, just as I wish there are some things my elders had told me. I’m not sure I would have listened – I thought I knew everything at the age of eighteen. Fortunately I still have the same best friend I had at that age. We have each had marriages, children, successes and failures, and we say to each other frequently enough, “if we knew then what we know now…
© Dawn Walker, 2005, all rights reserved
Dawn Walker is a wife, mom, and writer living in Oklahoma. Her first fiction story, Daddy's Girl, was published in October 2004. This book focuses on a character who was sexually abused as a child and seeks retribution from her abuser. Ms. Walker is an advocate against child abuse and is currently researching state laws relating to abused children and children dsplaced from their parents. For more information on Dawn, please visit
www.dawnrwalker.netwww.queenpower.com
