Dear Photograph

Dear Photograph,

            There you stand frozen in a moment with your father standing proudly beside you as you are getting ready to go to the junior prom in 1992.  You look so beautiful and young in your light pink prom dress, and you father standing there handsomely dapper in his black sweater and khaki pants.  I gaze at this photograph almost daily and always smile at the memory.  Nearly twenty years have passed since that photograph was taken.  I look at my younger self and wish that I could somehow reach through the glossy sheen of the photograph and provide her with some valuable insight that will make the intervening years just a little more bearable.  Alas, I cannot and I also know that if I did, I would not have developed into the person that I am today.

            A lot has changed in the twenty years since that photograph was taken.  Aside from the fact that I am twenty years older, I would have to say that I have accomplished many of the goals that I have set out for myself.  I did not know it when I was seventeen, but my life would be faced with more than enough challenges.  I look at myself in that photograph and see such promise and brightness in my eyes.  That same promise is still present in my eyes today when I gaze at myself in the mirror, but that brightness, although still there, has softened a bit due to the realities that I have experienced.  I am little more cynical and not has hopeful as I was back then. 

            The most drastic thing that has changed in my life since the night that photograph was taken is the fact that I lost my father.  As a family we shared a momentous journey through sickness and surgeries and moments of great joy and love that bonded us together.  My father, who stands there so proudly next to his beautiful daughter, was a vibrant, charismatic individual.  You can clearly see the love and pride of me shining in his eyes.  My father and I, during those intervening years, had a tumultuous relationship, as many fathers and daughters do, but it was one based on a solid foundation of love and respect.  My father left this earth on September 18, 2010 and he is still sorely missed.

            The most important lesson that I have learned since that night in 1992 is to cherish my life, live each day as the gift that it is, try to make lasting positive memories, and don’t worry about trying to be a perfect child, partner, friend or individual.  I have learned from gazing at this photograph of a father and his daughter that it is moments that are perfect, not people.  Photographs capture the essence of those perfect moments, and it is those moments that need to be cherished as they are what make life worth living.

                                                                       

                                                                                    Sincerely,

                                                                                    Melissa

Your Future Self