Happy 16th Birthday Vedamsh

  

Dear Vedu, Happy 16th birthday.


I can’t believe you are already sixteen. It feels like it’s been only couple of years back I was holding you with my hands, and now you are standing taller than me. I wish you all the best with so many great things to come. As you hit this milestone birthday, I would like to clear your misconception that “I don’t like you” or “I don’t give you due credit where it’s needed”. Below are the 16 great qualities I would always appreciate you for.

  1. From the day you were born, you were always good at eating food/ Sleeping well in the nights. These may be silly things to mention, but these were always been great gifts for us as parents.
  2. From a very young age, you never brought problems/ troubles into our home. You were always behaving in all the schools you have been to. 
  3. You have aways had great sense of manners in all social settings, so many people appreciated you for that in the absence of you.
  4. You have always been kind to most people that you have encountered in your life, except for your brother and me. I would like you to be kind to us, but I am happy that you are very kind to others.
  5. You have a great deal of empathy for others. You are very good at understanding and deeply caring about the feelings of others, I wish you to explore more of this feature in you, if you want to be a great lawyer in your future.
  6. Not just empathy for others, you are also a great friend. Cherish it and be a good friend for all the folks. Take a genuine interest in what others want from you.
  7. You have always been a happy individual since the day you were born, something changed in your teenage years, please get back to that happy-mind state. I am sure you can achieve great things, once you get back to that state of mind.
  8. Coming to the sport - I enjoy every bit of how you play your volleyball. But I truly believe that you can do even better things. As I appreciate you, I still think you can improve much more in the game.
  9. Coming to the studies – you have always been a very responsible kid. As I appreciate you for it, I also recognize the fact that I criticize you a lot in this aspect. Reason being, I didn’t have the same opportunities that you have been having. As a result, I always think that you can do even better.
  10. I would always like to appreciate you for your intelligence; the reason you don’t see me appreciating you is because you lack the hard work/ practice. I hope you put in more work, and I am sure you can achieve anything you would have wanted.
  11. I know for a fact that you are very easy to be coached. You are always open for guidance, feedback and mentorship. While I appreciate you for these qualities, I would also want you to learn to be persevering, learn to work through the hard things in life. Never give up in the middle of things.
  12. I have also observed many times that you are curious to ask questions about certain things in life. Please continue to show genuine love for learning in general. Age does not matter for learning, sometimes from young people too.
  13. I have seen you confident a lot of the times, but have also seen you timid in certain situations, I wish you to get into the practice of continuous learning and hardworking. Only way in my opinion to be self-confident.
  14. You are very generous at times of need. I would love you to become more and more generous in the future. 
  15. You are also a resilient personality by nature. I always wish you to bounce back and learn from your mistakes or setbacks. But, remember – please never do silly mistakes, these are the ones that drag you down. 
  16. Finally, since the day you were born to this day and every day in my future, as long as I live – YOU ARE MY LUCKY CHARM.