Dear Daughter,

I can’t believe you’re already so grown up! I feel like just yesterday you were born into this world, full of so much hope. I am so proud of the little girl you are, someone who stands up for the underdog and looks forward to the simple things in life. But as you continue getting older, it’s time to prepare you for some things that are going to get thrown at you here very soon, if not today.

I'm sorry that you'll have to experience school shootings. Once a week you’ll have to worry about a bad guy coming into your school and killing some of your friends. You’ll have to pay attention to where your teacher tells you to go when this happens and always be quiet during the drills. Once a week you’ll have to take cover and watch other students and teachers in your school be killed. Once a week.

I'm sorry you'll have to experience sexual assault. Of the other nine girls in your class, one of you is going to be sexually assaulted. Your teacher, your peers, your best friend’s family member or anyone, could assault you at any time. It is going to happen to one of you and as a result of this, you will be four times more likely to develop drug abuse and PTSD when you get older. You’ll have to deal with making guys leave you alone and being shrugged off by everyone saying you’re lying. Make sure to never leave home without your pepper spray.

I'm sorry you'll have to experience suicide. As a female, you will be twice as likely to experience depression and three times as likely to attempt suicide. When you try and receive help, you may even be pushed aside and told you’re dramatic. You’ll have to prepare yourself to hold your feelings inside, be ignored by those saying they’re going to help you and get denied any kind of sympathy from the world.

I'm sorry you'll have to experience eating disorders. As you start going through puberty, you’ll start understanding and seeing more that the other girls care about their bodies so much to do drastic things. One of your friends will stop eating and will eventually develop an eating disorder so that they can feel good about themselves around the guys. You’ll have to prepare yourself to have conversations about a lack of self-confidence, binging and purging and how to get help for an eating disorder.

When you get to college, you’ll have to start paying much more attention to your surroundings at all times for the constant fear that one of your classmates will rape you and then get away with it. You’ll be denied certain things because you’re a female, looked down upon by male superiors, and have to work twice as hard for things your male peers get easily.

There’s much more this world will do to you that I cannot prepare you for. You will experience things during your life that you never thought would happen. As your mom, I will do my best to protect you and save you from this scary world we live in, but the reality is that there is so much hate and sadness in the world that I cannot protect you from.

The world is not a safe place for you but my heart sure is.

Love,

Your mom