"April 30th, 1997
You Ain't See Nothin' Yet Kid...
Tomorrow, you will be born to two loving parents, in a great big loving family. You're name won't be Frederick Vincent Sandas III, or Benjamin Frederick Sandas, like your father wants. You'll be named Dylan Graham Sandas. It means God of the Ocean Waves, and oh, just wait, you'll love watching the water come out of the hose in the backyard of the house, and playing with water. Name really fits the bill!
You'll get the two greatest godparents in the world. Your Uncle George, and your Aunt Jodi. They will lead you in ways you'll never believe. They will protect you with their lives, and become so close to you. Uncle George will become your Confirmation Sponsor too.
You don't realize it yet, but your life is going to have so much meaning in other peoples lives. You are going to make people smile, you'll make them laugh, make them cry, and help people. You are going to be admired by some, and hated by others, but hey, that's life kid. Your life is going to be great!
You've already given your parents, family, and family friends multiple heart attacks, when you were almost lost in a car accident a few months before you were to be born. You also will make your mom get a C-Section tomorrow, because you didn't have enough fluid for your head, (Nice going bud!)
But you yourself will go through your fair share heartaches and losses son, so brace yourself! You'll lose your last grandfather, Papa, at the age of two and a half. You'll lose one of your aunts on your mothers side in the sixth grade, and you'll lose some family members because of it. You'll lose a friend of your future cousin Mack, named Jake at a young age. You'll lose your favorite aunt on your mothers side to cancer, when you're going to be a senior in high school. It will devastate your family.
You'll be born almost completely deaf in both ears, and have surgery at the age of two. You'll have surgery for a hernia in the stomach at the age of six. You'll have appendicitis, and go into the hospital at the age of seven. You'll think and cry for an hour with your mother, that at the age of a little over four, you've lost your father, and two uncles, as you watch an event on the news unfold, later called '9/11'.
But life won't all be bad things. You'll actually see that your life is pretty great! You'll get two excellent cousins in August of 1998 and January of 2000, named Mack and Connor. You'll go to Sacred Heart School in North Merrick, and become friends with the greatest fourteen people ever. You'll get a sister on March 15th, 2003. You'll be first in the nation on a Social Studies Test in the fifth grade, (Don't worry, you're last in the line for a reason!)
You'll be elected Class President of Sacred Heart in the eighth grade. You'll be an interviewer for Newsday. You'll be in two plays in your life. You'll go to Kellenberg Memorial High School. You'll make Varsity Bowling as a Freshman. You'll become Captain. You'll sing in the chorus for four years. You'll be famous in that grade of yours. You'll fall in love. You'll go to a great college in Hofstra University. You'll become a star!
You'll become a Mets, Jets, Islanders, and Knicks fan. Don't bandwagon other teams, and read, always read, because it is going to help you find your career later on in life.
You won't be rich in the pocket, but you'll be rich in the heart, (Pretty deep right!, I know, you'll become something of a poet when you're older.)
Your mother won't be a doctor, or some big fancy lawyer, but a nurse in a Hospital, right down the road from your house, for the first three years of your life. She will wheel you there every now and then in your Red Wagon. That job will close down and end, and she will take up a job at Hofstra University, and work long hours for fifteen years, to pay for your college. It's a big deal
Your father isn't some big shot snooty-fruity asshat. Instead, he will be the hardest working and strongest person you'll ever see. You'll become his little 'partner', as you will help him plow the snow, and help him around the firehouse.
He won't be home a few days in the middle of September in 2001. Don't worry, he is busy being an American hero, and a saint to those who need his help. Take care of mom for those few days. And get ready to cheer your brains out on September 21st, because your favorite player, on your favorite team, is going to do something extraordinary!
He will be elected chief when you're in high school, and you'll help him through it. Your family is going to show you the right way to live life, I guarantee it!
You need your parents, and they need you. You need to be a role model for your sister, your cousins, and your friends. Now life may get confusing I know this, but just follow the lead of your heart, and your family, and always hold dear the ones you have lost.
Signed, in Peace and Love... Always,
DGS
P.S: Remember that closing line, you're going to need it someday!"
So that is a fun little exercise that I did. It actually made me tear up a little bit in some spots, because your are writing down a brief account of your life story.
Did this inspire you to want to write an open letter to yourself? What would you disclose? What would you keep a secret?
Peace and Love,
DGS
Quotes of the Day: "Go for it right now! The future isn't promise to anyone!" - Wayne Dyer
"Love is space and time measured by the heart, and not the brain!" - Marcel Proust
"If you want a guarantee, buy a toaster!" - Clint Eastwood
"You miss 100% of the shots, you don't take!" - Wayne Gretzky