The 11th Year Letter: An African Way of Life

 Dear Alicia, 

I am writing this letter to you after a few whirlwind months - Strings Concert, Outdoor Ed, multiple end-of-the-school year culmination projects, swim team, a ballet recital, and to cap it all off, an 18-day adventure to Southern Africa. Life has been chaotic, sweet, and full of adventure.

At eleven years old you are tenderhearted, creative, kind, and moody. You love history, math, and writing. You are an introvert to the core but have worked hard this year to build a strong group of friends. You have committed to memorizing all the Hamilton and Six song lyrics. You are obsessed with Greek Mythology and can quote long passages of Harry Potter. I can usually find you on a Sunday afternoon reading up in the tree in our backyard or playing Super Mario Odyssey on the couch. You have taken to learning Chinese on Duolingo and entertain us with a "random fact of the day" during dinner. You love a good graphic novel and a solid ghost story and are slowly making your way through Ron Chernow's tome Alexander Hamilton. You love a good long hike - only if I tell you the exact mileage before we begin. You are constantly practicing your battement jete and glisse and have found so much fun and joy in your weekly tap class. You will try any new-to-you food, making you such a fun travel buddy. You are intrepid, diligent, insightful, and delightfully weird. 

A few days after your fifth-grade promotion we packed our duffle bags and travel backpacks to head to South Africa, Zambia, and Botswana. We took surfing lessons, ate delicious food, wandered through museums on early modern man, and went on safaris'. While the animals were magnificent and the sunsets breathtaking - it was the stories that we found so captivating. So much of African history and culture are rooted in oral tradition and storytelling. These stories are passed from generation to generation throughout the continent for centuries to help people navigate life's challenges and triumphs. These stories are done not only with purpose but with undeniable beauty and flair. 

There is an old South African principle, ubuntu. The basic meaning of this Bantu term means "humanity." A literal translation is roughly "a person is a person through other persons." Archbishop Desmond Tutu better describes this perspective rather "I am human because I belong. I participate. I share. In essence, I am because you are." In fact, the word ubuntu is just one part of the Zulu phrase Umuntu ngumuntu ngabantu which literally means that a person is a person through other people.  This proverb is the bedrock of South Africa's society: the idea of common humanity. To feel true belonging, we must acknowledge humanity's interconnectedness, and this in turn provides a foundation for tolerance, inclusivity, and understanding. 

This past year has been a huge year of growth for you, and I am astounded by your maturity and quiet confidence. But you have also been living out this idea of ubuntu: You have worked hard to cultivate community. You have been sharpening your written storytelling skills. And you have developed new abilities to value diversity and cultural differences. 

Sometimes there are times when you want to lean into solitude. Sometimes we need the drive of competition to use as motivation. Life can hold heartbreak and loneliness, but it also can hold so much goodness and beauty. My hope for you, my sweet girl, is that you will lean into the power of ubuntu - because then you will be able to move mountains. 

I love you more than all the stars in the sky and the depths of the sea. 

Love, 

Mom