From my dad, for my graduation.

Entrust your works to the LORD,
and your plans will succeed.

Proverbs 16:3

May God bless you and protect you.
May God bless you so you can continue to live.

Honestly, this was what I expected my dad would give me (lmao). It's crazy because I think my dad and I have very similar personalities, so we often end up clashing a lot. He has his opinions, I have my own, and we're both very loud about it, so we've had two too many yelling matches. Regardless, I'm thankful for this letter because rereading this tears me up a lot, because despite him not saying the words "I love you," I'm glad I can understand that he does from this letter. I'm really happy to know I've been receiving unconditional love my entire life.
I hope he knows he's a pretty good dad, at least for me.

From my mom, for my graduation.

Dear daughter - Romans 12:12 - Rejoice in hope, endure in affliction, persevere in prayer.

Daughter, mommy loves you a lot with all my heart
God blesses you, God will be with you. God will always be besides you. Put God first, okay? Mommy loves you.

When we first moved to the states, I spent a good majority of my childhood with my mom since my dad had to work. It's kind of sad how, despite her being in my life longer, I'm more like my dad and I go to him for help more than I do her. Despite this, she loves me regardless. She tells me when she misses me when I come back home from UNT, she asks about my health and if I've eaten, and she's the one to tell my dad off when he's being too harsh towards me.
Even after 18  years of being here, I think my mom had the hardest time assimilating to the states and doesn't quite like it all that much, so I hope that, once she's satisfied with how we turned out, she goes back to Thailand, to her home, and that she gets her well deserved rest.

My little sister. She's four years younger than me but she's got such a foul mouth, but at least she's confident in herself. She's honestly so silly though. I adore her and am glad she was born. Despite her excessive cursing, I hope her future is as bright as her personality (lol).

My dumb little brother. He's only two years younger than me and I hope he does well on his life journey. He's actually so much smarter than me and I'm sure he knows that. If he doesn't... don't tell him, that's too embarrassing. I'm the oldest, I should be the wisest AND the smartest.

I'm not translating all that

First I want to say that I thank my God through Jesus Christ for all of you, because people everywhere in the world are talking about your faith.

Romans 1:8

This was a letter from the pastor's wife, who is also a family friend.
In the second part of the letter, she wishes me well and gave me a little advice about going to college and how God will help me navigate life.

Shiny's mom