Daily Prompt Challenge: The 14-Year-Old Guat

Dear 14-year-old Guat,

“Be O.K. with having a bad hair day. The ‘bad hair’ is usually not about the hair, but about the way we look or the way we feel.”

You were smart and strong at this age. You didn’t worry so much about bad hair days. You were sort of ahead of your time and I don’t know where you got it from, but it’s awesome that you had it.

Keep listening to that little voice inside you, the one that tells you that bad hair days can be fixed with Aquanet hairspray or baseball caps. You’re absolutely right, it’s not the end of the world.

And, if you run into someone who likes you even when you’re having a bad hair day, like Rafa, definitely hang out with him. He doesn’t care that you’re a tomboy. He doesn’t care that you don’t wear make-up. He doesn’t care that you don’t wear pink. He thinks it’s cool that you like The Lakers and The Dodgers. He thinks it’s cool that you play sports. He’ll laugh at your jokes. He thinks you’re funny. He likes your sense of humor. He gets who you are and likes you as is.

Say yes when he asks to walk you to the bus stop. I know you’ll be nervous, but don’t look down, smile when he holds your hand. The butterflies mean you like him. Say yes when he asks to take you to the dance. Don’t say you’ll think about it, just say yes, right away. Time is important. You know you want to go.

Hang out with him for the next four months. You’ll be sad if you don’t. He’ll send you notes in class. He’ll eat lunch with you everyday. He’ll make you laugh. He’ll be your friend. He’ll tell his cousin Francisco to stop being such a jackass and to leave you alone during sixth period.

He’ll take you to Thrifty’s for an ice cream cone and know that you’ll pick chocolate every time, but he won’t care.

Hang out with him for the next four months, not just two. Hang out and keep talking about sports. Keep talking about your dreams when you grow up. Listen to his Fernando Valenzuela stories. Buy him some Corn Nuts. Let him hug you as many times as he wants to when he says good-bye. Smile every time he holds your hand, even on bad-hair days. It’ll be worth it.

You see, he’ll end up getting sick. Really sick. He’ll get something called Leukemia and you won’t ever see him again. It’ll be your first lesson with cancer. And it’ll suck, because you’ll miss him. So write him as many notes as you want to. He’ll keep them in his sock drawer, next to his baseball cards. They’ll probably make him smile when he’s not feeling very well. He’d like to think that you like him too, even when he’s having bad hair days because he has no hair at all.

Always be kind.

The Guat.

 

Challenge provided by Word Press Daily Prompt.