Dear Leah,

Even though you've been a teenager for two years, this felt like the year that really solidified the fact that childhood is over and the teen years are here! That's not just because of the increase in sassiness and moodiness that we've seen! In reality, your level of sass is nothing compared to what it could be, so we cannot complain. You have a heart of gold and genuinely want to make life as sweet and easy as possible for those around you!

The real truth is that you are undoubtedly a teen because of the huge jumps in maturity that we've witnessed over the past year. Prior to this year, you still seemed to have so much childlike innocence and wonder. That was never a bad thing, and truth be told, our hearts hurt just a bit knowing that you have let some of that go. However, in letting go of that, you've begun to grow into the most incredible young lady. You've taken all of your most wonderful qualities and carried them into the teenage years. 

You are a loyal friend and family member....always putting your loved ones first. You don't have enemies and treat people with kindness (even if they're not in your inner circle). You have a great group of girlfriends and have chosen them carefully amongst all of the other drama and harshness that can come with teenage friendships. You make friends wherever you go and do an amazing job of drawing people together. That sometimes comes at a cost - spending a bit too much time on your phone! However, it's worth it to see you so happy and making the most of your high school days. 

Watching you move onto high school in such a flawless way has made us so proud! You chose a heavy academic load and are working so hard to adjust to the rigor and high expectations. You keep yourself organized and never have to be reminded to put your schoolwork first! You've continued to grow in your ability to advocate for yourself and set yourself up for success. When things get challenging, your initial instinct is to give up, but you do a great job of pushing past that and getting to the other side of your frustrations. Aside from the academic side of school, you've done a great job of getting involved! You went out on a limb and played tennis for the high school team. You didn't know a single soul on the team, but made a ton of friendships by the end of the season. Now, you've jumped into basketball and are rediscovering your love for that while having a blast forming new friendships there. You were the ring leader for your Homecoming Olympics team and did a great job of coordinating all of that. You also have pushed through some tough days in band, where the transition to the high school level has been much harder than anticipated. We are genuinely excited to see what the next few years hold. You are already rocking it at LWC and we know the future is bright for you there!

And, when high school is over - which we know will happen way sooner than we'd like - we know you will move on to do amazing things in life! You have never strayed from your innate desire to be a teacher or do something with kids. You continue to seek opportunities to explore that and with each experience, you grow more and more confident in your decision to follow this path. You jump at the chance to spend time with our neighbors' little girls and your help with them is truly a blessing. You've continued to help with the little kids at church and do an amazing job there. You jumped headfirst into helping at Miss Jill's dance camp this summer and she said you were an absolute natural with kids! You've taken on a leadership role with the junior high youth group and are building into younger girls there. And, on top of all of that, you took the child development class first semester in the hopes of being able to get involved with the preschool program at the high school and the teaching internships. There will be no convincing you otherwise - you were made to be in a profession where you work with kids!

We have really loved watching you grow so much in this past year. At the core of who you are, you are still the sweetest and most genuine girl. You stay true to who you are and do a great job of fighting against all of the negativity that comes with being a teenager. We hope and pray that you always find the strength, confidence, and bravery to be yourself...you are just far too amazing to be anything other than yourself! Fifteen years of loving you has been easy and we are so very proud to call you our daughter.

Love,

Dad and Mom