A large piece of my heart is going to Pennsylvania. My heart is always with you, so, in a sense, I'll be there with you. You are loved more than you know. You are a child of God. Never forget these things. Pray hard! Work hard! Call me often! I love you so much!
Philippians 4:6-7
Isaiah 40:31
Psalm 39:3-6
Laura (Boo Boo),
I am so proud of the young lady you have become. Not only as an athlete but more importantly as a person. You have been true to your morals and beliefs despite the pressures of life. I've enjoyed the journey of your hockey progression and all the moments we have shared together, both just us, as well as the whole family. You started telling us your dream was to play college hockey at a young age and you worked hard and pushed yourself to reach the goal even through the obstacles. Enjoy your college life, but know we are always there for you. Be coachable, play hard, practice hard. Be a great teammate.
"Work so hard, on and off the ice, that some young girl sees you and wants your autograph."
Love Dad (Gerald)
Good luck at college and on the Ice. What's new about me not being able to figure out what to write? LOL. I know you'll do great on the ice.
Love, Josh
Laura ~ Miss Thing :) ~
I am so proud to be your aunt. It has been such a joy to watch you grow up to the amazing young lady you are. I can't wait to hear about all of the experiences you will have in college and all the hockey games! Can I come and take more pictures? You know I can never have enough pictures of you! I love you more than words could ever express!
<3 Love, Aunt Sher-Sher
Laura,
I hope you enjoy your journey into adulthood and as a college student and athlete. I really enjoyed my time as your uncle. I hope one day you remember all the good times we had and all the time I spent going to watch you play hockey and dancing. Remember our Easter egg hunts and pizza eating contests.
As a former coach, I always liked to see my players get to achieve their dreams, but none as much as I love that my niece is getting to achieve hers. Always remember how much I loved you and am privileged I got to be your baby sitter and uncle.
Remember to pack your bags for college. It is a long way home to get anything you forget.
Remember to pack your hockey sticks. I hope you remember your pink stick with your name on it. I worked hard to make that. Score some goals but stop many more than you score.
Some people get in trouble in college, so it is always a wise thing to have a disguise. It might be needed if you TP the quad or have to sneak in after curfew.
Love, Uncle Randy
Dear Laura,
Let me begin by telling you that you are my favorite niece. I have known you since you were born and plan to continue to know you until I am no longer alive. Seriously, I have enjoyed watching you grow from a little helpless infant to a TALL, smart, and beautiful young woman who is prepared to go out into the world and kick a-(whoops) butt.
I expect you will make good grades, be an All-American hockey player, and get a job that inspires you and hopefully makes you rich. In many ways you are already rich. You have parents that love you and are willing to make sacrifices to help you achieve your goals and make your dreams come true. You have a brother that will always have your back. You have aunts, uncles, cousins, and friends that pull for you. And most importantly, God loves you so much that he gave his only son, who paid the ultimate sacrifice so you can live forever with him in Heaven. Nothing can be greater than that. When all else fails, stop, and talk to God!
Love, Uncle Greg
(By the way, you are my only niece.)
Laura,
I can hardly believe it is time for you to leave home for college! So many exciting times are ahead. I know you are excited to continue playing hockey and I know you will make lots of new, lifelong friends. Always seek the Lord's will for your life and he will direct your path. Have a wonderful first year in college!
Love, Aunt Anne.
Laura,
Congratulations on a great hockey career so far. But I know the best is yet to come. I hope you enjoy each and every moment of your next adventure. Best of luck!
<3 Paige
Congratulations! You will have so much fun in college and make wonderful friends and memories. Have a great time playing Hockey. I wish you all the best!!
Steve
Hey buddy, I hope you're enjoying this gift so far. I wanted to leave some advice and also just a nice message.
The biggest piece of advice I can offer you is to simply put yourself out there. Speaking from having times with multiple great friend groups and times with basically no one to reach out to, life is easier and more exciting when you've got people to enjoy it with. You may not have reflected on it, but you have the experience to understand that relationships flourish with time together and wilt when effort stops being put forth to sustain them. So, when you find people that you want to be a part of your life, put in the effort to keep them there.
Another piece of advice I can offer is to talk about anything that is bothering you instead of letting it build up. A lot of people drop out, or think about it seriously at least once. I really wanted to at one point during my sophomore year. I talked to my brother for a long time one afternoon and just talking about things helped me feel better and eventually move forward through a successful college career. You are a really fun person to be around so I know you will have plenty of people up there to talk to. However, if you ever need to talk to someone else who has gone through college, Steve, Paige, and me would be the three who have done it most recently. We would all be happy to listen. That really goes for anything with me. If you ever need to talk about something that you'd like to stay private or are afraid of being judged for, I will always be happy to talk to you about anything.
One last piece of advice would be to always trust yourself. People are generally much better at judging other people than they are at listening to those feelings. When you have a gut feeling about a person, try to listen to it. Just know your worth and stay safe.
On to more personal words. I want to start by saying how proud I am of you. You've worked hard to get through your primary education. You've worked hard to earn a spot playing collegiate hockey. You've worked a job to earn some money and experience. You've worked an internship related to your career goals. You have a lot of hard work ahead of you in life, but you have already accomplished a lot, so I know that you will succeed at whatever you decide to do moving forward.
I remember when our paternal grandfather passed away and our family got together at the house in Garner. You were just a baby at the time. I held you for hours that day; you were just a tiny little thing. Now you're way taller than I am and headed off to college. Between these two moments, there have been periods where we see each other a lot and periods where a long time passes between get togethers.
The times together are full of memories that I cherish. Playing baseball, kickball, and badminton in the backyard in Garner. Celebrations for birthdays, Thanksgiving, and Christmas. Building paper airplanes to fly against each other before Grandma's funeral, celebrating time together. Going to the few hockey games someone invited me to. Going to Taco Bell together after one of the games. The summer cleaning out the house in Garner. I really appreciated and enjoyed getting to spend so much time with you and Josh that summer. And, of course, you totally bailing on me during the Wedding instead of joining me in showing off me not being able to dance.
Have I gone on too long, or did you manage to get through all of that? I want to wish you the best of luck at going off to university, living on your own for the first time, playing hockey, and working towards your goals. I will miss you and hope you'll occasionally find time to come home to NC. I love you very much Laura.
-- Your favorite cousin, Sam.