Chicken Soup for the Unsinkable Soul

Compiled By: Jack Canfield, Mark Victor Hansen, and Heather McNamara
Year: 1999

Chicken Soup for the Unsinkable Soul is a collection of 101 short stories, poems, and quotes meant to help people through times of difficulty. The first one that really grabbed my attention is actually a letter written from a mom to her daughter, Jesse.

In the letter, Jesse just finished high school and is a couple of weeks away from starting college. She's the middle child of three and watched her mother fight cancer. This may sound a little weird, but I felt like it was my mom talking to me. There were so many similarities in the anecdotes told about Jesse's life and my actually life- I couldn't help but feel a connection.

At one point, the mom says:
I know you've been looking forward to this moment for a long time. I've watched you during this past your, as the countdown has become a reality. You've worked hard and planned. That's one of the things I like best about you, your ability to run a good race. To set a goal, train and then go for it. . . . If life is a race-- though I really don't like to think this experience is anything we should rush through-- I think you're going to do well. You're in shape, you've trained hard and you have the tenacity to make it over the obstacles. I'm proud of you.

This is definitely something my mom would say and has said to me. Typically, I love setting goals, and I'm very reasonable in my goal setting. I can't recall a time that I've ever set a goal way too far out of my reach. And, not to say I always come out the victor compared to other people, but I do always make it to the finish line. I don't like to be defeated, especially when it's something that I control. For example, last spring I made my biggest goal. I decided to walk in the 3-Day Breast Cancer walk (I think I mentioned that previously). It's 60 miles and you must raise $2,200 in order to participate. Well, not being much of a walker and never having raised more than $20 in my life (and even then I had some help from my mom with Sallie Foster!), my mom practically laughed in my face when I told her of my newest endeavor. Well, if you know me, you know what I did. I defensively say, "I can to do it, and I will!" I held my head up high, turned around, and walked away- refusing to hear any negativity. I made an action plan, suck to it, and finished with flying colors. (And on the plus-side, I even made my mom cry she was so proud.)

Out of my sisters and me, I've always been the one that's kind of "out there." My mom always said my middle name should have been "Go" because I don't like to sit still and do nothing. I'm always on the run looking for adventure. Like Jesse, I can't wait to leave high school and prove myself out in the "real world." But, also like Jesse, my mom did give me "two essentials-- roots and wings." While I do need to get away, I'll always find my way back home. As long as my mom knows that, I think she'll be able to let go. And, like every caring mother, I guarantee the last advice my mom will give me before I leave for college is, "Enjoy the view. Remember you've got teammates who'll help when the course is rough. Take time to rest every once in a while, and whenever you need to. . . use your wings."