You’re No Better than Anyone Else and 17 Other Things to Know

Dear Daughter,

Tomorrow is your 18thbirthday and I’ve spent months fretting over the perfect gift for this occasion, something that would symbolize how much you mean to me and how proud I am of the woman you’ve become. It would need to be a gift that would adequately thank you for all you’ve given me (what a privilege it’s been to be your mom!) and also send you into the next phase of your life properly. But somehow, despite exhaustive searches, I have come up short.

So I have decided instead...