Trust me on the sunscreen

Hi –

So it’s Mother’s Day and I’m going to try pretty hard to ignore it – and go about my business. I will acknowledge it here and now, and later when I call Grandma. Sara sent the following to me, and I’m putting it here because I think these are things you have, or would have said to me. Sentiments you would have passed along, or lessons you would have been there to see me learn. It’s called ‘Everybody is free (to wear sunscreen)’ and was written by Baz Luhrman, a man whose work I enjoy.

“Wear sunscreen. If I could offer you only one tip for the future, sunscreen would be it. The long-term 
benefits of sunscreen have been proved by scientists, whereas the rest of my advice has no basis, more reliable, than my own meandering experience.  I will dispense this advice now.

Enjoy the power and beauty of your youth. Oh, never mind, you won't understand the power and beauty of your youth until they've faded, but trust me in 20 years, you'll look back at photos of yourself and recall in a way you can't grasp now how much possibility lay before you, and how fabulous 
you really looked.

You are not as fat as you imagine.

Don't worry about the future, or worry, but know that worrying is as effective as trying to solve an algebra equation by chewing bubblegum.

The real troubles in your life are apt to be things that never crossed your worried mind: the kind that blindsides 
you at 4pm on some idle Tuesday.

Do one thing every day that scares you.

Sing.

Don't be reckless with other people's hearts; don't put up with people who are reckless with yours.

Floss.

Don't waste your time on jealousy; sometimes you're ahead, sometimes you're behind.  The race is long, and in the end, it's only with yourself.

Remember compliments you receive; forget the insults. (If you succeed in doing this, tell me how).

Keep your old love letters; throw away your old bank statements.

Stretch.

Don't feel guilty if you don't know what you want to do with your life.  The most interesting people I know didn't know at 22 what they wanted to do with their lives; some of the most interesting 40 year olds I know still don't.

Get plenty of Calcium.  Be kind to your knees -- you'll miss them when they're gone.

Maybe you'll marry, maybe you won't. Maybe you'll have children, maybe you won't.  Maybe you'll divorce at 40; maybe you'll dance the funky chicken on your 75th wedding anniversary.

Whatever you do, don't congratulate yourself too much or berate yourself, either.  Your choices are half chance, so are everybody else's.

Enjoy your body: use it every way you can.  Don't be afraid of it or what other people think of it; it's the 
greatest instrument you'll ever own.

Dance...even if you have nowhere to do it but in your own living room.

Read the directions (even if you don't follow them).

Do not read beauty magazines; they will only make you feel ugly.

Get to know your parents; you never know when they'll be gone for good.

Be nice to your siblings: they're your best link to your past and the people most likely to stick with you in the future.

Understand that friends come and go, but for the precious few you should hold on.  Work hard to bridge the gaps in geography and lifestyle, because the older you get, the more you need the people you knew when you were young.

Live in New York City once, but leave before it makes you hard.

Live in Northern California once, but leave before it makes you soft.

Travel.

Accept certain inalienable truths: prices will rise, politicians will philander, you too will get old; and when you do, you'll fantasize that when you were young, prices were reasonable, politicians were noble, and children respected their elders.

Respect your elders.

Don't expect anyone else to support you.  Maybe you have a trust fund, maybe you'll have a wealthy spouse, but you never know when either one might run out.

Don't mess too much with your hair or by the time you are 40, it will look 85.

Be careful whose advice you buy, but be patient with those who supply it.  Advice is a form of nostalgia 
dispensing it is a way of wishing the past from the disposal--wiping it off, painting over the ugly parts, and 
recycling it for more than it's worth.

But trust me on the sunscreen.”

So yeah – some I knew, some I didn’t. I’ll try to remember it all, and I’ll always use sunscreen. And if you were curious, I think it takes just over 5 years for New York City to make a person hard. I got out just in time.

Love you forever, Miss you always.

Rachel