Hey Baby Girl,
How’re you doing down there? I know the world can be a cold-hearted place. You seem a little shy now, maybe you’ve been spending more time alone than out with your friends. Baby girl I see you cry late at night when nobody can hear. Baby girl, I know you dry your eyes but it’s ok to cry. I know it hurts to be alone. But you have friends around you, teachers supporting you, and a mama and papa there to protect you. Reach out to them, take them aside, talk to them, ask them to spend time with you. They’d love to open up that beautiful mind of yours like I did.
Baby girl, I see you pushing food around your plate. The scared look I see in your eye when you sit down to a family meal, all laughter and the clinking of forks against plates but all you think about is the addition of calories. Mash potatoes 350, turkey 150, gravy 100, corn 75, water 0. But look at yourself, look at those hips of yours and that waist. No woman has ever been herself without any curves. Don’t forget that I love that stomach. How I tickled you when you were young, ran you around the house to catch. Baby girl don’t hit yourself, think of what your body does for you. How you can run, sing, play and hide.
Baby girl don’t look at those grades. They don’t define you. A number, a percentage, a cold hard figure doesn’t feel the warmth of your touch or the depth of your soul. It can’t label you any more than a stranger can. I know you’re smart, smart as hell you’ve got me beat. Do I care about my baby girl’s, you bet I don’t because you don’t hear yourself talk. Baby girl you don’t see the beauty you pull out of this world. How the pull of the Pacific catches you, reels you in, your wonder of nature’s beauty and morning’s early light. No baby girl, your intelligence can’t be measured. So buck up now, school won’t cage you in just yet, you’re made for greater things.
Baby girl drop that razor. Drop it now because I’m not there to take it from you. Don’t you dare do that to yourself. Mar your satin smooth skin. Have you forgotten how I used to shower you with kisses? Loving every bit of you, how I would kiss your bottom, your hands, your hair, eyelids and nose. No baby girl, don’t punish yourself for things you haven’t done. Baby girl you’re going to be ok. I look into those big brown eyes of yours and you’ll be ok. Your soul is too strong to be broken.
Baby girl don’t listen to the media. They don’t see your beauty like I do. They don’t hear the music your hands create, or the swish of your hips as you walk away. They don’t see you care for your friends or the way you cradle a child. Baby girl, look at yourself and all of God’s good work. His masterpiece set down on Earth as your playground. So don’t sit there and cry. I know I’m gone and I know this seems tough. Baby girl I know it’s unfair but you’re going to get through this. You on your own because that’s all you need but if you ever want Baby I’m here cheering you on just like I did when you were a little girl. Remember when you did gymnastics? Remember your routine off the high beam? Baby girl you were scared but you did it just like now. Because baby girl you got this life, you just gotta go fly.

Zarina Wong ’16