97 days: do things you are passionate about

Day 97:
I have always counted the years by the summers. For me, as it will probably be for you, each year is parts of 2 ages. the first is how old you have turned before, the other part is the new "older you". Since I was born in June and the summers were a break between the old school year and the new one, this always worked for me.
In 1997 I turned 16. It was a summer of taking summer school drivers ed. It was the year I had my wisdom teeth out. It was the summer I wore an old Army trench coat I picked up in a yard sale. It was a year of some fear (Learning to drive a stick shift did not go well in 1997, I learned, but it had some scary moments.) and a year I started to really figure some things out (At least I thought) Going into my Junior year of High school I was nervous, but since joining band I felt like I had something that I was looking forward to and really had a place where I belonged.
That is not to say that I did not have friends before. I had lots of them, but with time the Band room would become home for me. I may not have been the best Trombone player, but I tried and I showed up every day to do it better.

If I could give you a piece of advise it would be find things that you are excited and passionate about and do them. They do not have to be your life's work. Sometimes you do what you need to in order to do the things you enjoy doing, that is a part of life.  I joined Band on a whim, something that sounded fun and interesting, what it became for me through most of high school was a place that I belonged. I may not have cared about my other classes but if I was not doing well enough in them Band may have gone away and that was something I did not want to see happen, as a result I did better in school.
Band may not be your thing. I have no idea what it will be but I know you will find the things you love. Always know that your mom and I want to support you in those as much as we can, what matters most to me is that you find them, and look for things you want to try out and do. Some will not be your deal, but you will never know until you give it a good honest go.

They tell me today you are the size of a scallion and weigh 1 2/3rds pounds your mom and I know that you weigh more. When she went to the doctor a few weeks ago they said you were about 1 1/2 pounds so the App on my phone may not just know you yet. Your room is mostly set up, we did it over the 4th of July holiday. It is bright green, and I was so excited to paint it that I started almost 3 hours before your aunt Cara got there so she and Rob could help put in the ceiling fan and paint the room.
I am excited to meet you kid. It is a crazy mixed up world, but hopefully, I can help you navigate through it. Not a lot makes sense and sometimes things seem unfair or slanted. Sometimes the things we want most don't happen, or things may not always go our way, but there are some awesome things to see and do out here so keep on growing, and I will see you soon.

-Dad