Congratulations!

Dear Chelle-chelle,

Congratulations on your college graduation, congratulations on receiving the award and high honors, congratulations on all the A+s you've earned over the past 4 years, congratulations on getting into your favorite med school, and most of all, congratulations on becoming wiser and more mature...

As we turn the page, I hope you can take a minute to review the blue lines I wrote for you in the email below from 4 years ago.  They remain to be very true...  In addition, a few more lines for you to carry with you into the future -

1.  Learn to live a simplified life -- manage and organize all aspects of your life effectively.  Simplicity is the key to a clear mind!  Simplicity is the key to focus!!  Simplicity is the ultimate sophistication!!!

2.  Learn to live a modest life -- never become a slave of materialism.  Live a simple, comfortable life for yourself, not for anyone else.

3.  Learn to be precise in everything you do.  Being a doctor is not easy, it requires years of training to become absolutely disciplined and precise in everything you do at all times.

4.  Learn to cherish every opportunity in life and take full advantage of it.  Attached is the final transcript for your career at Tufts.  Read through each grade from each semester and think about what you've learned from it.

5.  Learn to develop real-world survival skills to support yourself financially.

6.  Always, always, always remember the importance of your family.  

Love,

Mom

----- Forwarded Message -----
From: Pei Tang <tang_pei@yahoo.com>
To: Pei Tang <tang_pei@yahoo.com>
Sent: Thursday, August 21, 2008 6:05 PM
Subject: The little bird's gotta fly...

Yeah, I know, the little bird's gotta fly... We are heading out to Boston first thing tomorrow morning and will get to Tufts University by 1 pm on Saturday.   We packed a piece of Naperville in our SUV, and that's all Michelle can hang on to as she moves on with her life.  We also packed a copy of the 70-page book I wrote for Michelle when she graduated from high school.  As I read the ending of the book again, I realized it still accurately captures what I would say to her today --  Do you still remember the long conversations we had in the car during our road trips to NYU and Tufts?    I told you to take good care of your health and safety.  Your future will depend on your physical and mental health.  You are the only one who can really take care of yourself.   I told you to focus on self-development to become a kind, loving, caring, considerate, tolerant, humble, passionate, disciplined and devoted person with bigger and deeper capacities to meet the challenges of the future.   I told you to keep challenging yourself to become a well-balanced and well-controlled person with a noble goal to contribute to human society in your lifetime.   I told you to truly understand the importance of managing human relationships.  Your IQ can only take you to a certain level.  Your EQ is what makes the difference in your ability to achieve success.   I told you to cherish and nurture friendships in life.  Good friends are the best resources to help you grow healthily into the future.   I told you to remember how much Mom, Dad, Grandma and Grandpa love you.  Never forget, life can take you to many unexpected places, but love can always bring you back home.   I told you to call me anytime when you need me.  I told you to call me anytime even if you don’t need me...      Chelle-chelle, tomorrow is full of promises.  You are the only one who can realize your own dreams and fulfill the promises life has to offer.  Keep your dreams alive and pursue them with passion, determination, confidence, persistence, discipline and hard work.   There is so much more I should or need to tell you.  But I know it's time to let you go and let you fly...  Be safe, be wise and be well.