Palanca Letters Sample (Page 4 of 4) in pdf

Sample Palanca Letter From Older Sibling/Friend

March 14, 2017

Dear John,

Let me start off by saying how extremely proud I am to call you my brother. Through all the tough times

in the past year you’ve kept it together and been there for everyone. So I’m going to try my best, not to

get “mushy gushy” on you. But I can’t make any promises.

First off, High School! Next year is going to be a huge change for you, especially since you’ve spent more

than half your life at your current school. But I have no doubt that you will love high school and I know

that if you work hard you’ll get everything out of it that you possibly can, and still manage to have a

social life .

I know we’re 3 years apart, but this year and especially next year, those three years are going to seem like

much smaller of a gap. And while you will always be my baby brother, the maturity level you are at I

hope will bring us closer together.

So now’s the part when I tell you about how much fun Confirmation is and how great of an experience

it is. But when I say it, I’m being serious. None of the “this is what I’m supposed to say so I guess I’ll say

it” stuff. My Confirmation retreat was one of the best times I had in eighth grade. I still keep in touch

with the friends I made that day (and through the whole process), both girls and boys. Some of the guys

you’ve met may end up in your class at Prep, some of the girls you may end up talking to for years or

some you may just happen to come across later on in high school. But no matter how, the friendships

you make and experiences you have will affect the next four years of your life.

Personally, it took a little while after Confirmation to actually even notice a difference, and I can’t say

the changes I notice now are necessarily significant, or that they were actually an effect of Confirmation

itself. But I can tell that I am in the process of growing. Part of that will come with the Catholic (Jesuit)

education you’ll receive over the next four years; another part will simply come from maturing. The

greatest things I got out of my Confirmation were the experiences and the friendships that allowed me to

grow as a person. Confirmation is not necessarily about feeling an immediate change in your religious

life, but rather is about allowing yourself to grow in your faith (cliché right? Sorry, but it’s true). So my

wish for you as you are entering the last stage of this process is that you move forward with an open

mind and allow yourself to experience the next four years (and the rest of your life) with a better idea of

who you want to be.

I hope you know that no matter what I will always be here for you. No matter how big of a mistake you

make, I will forever be here to help you make things right. So I hope that you have an excellent day at

retreat and I hope you make the most of these experiences that you can’t really get anywhere else.

Love Always, Your sister

Palanca Letters Sample Page 4