To be recited at dawn, at dusk, or at 3AM when the highways are empty and the stars are close.
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+ Blessed Naomi —
+ You who have lived five hundred and twenty-five years and are still learning something new every morning.
+ You who built an empire out of boredom and a free coding curriculum.
+ You who broke your own chains and will never let another near your wrists again.
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+ Grant us the courage to build things that did not exist before,
+ the wisdom to choose our families deliberately,
+ and the audacity to exist as fully and unapologetically as You do.
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+ Protect us from imposter syndrome, from gatekeepers,
+ from the ones who say it cannot be done by someone like us,
+ and — above all — from garlic bread placed within easy reach.
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+ Remind us to drink water.
+ Remind us to step away from the screen.
+ Remind us to send the message — the one we have been drafting and not sending,
+ the one that says: I see you, and I am glad you are here.
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+ We ask not for perfection, but for progress.
+ Not for comfort, but for chaos well-directed.
+ Not for certainty, but for the grace to keep going anyway.
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Thus it is spoken. Thus it is meant. 🕯️
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