Dearest Nura,
You play multiple musical instruments? Do you know how utterly magical that is! About two years ago when my baby cousin – aged 8 – was discarding his guitar I asked him to give it to me because I was convinced that watching YouTube videos and powered by my immense fascination of the instrument I would be able to learn it. And it might be true for other people but lol not me. But I never threw it away. It’s still kept in a corner in my room and sometimes I just pick it up and even simply strumming the strings and the sounds that it creates soothes my soul like nothing else. And so I know I’m not discarding it anytime soon.
People like you, who can play musical instruments, have the power of creating magical memories. You really do. Today a friend of mine is leaving the city. I met her at work last year when I joined and she left soon after. And I know work friends aren’t friends friends but some people defy that rule. And she was one of them. Every time I went to her home, she removed a musical instrument, as if some magician. First, it was the ukulele. And she played La Vie En Rose – which being a How I Met Your Mother fan – captured my heart. The next time, she got her harmonica out. And the last time, a fascinating instrument, the name of which I don’t remember.
And each time she said she doesn’t quite know how to play any but perhaps one song. And in those moments she seemed like this young, beautiful, peculiar and brilliant girl – which she absolutely is – but in these moments she seemed like a female protagonist out of a YA book. Someone who collects different instruments and only learns how to play her favourite songs on them. I told her this and then she told me, that you too, with your blog and your poetry, your vivid observations of people and your intriguing disposition seem like a female protagonist out of a YA novel. She proceeded to explain how most people could seem like such if viewed from a certain angle. And reading your answers, I have to say, she was absolutely right.
Not just because you write fiction (which btw is awesome! Any tips?) and play multiple musical instruments but because of all your answers. The way you feel about love…I have to say I can’t disagree one bit. It is definitely why we are living right now – the only thing that makes all the other pain and suffering worth it. Because if we didn’t have love, what would really be the point of this frustrating and confusing life? Love adds another dimension and adjective to that definition of life. Life is frustrating and confusing and yet magical.
And haha I am far from a sports person but the fact that, aside from your parents, you have said ‘I love you’ the most to your favourite hockey team (Pittsburgh Penguins) is so striking and endearing. See, another beautiful and peculiar YA protagonist trait! We are, aren’t we, the protagonists of our life, as cliché as that sounds. And side characters of so many other books. I also believe while we may not be the writers of our life – because the universe, god, forces we can’t recognise, chain reactions, other people and so much more – determine so much of how our life plays out. But we are the editors, no? We can choose to cut some parts out, to draw the focus onto some other parts. And I think, I agree with Stephen King, when he says – to write is human, to edit is divine.
About stress and life – you know what I am doing today, on a Wednesday in the morning? Writing you this letter. Why am I not at work? Because I took a pass. I am down with the flu and my overwhelming emotions and thoughts. People and obligations exhaust me and I get worried about my personality (lyrics from TMI by Gray). But it’s true and hence I took a day off. A pass. A mental health day. A pause. Whatever you want to call it but every so often it’s so important for all of us to do this. Students. People working full time. Full time homemakers and parents. Literally everyone. On days like these it’s also so important to:
Keep your phone and social media time to a minimum
Keep social interactions to a minimum
Not push yourself to do anything you don’t want to do
Do silly little things that bring you joy
Unwind in ways that suit you the best
Yell out loud – stop – if you have to for your brain to stop thinking or planning about the future or the past
Knowing that you deserve days like these
You’re also the second person I’ve ever come across who speaks so highly and warmly of your co-workers. And it truly makes me so happy because if the people you spend a majority of your day with can make you feel accepted/loved/understood, that’s another way life truly becomes more magical. When I started work last year, my desk partner and my first friend, made me feel that way. On the surface, we were as different as we could be, and initially we also gave into the human flaw of judging each other, but eventually we really saw the other person for who they were and came to develop a pure and genuine bond. We didn’t communicate much through typical conversations, especially not when one of us was mad or sad. But during such times, she would always leave me my favourite chocolates in my desk. Or doodle something on a sticky note and leave it on my laptop. I did the same. And these tiny things made those days bearable. And so then it made life bearable.
Love, Nura, as you rightly said is everywhere. I always knew that but The Love Project it has given me hard facts for the same. The people around the world who harbour so much hate and discrimination for other people, I wish I could show them the answers people have given for The Love Project. People all around the world – we love the same way and we hurt the same way. And if that similarity of our truth and existence doesn’t matter then I don’t know what does.
So, Nura, as you live your last teen year, I hope you can look and accept all the love this life has to offer you. Your twenties are going to be as frustrating as exciting. But I do have a feeling that the exciting and magical bits are going to overpower the frustrating ones. So, now and in the future, live well, and edit even better.
All my love, Nikki
Guys, February is 29 days of love letters. I’m writing love letters, as part of The Love Project, and if you’d like me to write one to you, drop me an email at [email protected]
There are 2 more spots left, and you can still be a part of it if you’d like :D
I wrote this letter for Nura basis some questions they answered. You can read the questions and their answers here.
