An Open Letter to My Loved Ones

I'm a girl who smiles at the sight of the sea on my train ride home. I smile at the colours and at my unbelievable luck to be able to enjoy such a beautiful sight. Life is "a rare gift", and I smile at everything I can because it's too damn short to be taken seriously. And I move my lips while singing my favourite song on my way home. I am the one on the train who smiles and shakes her head to the beat of the song playing on her headphones because the day has been just that good.

I genuinely had the best day ever when a friend bought me a one dollar chocolate. The fact that she thought of me whilst grocery shopping and the fact that I had chocolate to eat was enough for me to enjoy life that day. I'm that person who can be made happy with one dollar. 

I am a girl who stops to read whatever is written on a billboard. I am a girl who is curious about things and love finding out.

I have the best of time watching a surgery online. To see how a person's touch can save another's life fascinates me and I can't wait to do the same. I can't wait to help, to heal.

And I am a girl who finds cures in the wild. The forest and the silence of everything in the wild at night give chills to me. I'm still trying to be brave enough to walk the woods alone. Maybe be brave enough to walk the Pacific Crest Trail, or something of that sort.

And oh, the people I had the luxury to meet, the people who impacted my life more than I have impacted theirs and the people who I meant more to than they meant to me... My friends and class mates and teachers...  I smile at the thought of every single one them. They have changed my life in a way I previously thought was impossible and their existence is enough for me today. 

It's not just the people I have made acquaintance with that make me happy. It's also the waiter who remembered my order even though he only took it once, and it's the old man who called me "young lady" on the subway... They make my day without ever even knowing it and I start to believe in humanity again. I start to believe that being nice can change lives. I start to believe that it starts from me, and what I do will inspire someone else to do the same.

I am a girl who started to believe in pure love when she saw two kids with down syndrome engaged, to be married. I was eleven when I saw that kind of love, and I'm still holding out for it. I am a girl who knows it's around the corner, and I am just fine waiting for it. As long as I love myself, I know I'll be fine.

I wasn't always like this. I'm so grateful to the people who took their time on me, when I was down, when I couldn't see the beauty of the sea or the beauty in the people. I was a girl who was a pain in the ass and now, thanks to the kindness people found in themselves, I am happy. 

And the best part is, when the right combination of people enter your life by sheer luck, you will be too.