To the one that was so unsure of himself, that was too curious and got burnt flying too close to the sun.
Typing the first sentence already caused hesitation - did I want to refer to myself as “him” or “them”? Generally in my writing, I try to keep things as gender neutral as possible. A part of it is an ode to being anonymous, the private that is separate from the public, but another to my mother tongue - a language with no grammatical gender or gendered pronouns.
We make all these decisions, sometimes impromptu and carry it for longer than we should have.
You are still quite young, born in the new century, as it were. Entered a life where computers were already widespread. Internet soon after. And soon after that, smartphones. You got yours when you turned 12.
You had exposure to a lot of perspectives. Living from country to country. Vacationing in many. From visiting family back at the village, to living in the capital of the empire that colonised that village.
“The village” is a weird phrase - you never lived there. Your parents grew up and lived in the village. But you were merely a visitor.
You know this all. A constant cliché that never stops.
But it’s okay.
You are both an individual and a community that is in transition.
And in this “community of transition” there are others. Maybe not exactly like you, but there are others. You felt isolated and alone, and that’s okay.
I have now read many books, journal articles, blogs and papers about whole sorts of things. Religion, political economy, philosophy, gender, race, culture, psychology and of course, identity. I still do not have an answer for you to all those burning questions that keep you awake at night.
You don’t have to have everything figured out.
You don’t have to justify your existence because your existence is justification enough.
Continue doing what you are doing but carry in your heart what you already embody: resilience, perseverance and determination. Because you must be doing something right, if I am here now writing this letter to you.
So long, and as always, see you again.
(Using this site as my personal blog because I like yapping )