I hope you have felt the gritty sand in between your toes. The way it’s so hot and it burns your feet when you first step on the beach and then suddenly in becomes more compact and cool beneath your heels. I hope you’ve forgotten everything when the salty waves hit your feet and the water is just so cold, though you can’t help but wade deeper. The sun warms your shoulders and that place just below the back of your knees turns red in the heat, but you don’t care because nothing feels better than the humid wind in your hair and the feeling of freedom the ocean hurls towards the land. I hope you have taken the time to enjoy the beauty of nature and the serenity of the sea.
I hope you wake up at noon on Saturdays and let the soft sheets kiss every inch of your body. I hope you laugh when you look in the mirror and see the way your hair stands in every which way. You feel the warmth of the afternoon sun seeping in between the blinds and you pad down the steps, taking your time because there is no rush, there is just coffee and pancakes. Sugary sweet syrup and chocolate chips, not counting the calories or the minutes, but just taking in the way it feels to have nowhere to go, nowhere to be. I hope you remind yourself to slow down, to give yourself time to just breath.
I hope you get to drive down the road with the windows rolled down and your favorite song playing so loud you can barely remember what it was like to be broken. Every green light a new beginning and every stop sign a reminder to stay grounded. I hope no matter how far you venture from home you always find your way back, and every time you return I hope your heart fills with so much warmth. You are still growing, still finding yourself, but never forget where you came from. I hope you remember to listen to your heart, to hear every word.
I hope you visit all the art museums you can find. From the ones right up the block to the ones three hours away, I hope you take them all in. Get lost in that painting, that photo, that sculpture that speaks to you and only you. Remember to take all the pamphlets and stop along the way for pictures, never forgetting the beauties you’ve seen. I hope you go to hundreds of concerts. Go to the ones you can afford, and even the ones you can’t. I hope you do all you can to get there, take a train, a bus, a car, a plane, anything. I hope you lose yourself in the music. Scream the lyrics as loud as you can while dancing around with your best friends. I hope you immerse yourself in the world and all of its culture.
There is so much that I hope for you. I hope you skip flat stones across blue water. I hope you pet fluffy white dogs and small calico cats. I hope you learn another language, one that sounds like music to your ears. I hope you get your nails done every other Friday. I hope you learn how to make the best lasagna in the entire world. I hope you cuddle under the covers on a snowy day. I hope you make mustaches out of whipped cream. Most of all I hope you smile. I hope that this life and these heartbreaks have helped you to find true happiness in all of these little things. If I’ve learned one thing in my life, it’s that you have to love yourself and live every day to its fullest. Know that someone out there is cheering you on, I’m cheering you on. Never give up, with every bad moment there is a good one looming over the horizon. Xo…
