I like

I like playing with my hair when I have nothing to do, untangling the little knots that form out of nowhere. I like seeing my cat waiting for me at the window when I come home, and hearing her meow and follow me to my room to sleep besides me for a little while. I like when I don’t have to set the alarm for the next day, and I can just stay in bed as long as I want because there’s nowhere I need to be. I like my boyfriend’s deep brown eyes, the colour of chocolate, and how I can see my reflection in them every single time. I like talking to my mom when she is washing the dishes or cooking, and just watch her going over the motions, as I believe it will be one of the strongest images I’ll have of her when I’m older, her in the kitchen. I like that my dad mostly talks about traveling and nothing else, because I know that is his passion, one that he passed on to me by accident. I like looking at the sky in the afternoon, and see the pink and orange colours of the sunset as the sun goes down amidst the buildings of the city. I like the shape of clouds very early in the morning, when it’s still very cold and they look like little sheep strolling about. I like that small celtic ring that I bought in Portobello road so many years ago in London, because I feel it keeps me connected to that amazing city. I like to learn new languages just because, dive in a new grammar and fight it until it comes clear in my head, and later see a smile come to my face when that learning unlocks a new culture, one that used to be alien not that long ago. I like to lose myself in books, get wrapped around a story and feeling the world disappear for a few hours, and even learning new words in the process. I like traveling, going to the airport knowing I’ll be off to a new adventure, whether alone or with company, and that there’s something new out there that I yet have to discover. I like getting lost in cities and small villages abroad, roam around side streets, enjoying the architecture and the quietness. I like hearing the same song over and over, singing and moving to the beat, and the ideas that sometimes come to me with the sound of music. But most of all, I love writing; about made up things, or personal experiences. I truly enjoy the hours I can spend in the computer, just seeing words appearing on a blank page, landscapes forming, characters coming to life, all just from my head. I love the possibilities it opens up, the worlds that can come through it, the stories that can be told, the feelings that can be explored, and how much more I keep learning about myself with everything I write.

I like to dream. I like to hope.

~ * ~

When I was younger I liked too many things and wanted to be everything. However, just a few months ago, something inside me woke up again, from deep within my heart, and reminded me of one of the things I liked most, a dream, one I locked away, waiting for it to mature, to grow, and for me to be ready to take it on full time. And here I am, ready to take it on again, more experienced, more passionate about it, but also more patient, for I know it takes time to write. That is not something that will happen overnight, just because I like it.

This past weekend I saw “Whisper of the Heart”, a Ghibli movie. It’s about a boy and a girl who meet through books. He wants to be a violin maker, and goes to Italy to find out if he has the talent to be one. And she decides to write. In the movie, she writes a novel draft in about a month or two, and lets the old owner of a shop, who has become a friend, see her draft. His words of wisdom nearly made me cry myself, because I felt he was speaking to me. He did tell her she was amazing, even though she knew the story made no sense. But he said that she had shown him a rough draft of what was inside her, that there was no rush anymore. That she should now take her time, learn, and polish her story off, patiently.

It made me think that all these years I’ve been working on my own writing have been good experience. Years ago I would have not dared share anything at all so publicly, even less so things as personal as this. Now, I have a need to do it. I can’t keep the stories for myself anymore, I want them out there, I want to keep growing, and only with feedback will I ever do. But I’m in no rush anymore, I’ll do it patiently, and I will let the stories take shape little by little, until one day I’ll have one long enough to start pursuing something more.

Carol GF(c)