To all my friends: this letter is for you.
To all of those dear to my heart that I have known in the past,
Those who are part of my present
And all of those I haven’t met yet.
To my family, to the friends of my friends and my family’s friends,
To the potential friends that I’ll never get to meet in this life.
To those who are close to me
Those who live on the other side of the other world,
And also to those who don’t live on this planet anymore.
Maybe you are actively involved in my life,
Or maybe you’re one of those friends I share only a brief and privileged moment with every now and then.
Maybe you’re one of those people I only met for a few instants before we parted ways?
Maybe we shared our dreams and fears together while watching the stars or sitting on the bus, and we never saw each other again.
Or maybe we did that hundreds of times and know each other intimately.
Maybe our paths crossed while I was roaming the world,
Maybe you were on your own adventure.
Or maybe I just showed up in your hometown.
We might have grown up together, and seen each other bloom into the weird and cool adults we are now.
We might have found one another later in life, and felt like we’d always known each other.
Or not, but we nonetheless had a good laugh together.
Maybe we fell in love?
Whatever story we share together,
Whatever way you’ve chosen to live right now with the circumstances you’ve been given,
And no matter the distance between us.
Today, I want to take some time to honour each of you.
You have all uniquely contributed to my life and to that of others, and you will keep doing so.
I hope you know that.
I have so much respect and admiration for all of your beautiful souls out there.
We’ve all been dealt with some difficult cards and it often feels like the game is rigged, yet each of you is finding creative ways to play.
I know you that some of you think at times that it’s not working, because you feel like shit and the world itself is pretty stinky.
But let me remind you that if you’re reading this, it means you made it so far in this complicated existence.
You’ve navigated through the obstacles and you’re still standing, still trying somehow and that in itself deserves to be admired.
Maybe you’re one of those who can’t read this, who haven’t made it this far. But that’s okay, because I’m also communicating with you, in other ways. I haven’t forgotten you.
You’re probably figuring stuff out in some kind of other dimension. I like to believe that. You’re still there, somehow.
And for those of you still having to participate in the crazy ride that life is, y’all can be super proud.
You people are awesome.
I adore every single conversation, the bursts of laughter, the evening walks, the impromptu nights out, the movies we watched during our lazy afternoons and our random encounters.
I am proud to remember the obstacles we overcame together.
The tears we helped each other dry, the courage we had to open up about some of our hidden thoughts and painful memories,
The places we have discovered together, the kilometers travelled, the explorations of the world around us, physical as well as philosophical.
They have all inspired me.
Every meal, every tea, coffee, juice, beer, glass of wine, shot of vodka or joint we have shared, and the many more to come.
All the laughs and the cries, our joys and fears, the signs of friendship,
The stupid jokes and the life contemplations,
The countless hours spent doing nothing else but enjoying each other’s company,
And how the stars seem to align sometimes and all the incredible things we can accomplish in those moments.
As I mentally go through each of your faces, each of our memories, I can not help but being filled with emotions. I think that the love we have shared is what makes the essence of life.
It’s beautiful!
I spend so much time searching for the meaning for our existence that I sometimes forget that it’s right in front of me most of the time.
You, my friends, are my meaning.
As time passes I understand more and more why they call us ‘social’ creatures. Without others, not only can we not survive, but there would be no point if we did.
And now more than ever, in the era of social media and technology, I feel like we need to remind ourselves of this as often as we can:
We need each other to make our lives worth fighting for. We’re going to need each other to fight all of those obstacles ahead of us.
I don’t know about you, but I don’t want to make it in this world alone.
And it’s amazing, because I don’t have to. There are so many of you!
You’ve always been there for me… someone has always been there.
You’ve given me so much, I can’t even begin to express how grateful I am.
I know I haven’t always returned all of that love in the right ways. I am aware that I have hurt many of you, sometimes without even realizing it.
I am sorry.
I try my best to put some of that love out there, even if it doesn’t go directly back at you.
I am not worried that it will get back to you though, because I know that life find its own ways.
Every day, you remind of the meaning of the word ‘love’.
In all of your quirks and your flaws, you teach me that true friendship is not only about enjoying the good times and the benefits of what others can bring to you (although that is indeed an awesome part of having friends!).
True friendship is about loving your friends in any circumstances, even when they fuck up a little once in a while.
You know how I learned that ? You, my friends, have taught me.
My friends who kept loving me and supporting me even in the darkest moments in my life, no matter how much time passes, no matter the distance.
It’s when I say or do something stupid sometimes but I don’t have to be afraid to lose you, because I know that you see the bigger picture. Even though you probably have judged me on more than one occasion. We all do, don’t we?
But we stick around, because we know that no one is perfect. That’s what they call unconditional love.
I also have to confess that I haven’t always been all that good at keeping in touch. Those who know me know that I am really bad at answering messages or sending news.
Pardon me for this flaw of mine, I can’t really help it.
Don’t get me wrong though, I do still however connect to many of you on a regular basis, by thinking of you or telling a story about you to another friend.
I think about you so often, trust me.
I like to get lost in old pictures and think about the good times we had together.
Sometimes I even cry a little 🙂
Sometimes it sucks that some of you are so far away.
I won’t lie, this is one of the tough sides of travelling so much. You meet so many awesome people, and then you all go separate ways and end up living in different countries at best, often even different continents. It’s so easy to lose touch.
But I’ll never regret meeting any of you. It’s all so worth it.
You brighten up my life.
Thanks to this globalized world we’ve created for ourselves, I am amazingly lucky enough to have friends all over it.
Please come visit.
Anyway, this whole letter could have actually been said much more quickly:
To all of my friends,
I love you.
Thank you for existing.
Stay strong. You’ve got this!
Take care,
Sophie
PS: I uploaded as many pictures as I could, sorry if you’re not there! ❤️