A Love Letter To The World

By

Hey there,

I’ve been thinking about you a lot lately. I know I’ve seen you more times so far this year than in any year before, but it seems the more I see of you, the more of you I want to see.

I remember the first time I went out to see you. I was really little, but as I grew up I began seeing you more often. I was around 18 when I really started to fall in love with you.

I’ll never forget the first time I went out to see you by myself, in India. It was the most thrilling time. I’ll never forget that feeling of wonder I felt when I first laid my eyes on this part of you I’d never seen before; so different from any part of you I’d ever seen before. I felt so lucky, so joyful, so in disbelief that it was real.

That sunset in the middle of nowhere in Venezuela a year later was a moment that will always stick with me. I know you and I weren’t alone that evening, but that was a time that your beauty truly took my breath away. The air was still, silent. The colors were bright and vivid, like an explosion against the sky. The scenery was open, natural – unlike any I’ve ever seen since. That was a moment, one of many, when I was certain I knew just how in love with you I was. And I still am. I fall more deeply in love with you every time I see a new piece of you.

You give me such a feeling of freedom. Every time I see you, it makes me wish I had no other cares or worries in the world. You’re like a drug to me. I’d love nothing more than to succumb to the addiction I have to seeing you – to make seeing new parts of you my everyday routine, my reason for being. Sometimes, all I can think about is the parts of you I have yet to see. 

I fantasize about exploring you. You’re my escape when things go wrong…always in the back of my mind, because I know you’ll be there when I need you; I can always run to you when I need to hide from my problems.

I’ve already seen more of you in my 24 years than many people have seen in a lifetime, and I’m grateful for that. I’ve seen your good parts and your not-so-good parts. But I can recognize the beauty in all of it.

You’ve helped me to grow as a person. I like myself a bit better each time I return home from going out to see you. Each new part of you I acquaint myself with seems to unlock something inside me. I become more spiritual or more outgoing or more carefree. In a society that conditions me, as a woman, to be less, I’m thankful that you help me learn to be more.

I love you, world, and all the lessons you have to teach and the beauty you have to share.

Until we meet again,

Erica