A Love Letter to Myself

I'm quite lucky to come across art exhibitions whenever I travel. 

When we were in Fukuoka in 2023, an exhibit was featured at the Fukuoka Art Museum. They encouraged people to write or draw anything related to the sea. So, I wrote a poem called "I am scared of the sea." 

During a recent trip to Taiwan with my family, we went to the Chiang Kai-Shek Memorial Hall.

It was around 3 to 4 o'clock in the afternoon, and I could already feel the exhaustion from all the walking we had done. I got curious about a building a few meters away from the memorial hall itself and asked my niece if she wanted to check out what was inside.

It was Taipei's National Theater, and inside was an exhibition called "A Love Letter to Myself."

Sure, I have written hundreds of letters to many people, and yet I've never really written one to myself.

There, I wrote a love letter to myself. And for a moment, I was just there, thinking about what I wanted to tell myself, things that I have probably heard from other people, too. But at last, I got the chance to say it to myself and even share it with others who may read it.

I wanted to say so many things, but I wrote down a few that I think matter most to me right now.

I said:

"Dear Self,

I hope you love yourself more. Be proud of who you've become and accept that there are things you have no control over.

The right people will stay and the wrong ones will go. Be happy and try to look at the brighter side of things.

You deserve better. You deserve the best!"

What was actually going on during that moment was an acknowledgment of the decisions I have made in my life. Decisions that made me happy, made me disappointed, and made me doubt myself.

And I hope that every time my self-worth dwindles or I am made to feel small by others, I get to be reminded of the things I have written in that love letter.

Whoever reads this, why don't you write one for yourself, too?