A year ago today, my whole life changed. I moved to France for reasons I’m still figuring out until today. I’ve been to places here and there, met a few people who left just as quickly as they came. At some point, I regretted the times where I just brush off things that actually mattered. It was already too late for me when I realized these things. So here’s for the places [and people] I never had the chance to know their side of the story.
To the places I never had the chance to get to know deeper,
Thank you for showing some parts of you. Though you never had the chance to show me everything, I am still thankful that I got to know you. I got to know some of your stories, of how you came to be who you are now, even when I am missing a few pieces. How you manage to get passed through everything and how you meant to your people, and maybe, to the world. You showed your bravery through your huge monuments, you showed us your love for art through your detailed works, and lastly, you showed your personality through your magnificent architecture.
I am sorry I never had the chance to get to know you deeper. I’m sorry I am always on the move, wanting to see everything in a moment. Never really soaking everything, not noticing the tiny details that is etched in every part of you. The ones where you showed your true self. I’m sorry that I never had enough time with you, for being always on my phone, for taking as many photos of you as I can. I was too excited to share you with everyone, that I forgot that it’s about our time, and not them.
I promise you, I was there, but not really. Our time passed by too quickly. It almost felt like I was just floating through your city walls. I did not stop and ask about how you are now. It didn’t pass through my mind if there were any remnants of the pain that you still feel up to this day. It made me wished I got to know you through your people. I wished I listened eagerly about your stories through their eyes and words. I wished I had known what you meant to them, do they have that same strength as you? That same courage, that same bravery you had back then? I wished I could’ve just stayed put and marveled at your beauty. I wished I could’ve realized it back then to know how to appreciate you better.
I am truly sorry for all of this but I promise you, I will come back again. And this time, I know what I would do when I see you again.
Guilty of this too. I guess we’ll really never get to know them unless we stay in a place for at least a month and live the life of a local. But, I’m pretty sure we’re all glad to know them.
I’m thankful that I get to see them, instead of just wishing to see them. 🙂
This hits close to home. Whenever we travel, we are usually preoccupied with too many things that we often neglect the ones we should see. While we never question people’s reasons of traveling, it is always better to look deeper and experience more what a place has to offer. And yes, every place is worthy of coming back for.