Act I: For The Love of Me
Featuring all of me I have loved, resented, admired, and every layers of me I’ve come to know
How lucky one is to find a grand reason to live.
However, if you don’t have one reason to live,
Remember that you have plenty to stay,
Because there’s so much waiting for you:
Feeling the wave tips you off your balance as you run at the beach,
Late night walks after a midnight movie at the cinema,
Watching the orchestra at the edge of your seat,
Sitting on fresh, cool grass until your pants get soaked,
That stranger you have 3 seconds of eye contact with,
Five-hour dates with someone you met online,
Random dance classes that make your body fueled with joy,
Seeing your friends cry of laughter because of you,
The cold breeze caressing your cheeks that it turns red,
Telling the artist that you adore their work in an exhibition,
Saying a new word in a new language for the first time,
Eating at the famous place that opens only at 12 AM,
Ice cold showers and hot baths,
Hanging out for hours and forgetting the time,
That friend you grow to be really close to when you thought you wouldn’t,
The scent of flowers that resembles their colors,
Pillow talks and cuddles,
Finding out that you can still play the piano and do the splits,
The blurred photographs because you laugh too much,
Standing up after a trip with an overnight bus,
Free foods at a festival,
Genuine ‘good mornings’ you receive as you enter your class or office,
Your person,
That feeling when you’re learning to drive manual cars and the engine dies at a stoplight,
That one morning when you wake up and feel so light and alive,
The sun reflecting its light on your skin,
The foods and drinks that make you moan in pleasure,
Supporting someone you love and being embraced in hard times,
Sleeping in a fresh and fragrant bedsheet,
The taste of someone’s lips on yours,
Midnight car trips with deep talks,
Getting that 4-year-old to finally gain your trust and give you a high five,
Those eyes that light up as they read the poems you wrote for them,
Butterflies you get from that old crush from 7 years ago,
Holding someone’s hand tightly so you don’t get lost in the crowd,
That rush of creativity that makes you run to get a pen and a paper,
Nailing the presentation you’ve been anxious about,
The feeling when someone plays with your hair,
Finally finishing that mountain of undone laundry,
Doing your work stranded in a café at an unfamiliar city,
Sweats on the palms of your person’s and yours from hand holding,
Heartbreaks that somehow turn you into a better human,
Tasting the food that tastes just right after eleven trials,
To be on stage and dancing and speaking or even just admiring the audience,
Feeling the emotions you thought you’ve forgotten,
Catching a bus in a city that speaks another language,
Sleeping without any deadlines to worry about,
Falling in love with a fictional character,
Random, unexpected encounter with an old friend,
Late night power outage when the silence is so serene,
Confronting someone and speaking your heart out,
Your doctor declaring that you no longer need antidepressants,
Taking yourself on a nice, proper, expensive date,
Eating the same food at that restaurant you’ve known for 8 years,
The heat coming from someone’s skin against yours,
Fresh, warm, fluffy breads,
The lavender and mint and the dancing flame from your candle,
Cold weather and heavy blankets,
Midnight walks where the only source of warmth is from the intertwined fingers,
Watching that movie that has stayed in your list for months,
Listening to a song for the first time and feeling something moves inside you,
Sharing beers with your friends,
Star gazing accompanied by the moonlight and someone’s hand inside your hoodie pocket,
The last discounted piece of clothing that isn’t too big nor too small,
Conversations with strangers that started out with complaints about the weather,
The smell of the fresh brewed tea,
Receiving a package of fresh delightful cookies from a friend,
Doing something for the first time, successfully,
Having someone tell you that you have a beautiful smile,
Purchasing a train ticket without an advanced planning,
Acknowledging the beauty of your stretch marks,
That ‘aha’ moment you sometimes get in classes,
Finally having deep talks with your siblings,
Finishing that assignment that made you cry several times,
Checking your bank account and noticing your first pay of your first job,
A hug that lasts too long that you wish it lasts forever,
Surviving a world pandemic,
The genuine applause at the end of a show or a meeting,
Five AM walks when the sky is half orange and half starry,
Depression haircut that turns out to be a glow up,
Getting a deal for an interesting project,
Having little children looking up to you and following you around,
Perfecting the shape of your latte art,
Random motorcycle rides,
Looking back and realizing how far you’ve come,
Compliments about something you never even think about,
Taking embarrassing photos in public,
Random encounters that turn strangers into life-long friends,
Doing that hard thing you’re good at,
Making it after years of faking it (till you make it),
A good sleep after a productive day,
Seeing that two friends finally becoming a couple,
Random chit-chats as you glide on ice,
Climbing the school gate at midnight and seeing your friend got caught by the security,
Impulsive road trips,
Taking care of that friend who is going through a heartbreak,
Adoring someone’s eyes as they talk about something they love,
Crying and shouting in the middle of a packed traffic jam after getting your heart broken,
Catching up with someone you haven’t talked to for 1.5 years,
Friday nights,
Seeing the people you love be happy and fulfilled,
Thrilling roller coaster rides and queuing for rides with your best friends,
Drawing with crayons pretending to be a 6-year-old,
Feeling safe in the embrace of someone you love,
Seeing people learning a thing or two from what you share,
Sitting at the edge of rooftops,
Boarding a flight and turning on your phone in a whole different place.
And as someone relatively young I can only show this many reasons.
But I know that there are still thousand of moments worth waiting,
Millions of views and places worth seeing and people worth meeting.
So stay a little bit longer,
So that you can grow old and finally cross those once-impossible dreams in your bucket list.
And finally, also most importantly,
Stay so you can fully understand the fundamental purpose to keep roaming on this boring planet:
To know how deeply, greatly, openly, aggressively, purely, genuinely, honestly, and brutally you can love yourself
And to realize how mystifyingly astonishing and fulfilling it is to be loved by the most exquisite, magnificent, beautiful human in this world: you.
