Dear brothers and sisters,
How are you? Have you been sleeping well? Are you well fed? How's driving class going? Is school getting stressful by the minute? When's your next examination? God, I have so much to ask. How are you feeling lately, my dears? Is your cluttered mind still bothering you? Im sorry Im bombarding you with questions. It's just that, I know people don't ask you these things frequently. Don't worry, your secrets are safe with me.
I'm writing to you guys mainly because of my undying love to the people who identify as a part of my perfectly imperfect family. A generation of reckless lovers who wear their hearts on their sleeves and sleepy fighters who are trying so hard to get up in the morning. A group of youngsters labeled as lazy and dramatic by society. If you identify yourself as one of these people, then this letter is for you. Here goes nothing.
A lot of us are struggling. Some of us face things that no other person can even come close to comprehending. This world of ours, the world our elders are leaving to us, has become a battleground for even the simplest of tasks. We eat loss for breakfast and we play around with the environment collapsing all around us. We're forced to be adults at times when we should be able to make mistakes and it is heartbreaking. It's heartbreaking to see my fellow youths crumble to depression and anxiety. Or to see children who should be laughing their hearts out cower in fear of acceptance. They say we're overreacting but they don't know. They don't get how real mental disorders are and that we choose to be sick. They dont, but I do. All of us here do. We understand these issues because at some point of our lives, we have felt it.
I've heard that some of us are having trouble making choices. Growing up in an Asian family myself, I can understand how much our parents/elders/family members play a part in our decisions. There's nothing wrong in that. They have lived much longer than us, and we should respect their opinions. But that's just it. It's just their opinion and your choice should be yours. Age does not actually make a person wiser. Yes, we should take their words as guidance though the path to your future is one you have to pave for yourself. We were wired to believe that one wrong decision could destroy our future. That is just plain absurd. Mistakes are part of growing and god knows how far we still have to go. Baby steps, you'll get to the end someday.
" Now, why do you look so angry? "
If I had a penny for every time someone asked me that, I would be cruising around in a ferrari. Heh, probably not. With full certainty, I bet that most of you have heard it too. To our dear milennials and boomers, we have worry lines etched on our foreheads from all the time we spend swimming in our own thoughts. Yeah, I am well aware of how much we overthink situations. No one can blame us. We have seen so many events unfold in unexpected ways. Being hit when you least expect is something hard to recover from so we tend to think of all the ways how things can go wrong. It's better to be a pessimist rather than be happy and suddenly have the world ripped from your arms. However, my love, sometimes you just have to let fate take the reigns. Don't ruin your chance of being happy by fearing your thoughts. I want endless joy for all of us, so let your minds rest once in a while. Even on your roughest days, remember that you DESERVE to be happy.
I know you doubt your self-worth. Honestly, I do to. I know you think you deserve all the lemons that life offered. You don't. The reason why our generation is so reckless is because we want to feel. We live in the moment. We have seen the doomed world around us and we know that truthfully, there's nothing much to do. So we make jokes and we laugh it off. And that is why sometimes, the adults despise us. We take a serious problem and we turn it into memes and such. They think it's rude. Truth is, that is how we cope. Yeah, we make jokes but we are aware. Do you see how fast an issue spreads these days? From what I see, our generation is much more awake. Just take Greta Thunberg. She's a teenager and she's one of us but she has made half of the world realise how much our planet is dying. It's amazing! And the rest of us, we only lack resources. I believe with all my heart that if we were given the right tools, we could change the world. The passion we have is enough to fuel a rebellion if we really wanted to. That is how much I believe in our generation.
Yes, we're tired 24/7. We spend sunny days in bed because we are mentally exhausted from thinking about everything. They might say that their time was harder yet they still didn't laze around. Excuse me sir, I require you see society from our point of view. I ask that you put yourself in our shoes, with the earth in shambles, and not be tired. We all deal with things differently.
I know, that by now you have learnt to shut the whole world out. You know that this place is where every man is for himself. Baby, you are not alone. Far from it. If you ever feel like you're struggling, look around you and find comfort in knowing that everyone around you is fighting a battle yet they still smile and wave. How could you ever feel alone when there are hundreds of others who are feeling just as you do. You just need to take some time to find your clique.
I still have so much to say to all of you, but I think this is enough for today. I promised you a love letter and this is how I show my love. By, voicing out our problems and offering my support. I know my letter lacks lovey dovey cheesy sentences but it is a love letter nonetheless. The adults may not understand us, but we get each other. This whole generation has seen so many difficulties so I ask that we have each others backs. We've already lost a few of us to this war with our inner selves and the world. If your friend comes to you with a problem, please listen. Dont let the world take any more of us before our time. We are, in all honesty, a family. I am always here for any of you. As I write this, tears are flooding down my cheeks out of desperation that you take care of yourselves. I love us. I want to see us smiling. Please please please continue fighting the good fight. It's tiring, but we'll have our rest. Just not now. If you dont have any love for yourself, believe that I and any other person do. I want you alive, you flawed human being.
If trouble comes knocking your way, know that this is a safe place. You can talk to me about anything. I know for a long time, some of us have been searching for a place to belong. Well, this is home. In between the words in this virtual letter of emotions, you can find a place to plant your sorrows. You can belong here, Gen Z.
With all my love,
Dee
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