Quarantine Journals - Day 10

So I am back in Canada but have to sustain self-quarantine in a hotel for 14 days. That being said, what a great day to start a daily journal. I signed up to Isolation Journals where everyday it sends out a journal prompt. I decided to give it a try and I am writing these not in any order that was sent to me but based on random.

Prompt: Write an open letter to the city you love, or the area code you rep. It could be the one you grew up in or the one that feels the most like home. Start with: “Dear [name of place], this is a love letter.”

Dear Toronto,

This is a love letter. I think maybe because I lived here for majority of my life that I grew a little tired of you a few years ago. But after been to a lot of places, seeing a lot of faces … I mean cities, I grew to appreciate you much much more. Of course, I mean you have your flaws: cold and slow. Cold, because you literally experience winter 8/12 months a year. You were snowing in May. You’re slow, because the construction outside my building has made exactly the same progress as I last saw it a year ago. But you are so much more than that. You are full of culture and diversity. You have the most wide range of cuisine I have ever witnessed and you do a darn good job making them as authentic as possible. You proudly celebrate any holiday and you invite everyone who may not celebrate it in their own household, to join in on the festivity. You embrace the weird and the outcast, that I have never felt uncomfortable wearing my crazy outfits outdoors - it is part of the local flavours. You maybe slow but you’re peaceful - the only major news we receive are from our neighbour country who is going through a bit of a rough time right now. You are orderly and respectful - that thank you and sorry is equivalent to umm and aah. You may not have mountains but you have a BIG lake, that I love running beside. You may not be near the Ocean, but you also have no disasters. Similar to other cities in this country, you are low key (relative to the global scale). You have world renown film festivals, world champion basket ball team, and is the home to some of the world’s biggest musicians - but you still choose to keep yourself low key because you are more than what those things can define you.

I am still young and rebellious. I still want to see the world a bit more (after this pandemic), but I will definitely be back because I do love you. I hope you will even better than you ever been before. ❤️

With love,

William