Dear Micon,
I’m happy you’ve reached this milestone, of turning 30. Congratulations on overcoming all the hardships of 20s. It’s one of the most difficult phases of life, they say, the 20s; but yours has been extra challenging. If people would know what you’ve been through, you will have to prepare yourself for warm, tight hugs. But as we always tell ourselves – whether we’re in Manila, Laguna, Singapore, Stockholm, Aarhus, or Copenhagen, it’s relieving that we fought our battles well.
You are of course my favorite person to talk to because you always listen and look at things in different perspectives with an open-mindedness that is devoid of personal or academic arrogance. Your fountain of optimism is infectious. And thank you for teaching me to put lemon in my water.
Thanks also for introducing me to fika* in Stockholm. I hope you experienced hygge, or the Danish coziness, in Aarhus.
Maybe one day things will work out for us and we wouldn’t have to worry about many things. Or maybe that day won’t come because we like taking risks and taking in more sources of anxiety.
But we can always talk over Skype, and try to understand for instance how people on Earth managed to arrange a world of social advancements yet fail to resolve wars, or think about how the Philippines can pull itself out of the quagmire of poverty, or how men could sometimes sweep aside women of sensibilities, or how to put on eye make-up.
Bye for now. I immensely enjoyed Sweden, which you will see again soon for your thesis – good luck with that, and your visit here in Aarhus. I’m so proud of you, my dearest sister. Chat soon. And again, happy birthday!
