the very best humans i've encountered in this life have been storytellers. for me, they have specifically almost always been writers.

throughout the years, i've come to notice consistently that my favourite people are those who move through the world thoughtfully and take the time to translate their thoughts and experiences very granularly into words, thereby allowing us to share in this finite, human experience together. without ever being explicitly told, they have always understood the gravity of capturing this existence as much as possible—for themselves, and for others. moments are fleeting and memories fade; what else do we have besides words and music and photographs? we must choose one of these to be our archival method of choice.

my favourite people have always been those who are unafraid to live at the edge of emotion, and almost every writer is of this type of person. stories are best told by those who have lived and felt them firsthand. i think it is a tragedy to live this life without ever fully experiencing its wonder; its heartbreak.

i once heard someone say that experience is the only currency which truly matters. maybe they‘re right; i'm not sure. but i do know with absolute certainty that being deeply understood is one of the most incredible things in this life, and it takes a certain amount of bravery and vulnerability to take a deeply personal experience and turn it into art; into shared understanding.

what is it like to spend a summer night in Memphis? to grow up halfway across the world? to walk on water? to give up everything to work on a cruise ship? to wander Ancient Egypt? to spend a summer night on the boardwalk in 1945, certain that you are made of starlight? to fall in love at first sight? there are experiences in this life that i will never have. but the work of writers; of archivists allows me to understand just a little bit better—and isn't that quite something? ✨
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