Have you ever been in love? I presume you have. If you haven’t, in which planet have you been living? Some people are in love all the time and with different people, some others have only been in love once, but the love is strong enough to last a lifetime. Would you like to know if I’ve ever been in love? Well, the answer is: Yes, of course I have! I’ve been in love for almost 10 years now. Do you want to know who I’m in love with? Ok then, I’ll tell you the whole story.
I fell in love with him when I was 13. I couldn’t breathe properly and my heartbeat would go bananas just if I heard his voice. I wasn’t sure what I had to do in order to conquer his heart. However, I was pretty sure about one thing; I had to know him better. I knew very little about him. Although I didn’t know where he came from, his family origins, his characteristics, the little I knew about him was enough for me to love him deeply.
As time went by, I tried to study him and find out what really made him be what he is: a very important and amazing man. I studied his basic characteristics first and then when I was 17 I decided to study him for real, and that’s what I’ve been doing until today. Every day is a new challenge for me, and that’s why I never fall out of love with him. There’s so much to discover and learn. It’s indescribable the feeling I have inside when I see him, I always have butterflies in my stomach. He’s been with me through thick and thin, he’s always there for me.
All relationships have ups and downs, it couldn’t be different with us. I thought many times that I wasn’t enough for him. I’ve always wanted to give my best and sometimes I was kind of obsessed about that, which is not very healthy and sensible. As a matter of fact, I became worried, and I needed some answers about our love. I decided to travel with him, this way we could be together all the time, and I could find out a lot more about him. We went to Toronto, Canada. The experience was one of a kind. I couldn’t get enough of him. Due to this proximity between us, I realized I had a long way to go till I learned everything I wanted about him, but at the same time I was happy I was already on the right track to make that happen. We spent 1 year there and then we decided to return to Brazil.
When we arrived in Brazil, we were not so close anymore. Then, I could realize it was up to me to be with him or not. I realized that if we travel together, of course we’re going to get to spend more time with each other. But life cannot be holidays every day, unfortunately. Therefore, I decided I would make an effort to always be in touch with him no matter what, or where we were. After all, as I got to know him better, I realized I loved him even more.
As I grew older, I got more mature and patient. We were still in love and after our experience in Toronto, I enjoyed telling other people who loved someone as well, to be persistent because by doing so, one day they will achieve what they’re aiming. While I was in Brazil, I learned a lot as well. I could notice how some people say they’re in love, but they don’t do much about it. Some other people take it for granted and think that what they already know about their love is fair enough, and they simply get stuck, they don’t evolve. The best part about spending time in Brazil was that I met people that really made me proud and happy, because they really stood up for their passion. I could share my experiences abroad and learn that traveling with your love is great if you have the opportunity to do so, but if you can’t, it doesn’t mean you’re going to learn about your love more or less, it all depends on how much you really want to be with him and love him. Love and will are crucial in the learning process.
Right now, we’re in Sydney, Australia. You might be wondering what brought us here. Well, saudade! You’re familiar with this word, right? I missed being with him constantly. I missed his origins and characteristics. Do you know why I am sharing this with you? Because we have something in common: We love the same person. In this case, the same language. We are all in love with ENGLISH! That’s why I wanted to write this letter for you. I wanted to tell you, not to give up, because if you really love English, you never get enough of it. You’ll do anything to be with it. You’ll overhear conversations, you’ll watch movies 5 times just to memorize some words and expressions, you’ll listen to its music all day long, you’ll be curious about its origins and development throughout decades and centuries. We all love English, and everything we learn is valid, everything we know is important, and what you already know is brilliant. Nonetheless remember: What’s fascinating about English, and any language in general, is that we never know everything and we never will, but if we are really in love, we always want to learn more. If you fight for it, if you care about it, it will naturally grow inside you and in no time you will realize that all your efforts have been worth it and will still be, it doesn’t matter where you live, just be in touch with it. In the end, everything is worth it when you’re deeply in love.
Elaine Rodrigues Paixão
