"yearning"

"It's like when you're excited about a girl and you see a couple holding hands, and you feel so happy for them. And other times you see the same couple, and they make you so mad. And all you want is to feel happy for them because you know that if you do, then it means you're happy, too."

- Steven Chbosky, The Perks of Being a Wallflower

But I'm not going to tell you about yearning for love. Enough has been said about that. I've yearned for more things than can possibly be fulfilled so I'm going to tell you about those things instead.

I yearn for you to look at me, look at me straight in the eye. You look so much more radiant with the sun in your face, not with that artificial glow from your screen. All we do is lament but we hardly do anything about it. I yearn for you to look at me at the table, even when we've run out of conversation topics, just look at me. I think I look better in person than in a square. I yearn for you to live in the moment and talk to as many people as you can (twitter mentions are not counted). And most importantly, do not use your phone for more than 2 minutes at any time during a concert.

I yearn for you to be adventurous, because these are the kind of stories that will last you a lifetime. Go on long rides with no destination in mind with your favourite people. Get lost. Travel to many places and don't sleep too early. And that one thing you've been contemplating for weeks - just do it already. Tell someone how you really feel. Do something very different with your hair. Start your own business. And why not dress up for Halloween this year? (But don't do anything stupid.)

I yearn for you to be kind. I know sometimes it gets so hard, with knives getting hurled into people's backs and everyone fighting their own fights. But be kind, not because it gives other people a reason to owe you a favour, be kind for the sake of yourself. No matter how ugly things get or how detached you may feel, being kind will get you through the day. It will put you in your place and it will be a smack in the head when you say life is meaningless. And no, being kind doesn't mean people will take advantage of you because what goes around will come back around. Be kind, and watch what it does to you, and everyone watching.