I know you’re thinking god, how depressing is this girl, she just got back from a magical vacation and now she’s all rain clouds and dark skies… But no, seriously, that’s how you feel when the skyscrapers, waterfront sunsets, seamless city skies, coffee smells, and a lifestyle you were just getting used to disappears. Okay fine, I guess I do sound a little under the weather now that the trip is over, but you would too.
I’ve
said it once and I’ll say it again – Toronto is everything. I’ve traveled to so many different cities,
but none have sucked me in and spat me out with the same force as this Canadian
metropolis. After almost a week there, I
feel far more cultured, inspired, and full of desire to explore and grow than I
usually do when I get back from a trip.
Maybe it’s the air, the bright city lights, the buzzing of horns, songs
and laughter on sidewalk corners, the Scarborough Bluffs, the more peace and
less hate you can feel among the crowds, the church bells that wake you up
every hour of the night, or maybe it’s something that can’t be explained, but
this city changes you. It takes who you
were, who you want to be, and it teaches you that you actually can be anything
you want, and that you really can go anywhere you want to go. It’s a wide-awake urban dream dripping in
philosophy, art, music, literature, different people, food, scenery, history,
charm – and when you look around at all of this, it’s then that you realize…
the opportunities are endless. If you’re a romantic, a dreamer, a hopeful doer, a person with a
list of goals like me but need the bravery to make them happen, then
this city is for you. And, this lesson
is best learned over a hot mocha latte from Aroma Coffee, if you ask me.
And
that leaves me here, writing this post, trying my hardest to fill the pit in my
stomach with memories, enthusiasm for the next visit (#tripTOremember3),
wisdom, and the awareness that I am just a little bit closer to who I want to
be - today, October 2017.
So
with that, I want to say thank you, Toronto, for inspiring me to sit here and
create, to finish writing and publishing my first book, for reminding me that a
special sister bond only gets stronger with age, and for also reminding me that
no matter where this world takes me, one little piece in the puzzle of my life
will always be there -- toasting to this beautiful
life over a glass of Syrah with my sister, in our thirties, on Yonge Street, Toronto.
With love,
Holly
