Truth is enough
While I was in Spain last month, I went to visit my grandparents in the care home they have recently moved to.
One day, we stumbled upon a small 'musical session,' where my granddad, who, besides being a tailor, a writer, and a councilman, was also a musician, took the session seriously, adding a bit of gentle percussion by playing a stick to set some rhythm alongside a younger but still old man who was playing the guitar.
After the session, my granddad approached the man to give him a signed copy of the book he wrote based on his memoirs, titled 'Roads with Stones Can Also Be Walked On.'
As I've always thought, all storytellers are, first and foremost, people who love life so much that they don't just live it but build a narrative afterward.
This book may not be a literary masterpiece, and its wisdom may be the same as the one your grandparents will impart when you talk to them, but what is special about it is that these stories and the way they are told are unique and real. They are built on real events and genuine emotions that will forever live on those pages and in those who have lived and read them.
And that reminded me not only why I love writing so much but also why I enjoy reading novels and biographies from the past.
While nowadays, most YouTubers, TikTokers, and content creators prefer to follow trends and recreate videos that have already been made a thousand times, I value the individuality, diversity, and purity of those who used to tell raw stories that didn't follow any pattern, that weren't post-produced.
Stories with names and places, sets of scenes, not proverb after proverb telling you how to become successful and leverage your daily routine. Stories with open ends. Stories where nothing really happens. Stories that don't need an end or a closing proverb.
So whenever I have doubt if my voice is right or wrong, I step back and ask myself if it feels true, and if it does, it's enough.
Thanks for reading!
Yours,
H.