the one thing that everybody wants is to be free,
to talk, to eat, to drink, to walk, to think,
to please, to wish, and to do it now if now is what they want
and everybody knows it, they know it, anybody knows it,
they do not want to feel imprisoned,
they want to feel free, even if they are not free, they want to feel free,
and they want to feel free now,
let the future take care of itself, all they want is to be free.
--Wars I Have Seen, Gertrude Stein
* * *
It was my birthday about a week and a half ago. Birthdays are usually a weird time for me. I never know how I'm going to feel on the day itself. Often, the thing I feel is kind of a mix somewhere between depressed and happy, but this year, maybe because of the pandemic and how all our gatherings are now virtual, it was actually easier to concentrate on the things I was supposed to concentrate on, instead of wasting time wondering whether or not I was having a 'good birthday'. And it was a good birthday, simple and easy, with a few presents from my loving family, cake and ice cream at dinner, and a little virtual group chat with my far away siblings. And, as always, there is much to be thankful for, for the year that passed despite the tumult of these current events taking place; and for the gift of yet another year.
About these pencil drawings, I've
been binge-watching a lot of BBC Masterpiece Theater so some of these faces
are from tv characters, but there's a selfie in there, and one of David Gilmour
too, because, well, why not? They say it's always best if you don't know the person, because if it doesn't look like them, they won't mind or protest too much so if by chance you see yourself here, please forgive the amateur attempts :)). Anyway, I just want to say thank you, dear friends, for your company through the last year, and for your friendship into the next. xx
