“We are fragile. Exploding like feathers from pillows of chaos.”
– Christopher Poindexter
Love. What is it? There are a multitude of adjectives that could answer this question. Love is patient. Love is kind. Love is beautiful beyond imagination. Love is fragile beyond repair. The great poets and authors of the past spent their entire lives twisting and twirling their words to perfectly convey what this insurmountable emotion truly means. Any ordinary dictionary would identify love as an intense feeling of deep attraction, but it is so much more than that. In reality, we will never truly be able to define love because it is not concrete. Love is ever-changing and ever-growing.
I believe that you can never feel the same love twice. The deep affection you might possess for one person will never be the same as the love you feel for another. Love is common in its existence yet rare in its feeling. This variation in love often stems from past experiences. We have established that while love is extraordinarily beautiful, it is also terribly fragile. It’s no secret that the glistening magic of love can be easily shattered by the slings and arrows of heartbreak.
Over the years, heartbreak has received an ugly reputation. It has become the thing that destroys hope and kills dreams. Many believe that the world would be a better place without it. I used to agree with this assertion; however, I’ve come to realize that as much as we hate heartbreak, we need it. Heartbreak has a way of knocking us off our feet with such swiftness that it feels like the room is spinning. It feels like the world is crashing at our feet, and all we can do is watch. It is in that moment that we find ourselves completely alone and faced with a choice. We can wallow in our sorrows and self-pity and become immune to the joys of life, or we can learn from our mistakes and experiences and allow them to help us become stronger.
On one of my many procrastination sessions on YouTube, I came across an idea that could revolutionize the way the world sees love and heartbreak. Will Darbyshire is a British YouTuber who began his channel about two years ago. Unlike the hilarious pranks and skits that consume YouTube, Will Darbyshire focuses on more important matters. He focuses on issues that invoke the mind and soothe the soul. He urges his viewers to face their deepest fears and to search their souls for the answers to their deepest darkest questions. His deep thinking and relatable topics quickly made him one of my favorite YouTubers, and I am happy to share with you, Germ readers, his idea for addressing love, heartbreak, and everything in between.
Like many YouTubers before him, Will has decided to release a book; however, his is different. The book he intends to release will be written by us, the viewers. The book is to be called This Modern Love, and it will be focused around four prompts that Will is releasing in four different videos. His challenge to us is to write a one page letter that responds to the specified prompt. For example, the first prompt Will posed was: “What would you say to your ex, without judgment?”
Unfortunately, submissions for the first prompt has been closed, but three more prompts will be released in the same style. Your submissions do not have to be one page exactly; however, they should be no longer than a page. Whatever the length, the main focus of this project is simply to get people talking. It’s an opportunity to start putting the deepest desires, regrets, and fears of the heart on paper. Through this process we might even learn something about ourselves and realize we are not alone.
A few days ago, Will Darbyshire released the second prompt: “Write a thank you note to your boyfriend or girlfriend. Describe or share the big and little things that make you happy.”
I really encourage all of the readers of Germ to participate in the making of this book in some form or fashion. You all have such beautiful voices that demand to be heard. If this prompt doesn’t speak to you, wait and write to another one. All that matters is that you write what’s on your heart in your beautifully eloquent way that continuously consumes Germ.
All of the requirements for submission are restated in the video at the beginning of this article. You can either mail or email your piece to Will Darbyshire. The physical address and email are attached in the description of the video above. Make sure to check out his YouTube channel for the remaining two questions. This Modern Love is a beautiful idea written by a lot of beautiful people who want to make the world a better and brighter place.
Happy Writing!