Missing Montreal

Instead of doing my assignment, I lit a lavender incense stick and I’m watching the purple smoke dance and swirl. My room smells like a temple. It calms me. Perhaps in 10 minutes, I can actually focus on my work.

I yearn to go out and get some air. I yearn for a good massage. I yearn for one day of doing absolutely nothing.

It’s already October.

It still feels like yesterday since I moved into an apartment in Montreal, located near McGill.

Summer in Montreal was a blast. It passed as quickly as it came. I don’t know how many times I laughed and danced under the almost greenish, pale sky on the streets of downtown Montreal, but I know that I was happy. I think I was.

Larger cities isolate me and suffocate me sometimes, but I loved every bit of living in cities. I miss Montreal. I miss Tokyo. I miss Shanghai. I miss them because of all the people I met. I miss them because of all the memories I made. I miss them because when I lived in these cities, I felt young, reckless, and utterly alone. But also utterly happy.

Going to places alone did expose me to a lot of experiences that were not entirely great, but despite that, my belief in the kindness of strangers only grew stronger.

Call me an idealist. I still believe that people are good.

Goodbye, summer. See you next year. I wonder where I will be then.