Áron Kaposvári
Dear Tom,
I’ve been thinking a lot about your story because your character touched me deeply. I’m a 20-year-old young man and had almost similar problems some years ago, so I want to share my thoughts with you.
First, about me. I lived in a one-parent family with my mum and younger brother, who is a wheelchair user. They wanted me to stay with them forever, but I wanted to follow my dreams, so I had to choose between career and family. I love them very much, and it was a difficult decision. Now I live in a city not far from my hometown and go to university.
As for you, your mum Amanda often worries about your responsibilities at home. She says: “What right have you got to jeopardize your job? Jeopardize the security of us all? How do you think we’d manage if you were—-” I think it’s not fair, she expects a lot from you, you are not her “property.” Convince her that you will help her and your sister Laura, but you would like to live your own life.
Speaking of Laura, it’s obvious that you love her a lot. You deeply care for her, but you aspire to your own freedom. “The window is filled with pieces of colored glass, tiny transparent bottles, in delicate colors, like bits of shattered rainbow. Than all at once my sister touches my shoulder. I turn around and look into her eyes… Oh Laura, Laura, I tried to leave you behind me, but I am more faithful than I intended to be! I reach for a cigarette, I cross the street, I run into the movies or a bar, I buy a drink, I speak to the nearest stranger- anything that can blow your candles out!” Since you miss her, and think about her, you should call her, visit her. You should help Laura to be open to the world and other people. You can help her without going back home.
Your stories and mine show that life often involves difficult decisions. Stop living in an imaginary world like your sister with her glass figures. Both the dreams and the glass figures are fragile. “Glass breaks so easily. No matter how careful you are.”
Sometimes we must choose what’s best for our own growth and happiness. I want to encourage you to keep following your ambitions. It’s essential to find your own path and live your life.
Best wishes,
Áron