Dear Diary:
This morning unfolded quietly, and Grandma asked me to check the speaker and microphone that my uncle and aunt left before flying back abroad. The last time Mama tried using it, the mic kept cutting in and out, and it worried Grandma since they entrusted the whole set to me.
What made it almost amusing was that the real last users — my cousin and my sibling — refused to admit it, as if the mic would magically fix itself by staying silent.
It has been weeks since my voice filled even a small corner of the house. Schoolwork has taken most of my time, and on days without classes, I wake up far too late, as if trying to recover from everything all at once.
So today felt like returning to a part of myself I forgot I missed.
I sang — soft at first, then slowly louder — and the mic worked as if it had never failed. The sound was clear, warm, almost comforting.
The clips of the songs I sang are here:
As I sit here writing, I realize something gentle yet true:
I shouldn’t let my days revolve only around what needs to be done.
There are moments when the heart asks for a pause —
a little music,
a breath of quiet joy,
a reminder that I am allowed to rest.
Today taught me that distraction isn’t always a bad thing.
Sometimes, it is healing.
Sometimes, it is necessary.
And sometimes, it is the only way to loosen the knots that stress ties within me.
Today, I chose to breathe.
And I think I needed that more than I realized.
Love,
Aristotle
