Dear friends and followers:
SURVIVORS AND ME
I’m a building that listens, observes and now reads the minds of my tenants, many whom are from all over the world. I learned from them what it’s like to be a human. I witnessed their differences in real time, their struggles and cultural differences.
I observed what it was like to be alive in the Twentieth Century and love telling tales of my own. It seemed that whenever any of my tenants moved out of my apartments for a better life elsewhere, I always felt it was a happy day in my life, and at the same time, heartbreaking.
I have been in constant transition for over one hundred and twenty-six years. I know I’ll never have power over myself and have lived long in fear that I would one day be taken down like so many of my neighbors. However, one of the most important things I have learned from my tenants is the power of hope for the future. It is this quality that helps me to stay strong in the face of uncertainty, and makes me a survivor as so many of my tenants have been and are….
Here is new post by Violet:
THE POWER OF RESILIENCE
It’s a grain of sand, a metaphor almost invisible to the naked eye or the senses. It happens unexpectedly over time, sometimes over decades. At first it has no name. It gathers slowly in waves of uncertainty, stoked by fear, loss, stress, misgivings, endings and new beginnings. It’s more than a gut punch to the stomach; it’s an equally hard one to the heart and soul.
My novel, “Forever Violet” is filled with ups and downs, trauma and indecision, grief, heartbreak and disillusionment. However, before I consciously realized it, I survived it all by never giving up hope and asserting my will and determination to cope with all life’s challenges. It was at that point in my early years when I realized the importance and silent power of resilience.
Best,
Fran
