Saying Hello

I like the word ‘hello’. It means a beginning of a new adventure, a new friendship, a new phase of life.

This year I want to say a lot of helloes.

I’ve already said hello to a couple new cities and a few new people, some films and even books—although reading has been a bit tough lately.

I’m a lot better at saying hello than I am at saying goodbye.

Usually I just try to move straight past the goodbyes and fast forward to new helloes. But without goodbyes, would helloes have even a fraction of the beauty they hold?

Beginnings are kind of easy. For me, at least. I've moved a bunch of times and started over in new places. Lots of introductions. Lots of helloes.

There’s hope and dreams in saying hello. You’re filled with inspiration and motivation. Maybe you imagine everything magical that could unfold just because of that one little word.
But as time passes and you fall into a routine, it’s easy to forget how it was to say hello. How it felt in that exact moment.

So, what was an important ‘hello!’ moment in your life?

I remember each hello I’ve said to my little sisters after they were born. Those are some of my most cherished new beginnings of my absolute favorite friendships.

What ‘hello’ do you most look forward to?

I can’t wait to say hello to a house of my own, near a lake, next to the woods. Maybe there is a little isolated rock by the water and a few colorful rowing boats.

There I can sit and scribble, paint with watercolors and look at the fish through the water and the birds in the clouds.

I spend a lot of time focusing on the helloes that are in the future. But writing is all about the now. Describing feelings, sounds, smells, getting all up in your senses and putting those senses on the paper. You have to be present in order to be a good writer.

Find something new to say hello to every day, and write about it.

Be brave and explore!

Helloes are special, but they’re even more so if we manage to write about them, and remember them.