A Letter To The Barn Owl

Dear Barn Owl,

I want to dance and sing throughout life, but like you, I only shine the brightest in the darkest of Nights. When dawn appears, loneliness spits in my face. It haunts me even when faces surround me. Nowadays, I am different. I don't fit in. I don't feel the same. I disagree. People want to be unique and special, but it becomes too hard for them when it comes down to standing up for what's right or making a sacrifice for what they love and dream. Let's be honest. Barely anyone wants to stand out or be themselves. Everybody wants to fit in and be part of something else. I always say, be you. The other person already exists.

I want to embrace who I truly am without a facade and the daily makeup. I want to wipe it all off and wake up from the devil's trance. Like I've been hypnotized on how to live my life. I am a lot like you, that's why I am here writing to you. I know that you are a sign of wisdom and focus in ancient Greek mythology. Yet people underestimate your intelligence based on how you look. Please don't worry because the human race judges based on looks, not your background story.

Nowadays, being woke is not enough. I need to be someone else to survive. I need to be someone I am not, do something I am not passionate about to earn enough to be able to keep a roof over my children's heads and fill up their tiny tummies. Our world is not so much different than yours. We have Prey and Hunters too. The Prey gets eaten by the System, and the Hunters go against it.

My dear Owl, I know they keep you in Zoo's now. Listen to this and let me know if it sounds familiar. Back then, women were just accessories. Portrayed just like you, in fancy cages that they'd call our Home. They treat us like a Silver Coin, but I wonder, has nowadays really changed? Are we living in a new age? Or are we still just here for the Silver exchange? How much for your Daughter's hand? Then they'd pay. Regardless of what I do, I will be judged for who I am and be a forgotten memory, like a lost grain in the sand. Too different gets you killed. If not by the hand of loneliness, then by some powerful man for not listening to his cruel demands. An example is Princess Diana for walking towards her own light and dancing with her authentic flame. Now tell me, dear Barn Owl, how can I be myself in such a world that we are living in today? I want to go after my true nature and desires, just like you. I want to be wild, but how in a world that tries to tame me?

I need to wear a mask. I need to hide my intelligence and do a TikTok dance. Preferably some botox and a fat ass, with some short pants, just like Kim K, I should sell my body, look pretty, smile, and sell that one image throughout my entire life. People will watch you daily on their overheated and overused screens, just enough to cure their disease like the Internet is the only thing that's left to see. No ups and downs are allowed. Keep being that pretty girl and smile. That's what we even teach our younger boys to "get brave & stay strong," Like emotions are just made for women, and men are not allowed to feel anything else besides being tough.

That's okay. I'll do something else. I don't want to be somebody else. I will rather be myself. I will work with animals. With them, I grew up. I know every single species and everything about them, but wait, I need a degree, study for seven years to learn the things that I've already experienced throughout life. Things that books could teach me too. I have to study again for a piece of paper that defines my life. Burry myself into student loans and debts, waste seven years of my life studying something I already knew to finally stand in the waiting line and hear that one fucking line: "We will get back to you soon" never to hear a word, and die with an unfulfilled life. Now dear Barn Owl, please give me some advice because this is not how I want to live my life.

Yours Truly,

Floriane