Letters soul to soul
Seeking a penpal for the end of the world
Dear Friend,
I’m writing to you from my room on the corner of a busy street in Los Angeles. Below my window, a masked dad walks his masked kids home from their first week back in school. Police sirens wail but the prevailing sound is the shush of traffic and rustling trees.
At midnight last night, my fellow tenants and I received a text message courtesy of our landlord and lady: The divorce has been finalized and the house will be sold. This is your 30-day notice to move out.
This will be my sixth time moving since the pandemic began a year and a half ago. What.is.my.life?????
But actually—what is life and how do we do it in 2022?
Growing up (from age 13 to 33 and beyond) can be a strange journey, but growing up in the 21st century comes with its own cruel bag of craziness. Eco-anxiety. Screen addiction. Screen fatigue. A sometimes paralyzing awareness of social injustices. Text message breakups. Microplastics. How do we learn to survive in such a world and still figure out how to be happy, fall in love, pursue our dreams?
There’s no single answer to how we, as the generation that inherited the next century of climate chaos, can navigate our lives and the crazy world around us…which is why I’ve created Querida Sol: Letters Soul to Soul.
In this open correspondence, I’ll be receiving letters from young people like you about your deepest questions on life, love, and survival. Not every question has an answer, but I promise we will fearlessly explore our souls’ terrain. All letter writers will be kept anonymous.
Querida Sol is formatted like a traditional advice column, but is unique in several ways:
- This column is intended for young people ages 13-33. Letters from the young at heart are also welcome. Kids too 🙂
- The letters encompass all aspects of contemporary life, not just romantic relationship issues (though these are welcome too).
- This column is written by a 26-year-old woman who has lived quite an interesting life. (Hitchhiker, construction worker, farmworker, author. Occasional topless activist.)
So! What better reason to become penpals! If you would like to write to Querida Sol, please read the submission guidelines before sending your letter. Or pass this letter along to your friends and neighbors. Letters chosen for publication will appear on the website www.CaminoLibre.com.
I look forward to seeing what we’ll create together.
With love,
Sol
