Insider Issue 16

A Letter to my Violin

Dearest Vioin

You have been the one constant in my life for 9 years, even if I didnt acknowedge you You are my escape, my eternal home away from home I dont know how to survive without you Hard scraping noises to soft sounding meodies – you hep me evolve and be better

You have just the right amount of chalenge – enough to make me work and change but not an indestructibe wal which very few get behind – you motivate me to do the best I can

You remained there for me even when hated you When reviled every twig you were made of just because thought was too good for you And when I finally gave you a chance you allowed yoursef to be friends with even the one that hated you the most now meet you at every chance get excited to spend more time with you and learn and evolve as a person with you at my side You alow me to play soft, sombre elegies one minute and then a oud, upbeat march the next You allow me to express my true self – sometimes very sily but other times serious, sometimes super creative and others bound by the boxes of my mind

You are my voice and my scribe, allowing me to be competey sient yet so very oud You push me to my limits, testing my patience (and my neighbours) You give me energy, but you aso take it away in an eternal cyce You already spoke my language, yet you were patient when I earned yours You are my best friend the one who understands me the most the one I speak to when no-one else listens

Without you I would not be here Without you I would have no voice Thank you

Dear vioin I ove you

Sincerely

D

Dear E,

It’s crazy how you can love someone you’ve never really met. I say I miss you, but I’ve never gotten the opportunity to get to know you so how could that be true? I guess I miss the idea of you, things could have been completely different, and I can’t help but wonder how our lives would be if you were still here. I saw pictures of you from when you were just a little kid and we looked really similar, I thought it was just another picture of me. Do you think we would have continued to look similar as we grew up? I wish I knew more about you. I wish I could at least celebrate your birthday or at least know how old you would be now, but I can’t ask my parents about you. There’s always such an awkward atmosphere whenever we bring you up and I don’t want to flood my parents with such sacred memories without warning. I want to know what you were like though.

I wish our family got to see you more. I wish for so much but I know that it won’t happen. I just hope that you’re doing well wherever you are and perhaps we’ll be able to meet one day. You’ll always hold a special place in our hearts.

Anonymous

Letters of Love

Dear Friday Night,

If you ask any person what their favourite day is, I assure you 90% of people will say you. Who wouldn’t? School, work, and the stress that comes along with them, are all gone the moment you appear. At least for the people that can leave it all behind for the glory of the next few nights. People like me. Homework due on Monday? It can wait until Sunday night, you’re here!

There is always the feeling of excitement in the air in those few minutes I spend outside of the classrooms at 3:50. The. “What are you doing tonight?” and “What are you wearing for the party?” jumps around the crowds. People from other schools are texted, all of us waiting for the moment where an official plan is made. For the last 7 days, since the last time you were here, we’ve been counting down the days. For some, those 5 days spent at school with the other days of the week felt like a lifetime, but for those who were smart enough to make plans on Monday to look forward to, the excitement and eagerness have catapulted them through the week.

As a kid, when you arrived, it meant sleepovers with my friends and pancakes in the morning, or tennis with my dad after school. Once I reached 14, it was seeing how late I could be out until I got a text from my mom or drink one singular beer in the park fearing someone we knew would spot us. Nowadays, it’s the simply knowing I have the freedom to choose what I want to do, go to bed when I want, see who I want to see.

My favorite Fridays are the ones spent in the last few weeks for summers. The Friday buzz is amplified tenfold by the anticipation of summer, basically an 8-week Friday night. When the sun sets earliest at 10 and it’s not the end of the world if you forget a jacket. On those Fridays there’s garden parties, dinner outside on the streets, and evening picnics in the park. They feel endless.

However, while I like to spend most of my time with you out and about, some of the best Friday nights I have spent are those alone in my room in the middle of winter. I’m warm, comfortable under my duvet, and most importantly alone with no one to bother me.

“Thank God Its Friday”. While insanely overused, TGIF might be the most relatable acronym ever created. Of all days, it makes the most sense you are celebrated the most. While every person might have a different idea of fun for their Friday night, I know we’d be lost without you.

You will forever and always be my favorite day of the week, Anonymous

Letters of Love

Even if many people like to bash and backhand you, Even if your gloomy weather puts England’s to shame, Even if the sheer volume of trash on the streets of Brussels is repulsive, I still believe that I owe you a thanks.

Thank you for being the place I grew up in, For your proper public transport and your developed highways. Many people will complain about them not being as fancy or reliable as in the Netherlands or Britain, but said people take these public goods for granted, and do not realise the incredible privilege that is to be able to travel over 60km in less than an hour and a half, and not in old single lane roads that are the single connection between cities, waiting for that infrastructure project that has been in the making for 15 years to actually have any visible results.

Thank you for having such good food, with your metropolitanism being why one can eat any cuisine they want, from Italian, French, Greek, Turkish, Romanian and Lebanese to Indian, Thai, Japanese, Vietnamese and Korean. People don’t realise how lucky that the most “exotic” restaurant in a 200km radius isn’t some “Asian” place that serves everything from kebab to sushi and that gives an extended stay in the loo the next day.

Thank you for being so central, being a 4-hour drive or a 3-hour train ride away from some of the most bustling and important cities in the world. For being able to book a direct flight to most holiday destinations, not having to have a minimum of 2 stops in other airports. So many people take that for granted and complain having to have one stop for a destination which is on the other side of the world.

Thank you for having such nice, walkable, and safe forests so close to cities with such nice pedestrian and bike paths. Being able to completely disconnect from daily life by taking a walk where the most dangerous wildlife is a deer or fox and not a boar or bear is something incredibly underappreciated. Your forest might not be as diverse and virginal as the ones in Eastern Europe, but at least the risk of getting mauled by a bear or shot by a hunter is non-existent.

To most people, you exist as a crossroad in their life, a place they will live in for 5, 10 years, before leaving to the place where their heart truly resides. I would like to thank you for doing that. For being the, if not prosperous, at least stable place where I like many other people have spent many years of my life, taking advantage of the many opportunities presented by this place.

Thank you.

Letters of Love

DearGrannySue

loveyousomuch.Ilovedthatyoucaredforeveryone.Iovedthatyoumade everyonehappy.Ilovedyoursmileandhowyourlaughmadeeveryoneesesmile. lovedhowyoucaredforalyourrescuedogsandhowyoutookprideinlooking afterthem. willrememberaltheamazingmemorieswehad.Ilovedallyourhugs andhowtheymademesmile.

rememberwhenwewereoutfordinners,youwoudetmeplayonyourtablet. rememberalthemuseumswevisitedliketheTankMuseumortheAfrican Museum.IrememberalthedaysoutwehadikegoingtoMonkeyWorldorgoing toDorsetBeachwithFredIrememberalthepostcardsyousentwhenyouwent onhoidaysorondaysout.Irememberalthebirthdaycardsyousentwhichwere awaysfuloflove.IrememberalthehatsandcardigansyoumademeandI rememberthelove feltwhenIworethem.Irememberthepaintingsyoupainted andspentalyourtimeon. willloveandcherishthesememories. willmissyourhousethatwasfulloftoysandstuffedanimalsIwillmissourdays outandyouoveforlearningmore.Iwilmisstakingtoyouoverthephone.Iwil missalthelittegiftsyougaveme.Iwilmisstalkingtoyouaboutmyplays,about howart’sgoing,aboutwhatbooksI’mreading.Mostofal,Iwilmissyouandyour brightlycoouredcothesandyourloveforreadingandart.Iwilmissyoursmile, yourlaughandyourhugs.Iwilmissyou.

GrannySue,IalwaysknewIovedyou,butIdidn’tknowhowmuch lovedyou untiIdidn’thaveyouanymore. loveyousomuch. Lotsandotsoflove, A

My Beloved Xbox

You are more than a console; you are my joy From exclusive adventures to Xbox Game Pass, you have been a faithful companion Late night sessions, Xbox Live Gold friendship, and backward compatibility create cherished memories.

You are my gateway to endless entertainment, with powerful hardware for extraordinary gaming moments Thanks for being more than a device – you are a friend

Here's to countless more adventures ahead!

Lots of love, B

The Big Not-So-Bad Dragon.

by Boaz Verhoeff 7Jd

Once upon a time

On a huge, hefty mountain Sat a big bulky dragon

With tons of treasure

And his very own mansion

He napped peacefully Fírnen was his name But compared to other dragonkin

He was not the same

He didn’t conquer kingdoms

Nor wipe out countries or battle knights

He refused to attack anyone Even if he was forced to fight

then one day a knight arrived raising his blade in all his fame

He bellowed boastfully out his name Fírnen became joy deprived…

“Why are you here?” Fírnen asked

Not having faced a knight in the past “To slay you of course, ” the knight replied Facing the dragon with a face full of pride Fírnen gave a look, being quite confused As combat, he had never used

He questioned the boastful knight once more

Wondering what all this fuss was for “What have I done to anger you?”

The knight looked at him, unsure what to do

You are a big bad dragon! BAD I say!”

Then there was a big, long delay

“Who told you this?” Fírnen retorted “Obviously, my lord did!”

Fírnen looked him in the eye

“Have I caused anyone to die?”

“`Cos even if I could, I wouldn’t try!”

The man offered no reply ` cos what Fírnen just said He couldn’t deny

“But all dragons are bad! Monsters!” He said Yet he knew very well it was all in his head

Fírnen chuckled as the knight pushed on Or tried to

As Fírnen just gave a yawn

After a bit, the knight stopped And when he did His expression dropped “What is a knight to do, with no monster to fight?!”

He wailed

Falling down to his knees as he quailed

Fírnen shushed him

And told him once

“Oh come on, don’t be a dunce!”

“Most of our kind are rather nice,”

“So for what would we have to pay a price?”

The man paused

Backing up towards the doors

“You have a point, I wasn’t good!”

Facing the exit, and there he stood “I’ll make my way back to my lord”

“And tell them I had no need for this sword!”

And off he went, leaving Fírnen behind Now he was the one that shone with pride

There he stayed Peacefully sleeping again

The almighty Fírnen.