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I love Paris.

I LOVE Paris.

I studied French for seven years between high school and college to prepare for my inevitable trip there…which didn’t happen until I turned 30. C’est la vie. That trip meant so much, I still remember certain aspects of it as if they happened five minutes ago.paris

I feel like the city itself is hard on those who don’t prove themselves worthy. By worthy, I mean embracing the soul of a stretch of land that’s been inhabited continuously for 2,000 years. Understanding that a city as old as Paris has seen everything, expects to see everything, and will keep on keeping on in spite of what happens within its limits. To me, being worthy of Paris includes not only the external – the aged beauty, the art, the sophistication – but the underlying WHY that drives the city’s true denizens to live in a place where these are concrete values. To value art is to be open to your ideas being challenged, embracing aged beauty means sharing a legacy with the next generation (and newcomers) who will be the city’s future stewards.

The unhinged souls behind the recent attacks on Paris were never worthy stewards of her magnificent future. They were incapable of seeing a past that embraces bloodshed alongside beauty. They saw only the moments of their own lives, their perceived grievances, and they sought to destroy. Because they were unworthy, they could never understand that Paris has already moved beyond them, and inspired a fiercer kind of love and loyalty in those who are worthy.

Vive la France.