A Letter to Juliet

A statue of Juliet in Casa di Giulietta in Verona, Italy

Juliet Capulet. The character breathed into life by William Shakespeare in the classic tragedy Romeo and Juliet; the epitome of every brokenhearted and hopelessly in love young woman in the world.

I've always regarded the story of Romeo and Juliet as some stupid love story, but then again, who's not stupid for love? (Damn! #HUGOT) 

So, I did it. I wrote a letter to Juliet.

A few months ago, I thought it was time to finally look for a way to move on from a troubled heart I've been nursing for quite a while. I found myself scribbling and scribbling, with the goal of writing the perfect letter to Juliet, and one Friday sometime in November, I was finally able to send it to her.

You may think I've gone mad for addressing a letter to a fictional character, but, really, what I did is far from crazy talk. A Juliet will receive it, and will reply to me - or at least, that's how it should go...

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Amanda Seyfried, Christopher Egan, and Vanessa Redgrave in a scene
from Letters to Juliet

The 2010 film Letters To Juliet probably helped rocket The Juliet Club into popularity, and I wouldn't lie - that movie is actually the reason why I'm aware of such organisation. However, back when I first saw it, I thought The Juliet Club was just a society made for the film - a simple ingredient - to brew the perfect romantic blockbuster.

It had the perfect concept. You write to Juliet or tack a note on the wall of the house where Juliet Capulet is believed to have lived, and then you get a piece of advice written especially for you.

I had always been curious, though, whether the Secretaries of Juliet actually existed or not, because I would really love to send them a letter, if I ever get my heart broken in the future (and, it has finally come - a lot of times, actually).

With a little googling here and there, I found out that the Secretaries of Juliet are, indeed, real, and just like in the movie, they do their best to help mend broken and confused hearts.

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The iconic balcony in Casa di Giulietta

Club Di Giulietta or The Juliet Club is a cultural organisation based in Verona, Italy.

The Juliet Club is comprised of 15 experienced volunteer secretaries, who go by the name "Juliet", when responding to the letters they receive. And although they all write under the same female alias, it doesn't necessarily mean that all the secretaries are women. The society is open to both male and female volunteers over the age of 18.

Love notes from hapless hearts tacked on a wall in Casa di Giulietta

Writing to Juliet doesn't require you to be female either. Everyone who needs advice on love and life are free to send a letter to Juliet. 

In fact, the secretaries of Juliet have dealt with the most common woes of heartbreak down to more serious issues like teenage pregnancy, cultural conflicts, homosexual relationships, and suicide.

The Juliet Club receives thousands and thousands of letters every year,
which they respond to - handwritten!

Writing in your native language shouldn't be a problem, too, if you're worried that they only reply to people who write in English and Italian. The Juliet Club is an international team, and your letter will be perfectly translated and replied to, should you feel the need to express yourself in the language you're most comfortable with.

***

I wrote to Juliet, without expecting a reply. I'm very much aware that Club Di Giulietta receives tons and tons of letters every month, and with the crazy Philippine Postal Service, I wasn't even sure if my letter will make it to Verona, Italy. But it did, because I received a reply from Juliet today. 

Whatever I said to her and whatever she said to me will remain between the two of us. My only point here is: IT IS REAL!!! JULIET DOES REPLY!!! The letter is handwritten, as well, adding a personal touch to the message.

However, I'm not in need of love advice anymore. I have finally moved on, and honestly, I find my previous fantasies pretty embarrassing and stupid now. 

The letter would be a mere souvenir of naïve love found and lost.

***

If you're reading this right now, you're probably going like "Andy?! Troubled heart?! What?! Is she in love?! Wait, she fell in love?! Is that even possible?!" (Especially if you're a friend of mine, or worse, family.)

Well, folks, you've probably forgotten, but I'd like to remind you that I'm human, too.

Growing up in the company of, boys (er, most of them) may have toughened me up, but that doesn't make me less of a girl who's capable of falling in love and getting hurt.

I've had a shitload of crushes - from fictional heroes in the books I read and nerdy and geeky guys I see on TV to university athletes and musicians who play the perfect tunes for my ears. 

But those are all far from reality, and honestly, there are very few real (real, as in non-fictional and non-celebrity, exists in the world I live in) guys who I really liked. 

They're four awesome guys, or so I thought. 

The first one's a guy who loved to play basketball, and he was my lab partner in biology class. We dissected frogs together and had an imaginary wedding and imaginary babies for genetics - a girl and a boy with names you'll never get to pronounce (Gnaci Htumn and Kai D'Ahmoua). Even back then, I knew he's never going to like me with all those pretty girls in competition, and a stunningly beautiful girl he was trying to get his hands on (OK, that's a weird way to say it). Anyway, he's a ladies' man, and I knew that I didn't stand a chance of making it to his list, so I just resorted to writing some kind of a tragic love story based on his characteristics. I started it when I was 14, but never got to finish it, and I don't think I ever will.

The second one is quite a confident bloke with the sweetest words to say and I'm taller than him (you can just imagine how small he is), but I liked him all right anyway. He was my date at junior prom (just so you know, I was his plan B, since his first choice turned him down.), and things were going OK, until all the mess in some military training I went through happened. He became a douche, and I just hated him. I still hate him so much that it's quite unfortunate we're studying in the same university and go to the same building every single day, and whenever I see him, I'm reminded of what an asshole he is.

Guy number three is a hopeless case. I knew we'd never happen, but I took the pleasure of hearing about him from a mutual friend. I first saw him in a picture in my Facebook feed, and instantly fell for him cos he reminded me of Harry Potter. I then found out that he plays the guitar and loves rock music (oh, damn, that's like a super plus, plus, plus for me!) We were introduced to each other, but I doubt that he remembers me. That doesn't matter now, though, cos when I recently checked his Facebook profile, I saw things that suggest that he probably is gay. I still hope his not, because I still find him rather attractive. Haha!

The fourth and the latest one is a standout. A knockout. The kind of guy who screamed fucking perfect in my head, because, damn, he just is! But just like how it always goes for me and for most people out there, just when you're starting to fall in love with someone you think will be yours, he doesn't have the same feelings for you. And if ever he does (or did), things get too complicated and you just drift apart.

I've never really been in a relationship, not even that cute elementary school boyfriend-girlfriend kind of thing, and with all my stress in school and work, I'm not asking it for now. Maybe, I'm just too scared. I see my friends finding "the guy", then they break up, and end up feeling like pure shit. 

I don't want that to happen to me. 

Having crushes on guys who don't like me back are enough to crush my heart, what more real breakups? 

My mum often tells me that the perfect guy for me will come in time and prayer. Cheesy, I know, and frankly speaking, given that I pray and wait, how in the world will I know if he's already right in front of me? For all I know, he's already passed me by.

Oh well, so much drama in this post.

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WRITE TO JULIET

CLUB DI GIULIETTA

Via Galilei

337100 Verona

ITALY

***Note: I do not own the first seven photos in this post.

♥Andy