The Beautiful Letdown

On September 2nd, labour day, I decided to bring the camera to the ByWard Market in Ottawa and ask people if they had to write a story about themselves, what would be the title of the book and what would it be about. It was kind of difficult to reach people so what I did is I wrote on a sign: Stories From The World of Us - Tell Me Your Bio’s Title.

The expression on people’s faces seeing me standing in the middle of the street with the sign was true and filled with a kind of joy, yet a bit of curiosity. I understand now that the people I saw were not only curious, but I could see the wheels turning in their heads thinking maybe I should, maybe not.

The first person that came right away to me was Sheila. I could see that she was struggling with addiction, and she asked me what I was doing. I told her that I’m interested in everyone’s story no matter their status, difficulty or struggles. She told me that she had the idea for a book and she wanted to tell me about it but not on camera and finally asked me for my phone number so she could think about it some more. I sincerely hope to hear from Sheila in the near future.

Seeing that I wasn’t located in the right place, I went right after on George street where musicians and buskers were freely wandering and exercising their art in the crowded area. Standing there with my sign, I was finally hoping for someone to come towards me and be the first one to tell me their story. Unfortunately no one would come up to me. I decided then that I had to be bold and go towards people.

At first, I saw two musicians, one playing the guitar and the other singing. After their performance, I went directly to Boden and asked him if it was alright for me to film him. He agreed right away. Then I asked him the question. He definitely willingly answered and told me that he was a christian-based artist and what inspired him the most was The album The Beautiful Letdown from Switchfoot. He explained to me that this album had made a difference in his life, pulling him out of very difficult times in life.

Perseverance - Emmanuel

I then went to the young pianist Emmanuel and asked him the same question as Boden. At first, I saw that me being a bit too bold or desperate was slightly intrusive. I then saw that I kind of pushed destiny to happen, but I was satisfied with that interview. He told me what his passion was, playing the piano. It was obvious since what came out of his keyboard was such magical melodies. From that point on it was easier for him to tell me that he would certainly write about perseverance and to always push through even in difficult times!

I came back home with a little more hope in my heart, looking at my own life, being in such a difficult situation. Today’s message couldn't be any clearer… I had to keep pushing through and never give up on my dreams!

If you want to see the interview, click on the following link: https://youtube.com/shorts/t0MJlYJezQY?si=206ufwLVbopP4X25