Home Is In Her Arms
Growing up I have always dreamed of falling in love with someone who would accept me for who I am flaws and all. My fierce mother gave me an important advice that I planted deeply in my heart when I was praying for my perfect husband. “Never conceal who you are. Show him the best and worst side of you. That way he will love and take you for who you authentically are.” Emanuel must be my long lost brother from another mother.
Cinderella has her glass slippers; Harry Potter has his wand; Emanuel has his glorious pair of Air Jordans. The way he marched through the entire procession on the wedding day in his b-baller kicks showed that he is proud of who he is. This bold parade of love for basketball is his homage to the many years he spent in Malaysia playing with his friends. One of the Greatest Of All Time, Michael Jordan famously said, “It’s not about the shoes. It’s about what you do in them.”
Those Air Jordans were his secret weapons to surprise his friends who flew all the way from his second home, Malaysia. When they saw his kicks, they cheered and said, “No matter where we play in this court of life, we will still come together as one.”
It was more than just the shoes, it was an act of honor and gratefulness for all the memories scored at the basketball court.
Emanuel believes that living restricted by the expectations of society is suffocating. It is more liberating and fulfilling to live as yourself whenever, wherever, whatever. Going through life boldly as our own self helps us realize what we need. Better yet, it guides us to the person we need the most, because there is no pretense and ego affecting our judgment. It takes boldness to be vulnerable to our own conscience.
There is nothing more special than being genuinely adored by the person who we pour our all to. That is why Felicia loves Emanuel. All the weaknesses that Emanuel sees in himself, Felicia considers them as his best attributes. She is in love with him fully, powerlessly, whole-heartedly. A love like this is fire that fuels freedom to love intensely for years and years to come. This love defeats fear of being rejected. He has found the home that embraces all of him.
