Beyond Borders: Insights from Nicola Yoon's The Sun Is Also A Star

 I was fourteen when I read The Sun Is Also A Star by Nicola Yoon, and she instantly became my favorite author, and even now she still is. Looking back at that book, I realize that my mind was too young to fully understand the complexities of every character. That book was and is a masterpiece. But this blog isn't about praising Nicola Yoon or TSIAS; it's about a quote from that book.

In the middle of the book, Daniel writes a poem based on his situation with Natasha that goes:

I will

stay on my

Side. And you will

stay on an-

other

Now, this poem is what comes to my mind whenever I think about Nicola Yoon, the book, or any failed relationship (not necessarily a romantic one).

We come across many people in our lives, and each person has some effect on us, be it good or bad. Some people stick with us until the end, while some get separated along the way, and this poem by Daniel explains it so perfectly.

In many failed relationships, one person stays on their side, and the other person stays on the other side. No matter how much they want to be together, certain lines will never fade, never let them meet. So they become content with being on opposite sides, knowing that the other person is happy too.

Again, in many relationships, some people manage to meet somewhere in between these roads. They don't identify solely with the sides they belong to; they identify with the middle, where they met. They create a negotiated world that beautifully holds parts from both sides. But my beloved readers, isn't it too difficult to even take one step away from your side, let alone walk all the way to the middle with no guarantee but trust in some random person?

I think about this poem more often than anyone ever will. I lost a friend, cried, thought about this poem, and felt somewhat relaxed in a very abstract way. Reading this poem feels like a closure to your own self, by your own self. There's relief in knowing that people can't leave their sides just like that. I gave this explanation to myself once, twice, thrice, and then I lost count.

However, Deep down, even I wanted someone who would leave his side, take steps towards me, and stand in the middle for me, waiting. But then the question arises, "Will I ever leave my side?"

I think that people who read this book must have been completely consumed by every single character. But they must also consider, maybe for a second that this poem isn't complete—not until the end, not until they meet, not until they step towards each other.

I am not at all like Nicola Yoon but I've tried to complete this poem because to me it seemed incomplete, like a comma and not a full stop.

I will

Stay on my side.

And you will stay

On another.

I will look for you

Ever so lovingly

And you'll look for me

With same agony.

I promise,

One day I'll be brave enough

To take a step.

And

That day, you will come too

Or at least I hope so.

We will meet

In the middle

With my new romantics

And your factual thinking.

I will

Stay in the middle

And you will meet me

There.