letters of my l i fe
to my favorite type-related people: cris, robynne, gail, sergio and mr. ybarra.
l e t t e r s of my l i fe
natalia marmolejo
A
as the a i got when i was in elementary school. as the a that appears three times in my first name.
b
as the b i got in my first typography class. as the letter of my mom’s maiden name. bijnsdorp. if you say it three times you will sound very dutch. bijnsdorp. bijnsdorp. bijnsdorp.
c
as the c i got in my...wait, i’ve never gotten a c. as the letter of my dad’s first name. cuauhtemoc. if you say it three times you will sound very mexican. cuauhtemoc. cuauhtemoc. cuauhtemoc.
as the d i got in...no, i’ve never gotten a d either. as the first letter of my boyfriend in elementary school. dan. say it three times and you will sound jewish. dan. dan. dan.
E
as the e...ok, enough of the grading system. as the letter of my favorite word in a spelling bee contest. everything “e-v-e-r-y-t-h-i-n-g� everything.
as a word i never use, frolicking.
F
g
as eating gorditas on the street.
H H
as hoarding shoes and having three five-feet shelves for them when i was only 16-years old.
I
as initiating a fight with a girl in fifth grade and grabbing her hair to the floor.
J
as julieta, my younger sister who used to kick my ass if i made her angry.
K
as klm, the airline that took me to holland for the first time and impressed me with such a simple and alphabetically ordered name.
L
as my mom’s short name, lia. because her full name is cornelia catharina herma maria. again, say it three times and you will sound very dutch.
as marmolejo, my last name, mexico and mole.
n
as nonetheless, one of the best words in the english vocabulary.
as ordering octopus ceviche when i was eight years old.
O
OO O
p as playing piano during my second grade of elementary school and never again.
Q
as q-tips, my entire family’s favorite hygiene item.
r
as riding a bike with no brakes on a downhill street in washington, d.c.
as sofia, my older sister who still kicks my ass if i make her angry.
S
T
as trying to make tamales with my grandmother.
u
as underlaying extra cheese on my dad’s green veggie lasagna.
V
as the villages my sibilings and i built in the middle of the forest and got destroyed after a storm.
w
as the winnie the pooh lunchbox i used to kick that girl’s ass while i pulled her hair.
as xerox copying my face when i was by myself in the library.
Y as yelling “yellow,
yellow” in a dutch
horse show when i couldn’t understand anything else.
z
as zooming inbetween the letters and appreciating their form, and maybe kerning them a little.