To the orphan I sponsor in Hunan.

Dear Hong Yan,

I know I'm not a person who can say this and have a 100% chance of honesty. But everything I say is true. The day I wrote my first letter to you with my drawings in blue crayon. I was 7 years old. Just like you. We were so naive and I had no idea what it was like to live in such a poor place. I had grown up in a honey jar. A glass jar with a golden-tinted lens. It was like looking through sunglasses.  That day I took out my first camera, not knowing that you didn't even know what a camera was. When I took pictures of objects we use in America. Like electric toothbrushes and audiobooks to my new flip phone that I was in love with. I thought everyone had this stuff. Everyone lived in replicas of my large room. And yet I received a letter back. What are those? I didn't know what to say. So I took more pictures. I took pictures of the beautiful weather. The pool. My new bathing suit. And you watched as images were sent to you, not knowing what had created them. And it led me to the conclusion. You may not have a camera. You may not have batteries or enough money to buy clothes for the new year. But you have a lens. And lenses capture memories. They reflect it onto the retina so you can watch live videos like a camera obscura. Never mind, that was just a science experiment from school. One I wish I could show you. You don't have a camera chip. You have a brain. And even if the views of Hunan can't be set in stone by some fancy high-resolution photo, it stays in your memory for you to see. Someday, I will earn enough money to bring you to America so you can live freely and happily. I'll teach you how to use a phone and how you can take photos with a camera. A good one. One that will make a mark. And we'll print them out so you can mail them back to China for your grandmother and younger sister to see. I'm sure they'll be happy to see pictures. There are images that cannot be printed. And those lie deep in our memories. There are videos that cannot be played. They play in our dreams and memories. I assure you that no matter how poor and how little you may have, you have a camera in your mind. And that is the finest quality worth all the money in the world.

Your Sponsor/Pen Pal/Friend/Supporter/"Sister",

LuLu