“Accept yourself, love yourself, and keep moving forward. If you want to fly, you have to give up what weighs you down.”
― Roy T. Bennett, The Light in the Heart
I have been raised by the parents who have taught me so many life lessons. I am and will always be grateful to them because they shared their insights with me when I needed it them most. They are compassionate people who try to help people with whatever means they have.
One such valuable lesson taught to me by them is sincerity and loyalty in all of the relationships without holding any sorts of expectations. At first, I could not make sense of it. How can I be selfless to that extent I used to ask my self. If I am with a person through their thick and thin, I would expect them to be with me when I am at the lowest.
In 2017, when I got my admission in my university in English Literature, I had to shift to another city which meant that I had to live 300 kilometers away from my parents for the first time in my life. Thankfully, they had prepared me well for the challenges and difficulties that they knew I would face in my university life.
I came across different people from different backgrounds with different thought processes in my department. As time passed, I made some really good friends, got close to a girl to who is with me now.
I met a person named Khalid there. It felt like I knew him and soon we became really close friends. We used to attend classes there together, go to the canteen together and did all the things that teenage best friends do. However, in 2019, the financial condition of my friend deteriorated because his father lost his job owing to corruption charges.
It really affected Khalid negatively. He started being more irritated towards everything. He could not focus on his studies. He was going through his thick and thin. I had to be there with him because I thought this is why friends are called brothers from another mother.
I told him,"This is not the time to give up on your ambitions, family, and yourself. It is the right time for you to stay focused. I am and will always be here for you my friend. I will help you with anything you want."
I did every possible thing to lighten his mood swings. I paid his semester fees once when he could not pay it himself. Through this time, the lessons of my parents kept ringing in my head.
My mother told me once, " In a relationship, be it any relationship, only your role is in your control. You cannot do anything about how the other person is playing their role in this relationship. This is why you should not expect something in return. If you are helping a friend, it is you playing your role. If your friend leaves you today, you should not cry about it, you should be satisfied that you played your role with sincerity."
This has been my mantra for life ever since my mother told me about it.
Coming to my friend, soon we graduated and I helped him with his career and now he has a good job in the IT industry. We do not talk anymore now because he had some issues with me. I tried to resolve those issues, but I respect my self worth too. I still wish the best to my friend and I will still help him if he needs me through his thick and thin.
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Ps. The pictures are mine taken with my Google pixel 5 and edited using adobe Literoom app.