Recently, my friend Sharon sent me a heartfelt time capsule. Actually, it was a video recording that offered an intimate glimpse into her life from the previous year. In the video, she appeared noticeably obese, and while she sounded confident as if she had everything under control, her eyes told a different story. They were puffy and red, suggesting that she had spent several nights shedding tears in silence. As she spoke to her future self in the video, I could sense the overwhelming weight of her emotions.
“Hi there, future self,” she began, her voice trembling slightly despite her efforts to mask her fears from filtering through. “I hope things are better for you because right now, life is hell for me. My rent is almost due, and I’m terrified because I have no money saved anywhere. I am broke and have no job. I’ve applied for jobs and attended interviews, but nobody will hire me. I am so exhausted, and it feels like the world is crumbling around me. I’m almost giving up, but at the same time, I’m holding on to hope. I'm hoping that by this time next year, things would have changed for the better and your life would have improved greatly."
As I watched, her vulnerable state struck me and despite it being a glimpse into the past, I had wished I could reach through the screen to offer her solace. Fast forward to the present: after sharing the video from the past, she called me on a video call, and I couldn't help but notice that she was glowing and radiating positivity, while exuding a comforting aura.
“See how fat I was back then, and see me now!” she exclaimed, bursting into playful laughter. “Can you believe the difference? Boy, I was such a hot mess!” She laughed some more.
“Well, it’s not just about being fat,” I replied, fascinated by her evident transformation and vibrant energy. “You look genuinely happy! It’s amazing to see you this way, babe.” I added
“You know last year was tough for us,” she said, as her gaze drifted momentarily. “I don't know if it was quitting those toxic jobs or dealing with all that uncertainty, but I felt lost and hopeless. Thankfully there was us—the thought that we always had each other to lean on was a crucial coping mechanism.”
I nodded in agreement, immediately recalling all the conversations back then, which were often filled with frustration. “Yeah, we were both rolling on the same boat, and every time we talked about our challenges, it felt like we were struggling to hold on to a dangling rope.”
“Do you get babe? It was torture,” she agreed, her eyes lit with nostalgia. “Regardless, we always concluded our conversations with high hopes. ‘See you at the top,’ we’d always tell ourselves before ending each call. Those words kept me going because I believed we would succeed.”
“Same here,” I responded, a smile spreading across my lips as I took a trip down memory lane again. “It was like therapy—our little mantra navigating through the stormy waters, but look at us now. We succeeded!” I reaffirmed.
“We sure did" Sharon responded chuckling. "Here’s to the top!” she gave a toast, raising an imaginary glass in celebration. Those words felt like a distant echo. An echo of our struggles and a reminder of the resilience we built together in our darkest night.
As we reminisced about our worst days, we couldn't help but acknowledge the miraculous turn of event that had brought us to where we are.
For me, the hope that I had left was hanging on a thin thread. I can still remember that day when Sharon and I were applying for jobs. At a point, I felt maybe I didn't have enough working experience; probably that's why no employer was calling me for an interview. Along the line, I had thought about calling a few friends to seek their permission to enable me to use their businesses as part of my work experience, despite never having worked for them.
I discussed it with Sharon, and she immediately applauded the idea as a great one. I do believe in miracles, but never did I expect it to happen the way it did for Sharon and me.
After concluding with her, I drafted a list of all my friends whom I had visited at their workplaces and witnessed their operations. I called the first one on the list, but he didn't pick up, so I sent him a voice note with a distressed hint.
As I was about to call the next person on the list, my phone rang, and it was my friend I had just sent a voice note to. "Hey, what's happening?" he asked, sounding concerned. "You sounded really down in your voice note. Are you alright?" He inquired.
At that point, I couldn't start deciding if I was ok or not. I just explained my situation to him, and he listened attentively. "Send me your résumé," he requested after my narration and I sent it to him. After he went through it, he called back, quite impressed, saying he never knew I was a professional in my field.
It was at that moment he opened up that he wasn't employing, but he would reach out to his friends. True to his words, he did, and just like a hint of magic, my story changed. While I became employed, I was worried for my friend; for a journey that we started together, I didn't want to be the only one advancing to the top, so I kept wishing her luck would shine and it did.
It was a Saturday morning, nearing her birthday, and she sent me several screenshots from Twitter, followed by a voice note of her squealing. Apparently, she had tweeted that she wanted a Nintendo Switch for her birthday, and a man from the US, who had been following her for quite a while, sent her a DM with a DHL tracking code and pictures of a Nintendo Switch, attaching a message wishing her a happy birthday in advance.
I finished listening to the voice note and called her, and we squealed together. "She was like, 'Babe, is this a dream? Do you know how expensive a Nintendo Switch is, and someone just got it for me, someone I don't even know, never spoken to? Ha! Babe, pinch me, I must be dreaming.'"
Truly, the whole experience felt like a dream and a lie. We thought it was all a scam until they started chatting, and the man sent her some funds via Western Union. It was still too good to be true, and we felt maybe the Nintendo Switch was a bait, but it wasn't. It was only a gateway to the good life and a ladder to the top we had always spoken about being.
Because she did not only receive the Nintendo Switch and enough money to fund her luxurious lifestyle, she got herself a husband who is currently in Nigeria for the first time to see her and make moves to marry her and have her in America as his wife.
