Image is mine
It's been quite a while I saw my family last. I got so used to us being together that it never occured to me that it wasn't going to be like that forever. Even in my first year of the university, I always made sure to visit home in-between the breaks and school vacations. I couldn't bare staying away from my family for a long time. I always had this consolation that at the end this semester I'll be home with my sweet family. So no matter the shege I saw in school, my gaze was at the period when I'll be done with exams and be on my way home.
But it's kind of ironic because when I think about it presently I can't seem to remember the last time I travelled home. There was a time being distant from my family felt kind of strange. But now I'm counting about two years or there about since I saw them last and I'm breathing perfectly fine. Do I miss them? Of course I do. Do I think of them? Every single day. But I came to the realization that we can't be together all the time.
All along I thought I wouldn't be able to cope if I wasn't always side-by-side with my family, but I guess I was wrong. Like I said it's been quiet a long period of time I saw them last, all though we do talk on the phone occasionally. So how then was I able to cope? Friends! I'm really glad concerning the kind of friends I came across. All along, I saw family as a thing that has to do with biological bond, but you don't necessarily need to share the same blood with someone before you consider him as family.
Friends are like a second family to me. When I was with my family back at home before I made it to the higher institution, I didn't find it that much necessarily having friends, although I had quite a number of them. But I didn't really see the need to make friends intentionally. So many a times what really gets me going when I feel far away from home and my parents and siblings is by saying to myself "At least I've got my friends!".
Going to the higher institution made me realize that you can't go with your family or expect your family to go with you everywhere you go. But you can have a semi-family wherever you find yourself–and that is by making friends. Like one of my favorites artistes, Spyro, would say, "Who Is Your Guy?" If you don't have one better do so to find one.
And it's not just about having people that answer "friend", but also being an actual friend. This means being there for you whenever you're in need. Nothing gladdens the heart more knowing that you got someone who got your back. That's the kind of friends I'm talking about. There are some friends that come and go, but there are the ones that no matter the barrier in distance they still stick with you. They never fail to keep in touch or contact with you.
I want to use this medium to appreciate everyone who stood by me and proved themselves to be true friends from day 1 up until now. To my friends. Cheers!