a letter from the past

Dear me. this is you, or what you used to be. If you're reading this it means that you didn't give up, and that nothing really awful happened to you. at least you can still read. by this time you should be near to finishing your degree. you should be very near to being a pharmacist. if that is true, congratulations. you made it, i knew you could. wasn't as hard as everyone said, right? or if it was, i'm even more proud of you. i write to you because i want you to remember why you chose the path of becoming a pharmacist. remember the year you spent in Africa. you only planned to stay a few months and look what became of that. if you remember that, you probably also remember how happy you were there. it was the happiest time of my life, and maybe also yours. you had it all. friends, a place to stay, a place to be and learn, and love. never forget that. think about the hospital you volunteered at. how proud it made you feel, to be a part of it. remember when you were sitting on the back of the pickup truck, waving to the people as you passed by, on the way to the little clinic in the village. you were so happy. and when you learned how to draw blood, and do all the little tests in the lab. the people trusted you. they appreciated your help. and then you started at the pharmacy and had fun learning all the drugs. you wanted deeper understanding of how they worked. that's when you realized it might make you happy someday to be a pharmacist. if you are one today, as you read this, you have to thank your time in africa. lastly and most importantly remember him. the way he made you feel. when you first kissed, you knew: that's the one you want to be with. you felt like you finally had the jackpot, like you would never have to look at other men again. you had never felt like that before. but you didn't think he was serious. he proved you wrong. by being very committed to you. remember the first day you spent together, the day after the housewarming party. he stayed with you the whole day. after that he cooked for you, even though he had never cooked before in his life. he cleaned your room. remember the beautiful moments as he was teaching you how to ride the motorcycle. how proud he was as you learned fast. how proud he was when your driving teacher said you're much faster at learning how to drive the car than most people. and how happy he was when you got your permit. remember when he let you drive to kyenjoojo. and when he was so happy that everything turned out well with your university acceptance. he was even happier for you than you were. never forget how he cared for you when you were sick. how you made fun of your noses together. and how sick he felt when you were almost leaving. he brought you to the airport. on the way to kampala he gave you the more comfortable seat in the matatu and you laid your head on his shoulders, hiding your tears, and fell asleep. remember all these things. i hope with all my heart that you are still together, and that you are planning to go and finally be with him. if you broke his heart, shame on you. he deserves the best, and if you couldn't give him that, you don't deserve him. he is the best thing that ever happened to you, the key to make you happy and live a fulfilling life. if you ever forgot that, and if there is still a chance, go board a plane and win him back. he is worth it, i promise you. maybe i'm more naive than you, but my memories don't lie. you had to spend so much time apart from him that maybe the pain became unbearable and made you forget. i hope in this case i reminded you.