IT’S THE SMALL THINGS
By ALEX M. EDUQUE
Alex Eduque
Today is the last Saturday of 2019. More significantly, it also is the last Saturday of this decade. I remember exactly where I welcomed 2010, as I do who I was with, and what point in my life I was at. I was a college freshman, ecstatic to be home and back with family for the holiday break. We had spent Christmas in New York because my exams ended on the twenty-third, and I would have ended spending Christmas eve in the plane. So much has happened since then to say the very least, but a lot have also stayed the same.
The decade that was surely saw me through different stages – it introduced me to some of the most important people in my life today, and re-affirmed the love and loyalty of those closest. It brought me a lot of new and beautiful friendships I will always be grateful for. It taught me to value the oldest and most golden of friendships, while showing me as well that if you open your heart up and discern wisely, life brings gems of people into your life when you least expect. They will gift you with the most beautiful and sincere friendships your life will ever know. Keep your true friends close because they are the ones who come up and surface when you least expect, but need it most.
It taught me lessons – through hard realizations and painful trials – that taught me to lean to faith, discern, and trust in my personal judgment more. It slapped me with the harsh reality that the closest to you are the ones with the capability to hurt you the most. After all the pain, I have come to learn that forgiveness is definitely possible, but in my case, forgetting is not. And that I am just human, and by no means a saint. That even if I have forgiven, it is perfectly fine to still deny those who have hurt and wronged me in the past access to my life. After all, I would rather be true to myself, than have to fake a smile on any day.
And because of all that, it taught me to be nonchalant towards the petty, insignificant and irrelevant things in life. It is not worth it to sweat the small stuff, that in the long run, will not matter. It brought me closer to my family, and proved to me what a gift a close-knit clan can be no matter what. I am definitely blessed with one of the best.
It also brought me long and lasting love that grew up with me through my twenties, and that I will always remember it for. The year was 2011, and it was a young love that has matured in so many ways; that still has a lot to learn, but one that has brought me companionship, and a best friend I can no longer imagine life without.
The last decade has undeniably brought me some of the most memorable moments in my life, and as we hop on to the next one, I only have it to thank for setting me up rather well for all that is yet to come. 2020, you will definitely bring about change in the most beautiful of ways, and I am ready to dive right in. I am coming for you!