Do I make you proud

K. is an old friend from high school. Whenever I see her, like last night, I’m reminded of how far we go back, how young we used to be, the world that lay before us.

And not in a bitter-where-did-the-time-go way.

She reminds me, 17 years later, of one of the most important things I carry with me: Each day is mine to shape, a new chance to reach those limitless possibilities.

She doesn’t likely remember what she wrote in my high school yearbook, but her eloquent words are some of the most inspiring I’ve ever had the pleasure to read.

I have learned a lot from you. If ever I just couldn’t learn something, I would think of you and think of how much I want to be like you, and no problem would be too small. You have been an inspiration to me and a golden shoulder to lean on. I’m honestly going to miss you.

It is ridiculous to wish you the best, because that is what you will always be.

I think a lot about the future these days. What will I be doing in a year? Five years? Where will I be? Who will I be with?

Will I be content?

It’s scary to consider what comes next, how it can go right or wrong.

I don’t have a clear picture.

But I think about what K. wrote and the power those words have over me. I think about the many times in my life where I’ve hit the wall.

Her flattering sincerity (or sincere flattery) lets me move on, past the could’ve beens and almost haves. Those words tell me that failure is just another step on the road.

She believed in me then; she believes in me now, sometimes more than I believe in me. I can’t let her down.

Each day is mine. And I can do it, not because I’m some super-special person, but because she believes in me.

Thanks, K. Your faith means more to me than you’ll ever know.