Hello, Hivers and awesome people of THE WEEKEND community. Another weekend is here and time to join this week's engagement topic in the community.
I choose to answer option No. 2
Tell us about someone, other than your parents, who has supported and influenced you and made a positive difference to your life. What did they do, how did they do it and how have you benefitted - What lessons do you remember the best.
Since I read this week's engagement topic post, I knew about who and what I would like to write about. I'm old enough to say many people have influenced me into who I am now. One of those people is a friend that for this post I will call Ale. She is the mother of one of my son's school best friends. Our children started to be friends at a young age but we started to be more in touch in 2016.
Ale had a health problem at that time. She had kidney failure and had to dialyze every week. At that time, the situation in Venezuela was starting to become catastrophic. The shortage of basic products and medicines was a real issue. In one way or another, most of us who lived in this country were affected by the situation. I would say it was a hard and dark time in many ways.
At that time, I started to get depressed about everything we were going through. For the first time in my life, I was losing hope. It was hard to see a way out on the horizon. I felt very bad and my marriage almost end at that time.
Ale needed a transplant but the conditions in the country were not the best to get it, she was following her treatment every week. She had to go twice a week in the early morning to spend many hours undergoing dialysis. I never heard her complain, instead she is one of the most cheerful people I know. If there was any activity to do at our children's school that required parents to get involved, she was the first to volunteer.
2017 came and I can't say my mood had improved, the country was getting worse and worse. That year there were many protests against the government, many of which ended violently with victims, so my hope at that time was on the floor. So I decided to sign up for a diploma in positive psychology. The day we were given the assignment on resilience we were asked to talk about someone we knew who was resilient. I couldn't think of anyone better to describe the word Resilience than my friend Ale. I think the day I wrote about her and how resilient she was it was like a wire connected in me. I told myself that I was a complete fool for lamenting about my life when in reality my problems were just a trifle next to hers. I think that day, I decided that my attitude would change and it did.
Things in the country didn't improve for a while. Today the situation is far from good, but some things have improved, shortages are no longer a problem although the cost of living and hyperinflation are struggles we face every day. But my way of seeing things and facing problems has changed. Now, I focus on enjoying what I have and being grateful for the opportunity of each day. Ale doesn't know that she helped me at a time when I had lost hope just because of the way she is. In 2018 she was able to receive a transplant and she is doing great.
If you made it this far, thank you very much for reading.
November 26, 2021
Hi @coquicoin. You received a great gift when you met Ale. A friendship like this always has a positive influence on life. I really liked your story. Thank you for sharing it.
You are right being friends with her was a gift I received. Thank you for stopping by :)
Oh wow... Ale certainly is one resilient soul and glad she influenced you to be grateful and think positively amidst the challenges of life. I am glad to learn Ale is doing great today :)
Thank you, dear Cj! Yep, thank God she is doing great with the transplant.
Have a great Sunday :)
Really happy for her :) Thank you and cheers sis!
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