My father told me to cherish my time in university,
He said: “you’ll make the best memories out there”
I found a whole new world over there full of diversity,
And then I tried to see if I could fit in somewhere,
I learned more than I thought I would in 5 years,
Not just from books, assignments and classes,
Was full of laughs yet sometimes I shed a few tears,
I realized I didn’t need to fit in with all the masses,
Found some really good people and some bad ones,
The adventures were fun but then reality sank in,
Sometimes words can be as wounding as guns,
And some “friends” never want to see you win,
So I fell down and picked myself up off the floor,
Looked around and found only a few had stayed,
But I didn’t know who actually cared anymore,
So I turned back and asked my father to aid,
Sitting on the sofa, book in hand with a cup of tea,
Looked as if he knew what was plaguing my mind,
Listened to my long tearful rant and said “I see”
I said: “dad how could I have been so blind?”
He said: “They were a lesson you had to learn”
“in life, you’ll face many evils and some will hurt”
“They’ll try to break you to the point of no return”
“But you must be brave and kind but still on alert”
I sat pondering his words as he returned to his book,
I said: “Maybe I’m better off with no friends at all”
He said: “You’ll find true ones, just take a closer look”
“If you’re happy or in trouble, who would you call?”
“But, some of them turned out to be so ill-bred”
I said: “how will I know if they are true friends?”
He closed his book, smiled softly and said:
“true friends lift you up & stand by you till life ends”
He was right, I did have genuine friends around me,
Ones who feel like the world though they’re only a few,
Not minding my worn-out soul, dusting off the debris,
They stand by me, care & love me like I’m brand new,
-Amy x
