Blog #279: Reassurances from Mary Alice

Once upon a time, I lived in India for a semester. Crazy, I know.

Craziest of all was the friendships I formed while there, as I never expected to get so close to people in such a short amount of time. Leaving these friends was hard, and I spent a lot of tears on those farewells.

That said, these friends are a part of my life still every day, whether it's through the pictures I see or the personal changes I've made with their help. Finding this little note again was an extra special moment where I really felt like Mary Alice was with me, and it couldn't have come at a better time.

Long story short, MA was the first to leave India, and she gave me this note right before she left. (Actually, she hid it under her pillow, and when she gave me a hug, she whispered in my ear telling me to go find it.) I read the note through tear-filled eyes, then put it away with my collection of notes, tickets, pictures, and other mementos from India.

Although the note was lovely and pertinent when I initially read it, it couldn't have been more so than when I read it again here in Iowa. The things that Mary Alice wrote about were almost word-for-word what I'd been thinking about and struggling with this semester, and her reassurances held a lot of weight because of this. It's like she knew exactly what reminders I'd need when she wasn't around to tell me. I'm just thankful that, in a way, she was around to tell me.