Treasure Your Good Friends

I thought it's just another day today. To my shock, I received a Watsapp message that my friend from undergraduate days had just passed on after battling illness for many years. She was like a big sister to me, helping me with Mathematics. 

A small group of us who came from different polytechnics engineering to direct entry second year at National University of Singapore helped each others. I was from Temasek Polytechnic and she was from Ngee Ann polytechnic who was on a scholarship to study in Singapore. She was loud and outgoing but I was quiet and reserved. But we were closed in university, always going to lectures and having meals together. We had steamboat at the university hostel, went to Malaysia for a short holiday and studied late at night at NUS.

Somehow after graduation, we just drifted apart. She was married with two beautiful children. I was wondering why she never contact me while I was shy to reach out to her after the Chinese New Year gathering. I thought that she must be busy with her job as a senior engineer and her family. Also I always felt that she was much closer to another friend thus I didn't think of contacting her. I was wondering why she didn't contact me.

I was driven and busy at work many years ago in my previous job, sometimes working till 9 pm at my workplace. I won some awards and was promoted twice but grew weary when a new head took over. I delivered results but was passed over promotion. I also lost the drive in work after seeing some of my ex-colleagues passed on due to illnesses. I began to think about the meaning of life. I realised that I didn't ask her out for meal. I assumed she must be busy like my other married friends focusing on her children and career too.

I resigned from my job in late 2016, taking one year off to travel and just read all the books I was busy to read when I was working.  

Coincidentally days before her passing, I was just thinking of my friend and wondering about her. I thought that she must be busy teaching her children. They must be smart like her. 

It's important to keep in touch with good friends. Don't assume they are busy. At least try to message them, if they are keen to meet up, then it's great else it's also ok as you don't regret not keeping in touch. 活在当下