Pen Pal
The summer of 2013 I joined a website for people who wanted pen pals from other countries. All I had to do was enter my name, age, where I was from, and email. I also included a small paragraph about myself that went something like “My name is Sydney, I'm 19 go to school and work” I included more details like I enjoy theater, I love scary movies, and I really like making people laugh. Instantly my email in box was flooded with emails! I was ecstatic! As I read through a lot, I could tell most were spam, saying things like “Give me your bank account number and I will send you a million dollars because I'm a prince in an foreign country you have never heard of.” Needless to say, those were deleted. One day I got an email that simply said “Hi, My name is Anthony and I live in Uganda. All I want is a friend.” At first I assumed it was spam but I replied anyway with “Hi Anthony, I'm Sydney and I will happily be your friend.” Soon enough Anthony and I were emailing everyday or at least every other day. We talked about pretty much everything and anything. I told him about how close I was with my brother, things I hated about my job, and other random things in my day to day life. He would always reply with something substantial. Like he had actually read my email and processed it. It was very nice to have the feeling that someone was actually listening to me. He would then open up to me about an addiction he had and asked for help. I felt awful because I wanted to be there in the flesh to comfort him and tell him it would be okay and give him the attention he needed. But I did the only thing I could which was tell him what I think he should do and tell him that I will pray for him and remind him that he is better than his addiction. Our friendship only go closer. One day he told me about an energy company that his friends and himself were starting. He said they have power and energy problems in Uganda, for instance they would have a random black out in the middle of the day for hours at a time. “It just gets inconvenient” Anthony told me “So we are going to start and energy audit company and we are going to name it Sydney!” I had to reread that a few times. I was speechless. I replied “Oh my Anthony what an honor! Thank you!!” He later sent me the image of the logo. He said “My friend who designed it spelled your name wrong and he is going to fix it but what do you think of it so far?” I opened the image only to sit on my bed with tear filled eyes, jaw dropped to the floor, and completely speechless. The logo was simple but wonderful. A small green globe in the center with 3 black hands surrounding it, almost protecting the globe. With big green letters under that said “SIDNEY” under that in black letters said “Energy Audit and Alternative Solutions.” Of course the first thing I sent back was “My name has two Y's but other than that I love it Anthony!!! Its wonderful!” Then I sat back for a minute. This boy has never met me, and I've never really met him. How do I know he is who he says he is? I stopped thinking like that because I just wanted to enjoy the new friendship I had acquired. Even if he is not Anthony, a 23 year old boy from Uganda he is still one of my best friends. And just to think there is someone out there that looks to me for advise and for a motivating word here or there is a wonderful feeling. We don't email as much as we used to but we will email just to check up on each other and sometimes one of us will be having a bad day and just say “Tell me a story. I'm having a bad day.” Anthony is what keeps me going most days. The thing that always sticks out in my mind is something he said once. “Sometimes I am kind of lonely,every one seems to travel so fast, the world spinning so fast, and I have not found what am here to look for...in fact this,emailing you..makes me feel alive and wanted...but here in Africa/Uganda...Men have to be strong,emotionless,and strong...but sometimes its to much that you just need a second to go to the wash room,wipe your tears for a second; and move on,its kinda hard. Am I too whinny?” And I complain about not having fast enough wifi while someone on the other side of the planet has to wipe his tears private. Anthony has taught me many many life lessons. He has taught me to not take anything for granted, he has taught me to love the little things, and I haven't even met him.
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