Sharielle not wanting to go home

For the past couple of weeks I have been trying to fight the old adage, “All good things must come to an end”. Actually to be honest, I'm still fighting it. I have made so many African friends here, mostly from my church. They have all made me feel welcomed and at home.

It is a sad feeling knowing that you may not see a person ever again. However, I must realize that people will not be in our lives forever. Yes, there will be some people who will be in your life longer than others and others who will be there only for a brief moment. I am coming to realize that it does not matter the amount of time someone is in your life, but what lessons they have taught you within that time.

This gets me to thinking, if these people have made such an impression on me in such a short time, I wonder what impression I leave on others. I do not live in this world in isolation, I come into contact with people everyday. Knowing that we may have an effect on someone's life no matter how briefly we have been it, makes me want to be an even better person.

So while I have not fully wrapped my head around leaving, I know that I have grown as a person. I will be leaving South Africa a better person than when I first came in and I have all my friends to thank for it. I would like to give special mention to the following people: The Staff at Africa Unite, my friends at the Seventh-day Adventist Student Movement (SDASM), Vernon Rose, and all the other Capetonians I had the pleasure of meeting. South Africa had been one of the best experiences in my life and I know that this is not a goodbye, but a see you later because South Africa has a special place in my heart.