Hello, friends from this community. It's my first time writing here. My college batchmate, 
To start, a few minutes from now will be the last Saturday of the month. I figured out it would be nice to share something in line with the existing prompt in the community. Surprise.
*What surprise positive and negative event has marked your life?
**
> What did you learn from that the good and the not so good that happened to you?
> What would you do differently now that can certainly help
others?
I contemplated and thought a great deal of time as to when I'm surprised. At first, I thought I haven't been surprised my whole life. But, alas, a distant memory from 2016 suddenly came rushing to my memory.
Positive Surprise
I turned eighteen in 2016. Debuts are one of the highlights of a lady's life. It's a prelude to womanhood. Thus, every young girl looks forward to that. However, I came from a family who can't hold a lavish party for me. My parents are naturally simple and not grand even at other celebrations. So, I opted not to expect anything big from them. I wasn't hurt because I know enough about our financial situation and status. However, I clung to a little hope that I'll be receiving something special or be greeted by someone I wished would greet me.
Destiny never failed me. Maybe it was God who gave the wisdom and initiative for my roommates to prepare something for me. I'm the youngest in the group. Most of our roommates are already in their senior years and so I feel extra special and loved. I didn't expect that they will have something prepared for me.
The night before my birthday. They stayed up to prepare the balloons and post cards with messages from friends and family on the wall in our boarding house' living room. They made the balloon stick to the ceiling and they tied it with thread that's long enough to hang my photos. They are the sweetest. They even saved up to buy a birthday cake for me and woke me up at the midnight to sing a birthday some for me. That was fun and surprising. I was also teary-eyed and it can be seen in the video.
The birthday surprise was prepared by my roommates.
They urged me to wear lipstick as a sign of being a lady. Lol
My best friend bought me a new t-shirt. Hers is new at that time too. We're twinning.
Here's my crush. They were able to convince him to greet me. I'm so happy to back then but now, this makes me cringe.
When I came home, my parents prepared these for me.
That's how my eighteenth birthday went. It was surprisingly great. It made me giddy, excited and ridiculously happy.
Negative Surprise
On the other hand, there's another surprise that doesn't make people happy. These are surprised we wish to avoid and not to hear. I have thought long about remembering a negative surprise and I have just recently recalled it now.
I was home after work back then when I was confused as to how my boyfriend hasn't given me a call yet when it is her routine to call me at that hours. Little did I know that he got into trouble. Surprise!! I was just surprised at the messages he sent me on messenger. He was trying to call me but when I answered him, he wasn't able to talk. He wasn't able to control himself. He had fun drinking from after lunch until the evening. His dad urged him to never come back to his granddad's place where the drinking session happened. But that made him burst as he was drunk and he didn't want to be ordered upon. He was loud and angry and he throw his phone.
It would have been easy for me to break up with him at that time. I would have been reasonable but my heart couldn't take it. I'm the only one he has considering that he can't take it to stay at their home as he was ashamed of what he did the previous night. It wasn't easy. I was mad at him but seeing him in his regrets, I vowed never to leave him as he was at his weakest.
I don't know but maybe that was love or pity. Surprisingly, I was tested that time and it was the most unfavourable surprise I ever had. I wouldn't wish to go through the same surprise again.
Those are the positive and negative surprises that have marked my life. I'm not into surprises especially when it's not favourable. I'm after the positive and happy ones.
What I learned?
The positive one allowed me to appreciate every single human being in my life. It gave me the inspiration to reward every effort. While the negative one has me learned to accept things as they are. It gave me motivation to not follow what society would say but it made me learn to follow my heart. It taught me that a lover wouldn't be perfect and I have to live with the flaws too.
What would I do differently?
I would be more appreciative now, more giving and more forgiving. I'm not perfect myself anyway.
*All the images are mine unless stated otherwise.
Thanks for reading. Until then.