The Future Is Ahead

     "Don't look back, Mariatu. If you look back, you will live your life with regrets and what-could-have-beens. Always look forward" (page 141) These are the wise words of Marie, Mariatu's friend? That may not have been what Mariatu or you, for that matter, want to hear but she needed to hear that. She would later remember these wise words to comfort her during a hard time. When she has to leave her town and go to England for a whole new start for her life.

    There Mariatu goes, leaving Sierra Leone for England. Is this really what she want? No, not really, she rather be with her friends and family but she is going to England for her family. She is going to provide money for them so they can have supplies and food. Will Mariatu like being at England? Mariatu will either not like moving somewhere else or really like it and not want to go back home. Though she will probably not like it because she has not experienced something this big and different before. She may feel insecure or judged because she has no hands and is darker skinned than majority of the people there. This could limit what she wants to experience and do there because she doesn't want to be seen. She also never wanted to go in the first place. This is shown on page 142 "I blinked back my tears. As we continued along the dusty road, I remembered Marie's words: 'Always look forward.'"

   This can teach you a good life lesson for when you are going through a hard time or having a unexpected change in your life. Instead of thinking about what could have been if the change never occurred, you can think of what is happening because the change did happen. Always remember, the best is still to come in life you just have to wait for the time to come. I have had changes in my life that I didn't want but they turned out for the best.  For example one of my best friends moved to Calgary. This ended up being a good thing in my life because it makes seeing her even more special. I learnt that you can’t try to control your life, you just have to trust that the future has your best interests in mind.