Friend Or Fan??

STAR THAT SHONE FROM AFAR TURNED HANDY COMPASS IN LIFE

 Recently I made a new friend. Which is all summery adjectives until you consider the quandary this has put me in when it comes to relating to other very important people in my life. All of whom happen to be the same person. It is a rather intricate story, how this friendship was formed and how this person has transformed from a star that shone from a far to a handy compass in life.

 

When your friend is , say Lupita Nyong'o, Kenyan's golden (Globe) girl, are you a friend or a fan? I wish I was friends with Lupita, but this person I speak of is an icon in her own right. 
 
You see, I met this person, who in this story will remain unnamed like Voldemort (oops!) a while back through email. I had been referred to her by a UK-based Facebook organization that deals with Borderline Personality Disorder I had reached out to because of my state of mental un-wellness, as a linkup in Kenya.
I wrote her a lengthy email that bore my struggles from childhood to young adulthood, how I had tried to find myself vainly for many years, resulting to curling-up in bed fighting my demons with tears of frustration every time I felt I had tried to curve my niche in the world and failed. 

I hoped she would understand.
 Better yet that she would care. 
But I did not see much light at the end of the tunnel.

She was kind enough to reply, magnanimously offering to help through facilitating talks with a psychologist if I felt I needed one. I couldn't believe my eyes when I read what she wrote about her experiences which enabled her to empathize with my plight. I seem to recall that at the end of her email, an angel popped out and sang.
That is not fiction at all!
 No, really.
So I saw the psychologist for a while which helped me offload a lot of pent-up emotion I had reserved over the years, but eventually due to other commitments I was unable to schedule any more meetings. To be candid this was a slap in the face for me. I felt abandoned, an all too familiar feeling. But the kind angel at the end of my teary emails was not done with me.

About one and a half months ago I got an email inviting me to apply to a fellowship program where I could learn about mental health conditions and acquire skills that would help me better deal with my issues and change my attitude and through me, that of the community at large towards mental health conditions. I gladly complied and was accepted to the BASICNEEDS KENYA FELLOWSHIP program where with three other sweet dumplings I will be telling you about we have been receiving invaluable care, advice, skills and knowledge that have done marvels in creating mental wellness in all of us. 
 

From Left to Right- Ann, I, Marie, Sitawa and Emily, the BasicNeeds Kenya Fellowship Team

My benefactor was our group facilitator for the last one and half months and in a recent review of the programme she was given rave reviews on the handling of her students even as she won on a global scale more recognition of her outstanding work as Mental Health and Epilepsy ambassador in Kenya in the form of the Google Africa Connected Success Story. We created a rapport that led to expansion of my view of her not only as a mentor but as a friend. 

I love my new friend and my new family that is the BasicNeeds Fellowship team as well. Everyone here is a star. And I wonder again, should I be a friend or a fan?