Before It's Too Late

If I could give a speech in front of the world, I would talk about the importance of caring for your loved ones. People need care, warmth, and love to continue their lives with confidence. These emotions give us strength, help us set goals, and allow us to focus on achieving them. When we feel loved and supported, we are more likely to believe in ourselves and our future.

The world is like a compass—it is full of surprises and constantly changing direction. We never know what will happen in the next minute or even in the next second. Life is unpredictable, and we cannot always control where it takes us. Yet one thing is certain: we are all passengers in this world, and one day, we will leave it behind. When that time comes, what will remain are the good deeds we have done for others. The love, kindness, and care we show today will live on in the hearts of those we touched.

That is why we should not wait to express our love and appreciation. Sometimes, a simple word, a smile, or a hug can change someone’s entire day—or even their life. We often get busy with our routines and forget to check in on the people we care about. But life is short and unpredictable, and we might not get a second chance. So let us choose kindness, show gratitude, and be there for one another while we still can.

I would like to end with a poem by Berdinazar Hudaynazarow which deeply reflects the spirit of what I want to share:

It Will Become Late

A person’s deepest need is a kind word.
Speak kindly — it’s like a crown upon their head.
Say it while they live, while they breathe,
Who knows — a year from now may be too late.

Say good things while there’s still breath,
A warm word at the right time holds great power.
Don’t wait until they’re gone from this world,
Who knows — even a month from now may be too late.

Let kind words rise and flow from the heart;
If they don’t come from the heart, they mean nothing.
A simple, simple word, even if it’s just one,
Who knows — a week from now may be too late.

Open your hearts, offer praise, dear people,
A blessing shared will flourish and grow.
What you see today may vanish tomorrow —
Who knows — tomorrow might be too late.

A life without kindness is an empty shell,
A loveless life ends hollow and bare.
Respect each other while you have time,
Who knows… even an hour from now might be too late.

~

Zyyada - Turkmenistan

My Almost LostJourney

I want to share with you my story about my almost lost journey. It was 10 years ago when I studied in Russia. I had to go to pass exams two times in the year. As you know, I lived in Turkmenistan, it is my country where I was born. Among our youngsters it is very popular to study abroad. I studied in Nizhny Novgorod, but went there through the capital of Russia, Moscow, because from our country that was the only way. When I was heading back home, I stayed in Moscow for a couple days. Usually, I would visit my best friend. She was also a student at that time.

I traveled between Moscow and Nizhny Novgorod by train. As a habit, I had large and heavy luggage. I left it in the storage room at the station, then I went with my friend. We walked in the city and visited our other friend. The same day, we visited my mom’s friend. We walked in the park near the railway station and my mom’s friend made me a little present. She bought tickets for me and my friend tickets on a special train to the airport. At that time, it was an expensive present for students like me and my friend. We were very thankful.

The next day we had to go first to get my luggage in the storage room and then go to our express train, (which we called shortly ”express”) to the airport. The storage & rail road station was located in the same station but in opposite corners. I asked my friend how long it would take to go from her home to the railway station. She said we have enough time to go there. We started our adventure. We walked in the park near her home and talked about how wonderful the weather was. We didn’t hurry up until my friend looked at her watch and told me, “It seems we are late.” We got lost in time and didn’t notice how quickly time flew by. In that moment our adventure turned into a big race.

We ran to the underground and waited for our train, but for us everything seemed like all things around us were stopped, except time)) Our train came and we arrived at our transit destination. We ran to the railway station, approximately 100 ft. First, I had to take my luggage and then go to express. We decided to split up, I went to take my luggage while my friend went to find the express train. We did everything like a sportsman, cause we were late and ran nonstop. All our conversation was while we ran. 

When my friend passed me, she came back, she looked at my eyes and gently asked me, to not tell my mom’s friend the reason, we missed the train. She was thinking that we might be late to ride the express train because of her. This ticket, as I said before, was an expensive gift. I took my luggage and continued to run but now it was more difficult than running without my luggage. My suitcase was on wheels, but it was so heavy and when I was running it couldn’t stand on the wheels. I heard a lot of suggestions to put the suitcase on wheels but it was impossible because of my speed. I heard the voice of my friend she again and again came back to me and showed me where we had to run.

When I saw the train itself, I was 20 steps below. I saw my friend, she tried to talk with the train conductor and asked him to wait 1 minute. I gathered all my strength and began my way up the steps. My friend came to me and tried to help me and in the last seconds we were able to do it. I felt the door slam behind me at the last split second. The journey to the airport lasted 40 minutes, but we laughed so loudly and cheerfully that we didn’t notice how 40 minutes flew by like seconds. It was the most memorable trip of my life.

~

Viktoriya - Turkmenistan