Gratitude diaries- 4

Back after a few days of absence. Since it was Alka's birthday yesterday, in honour of that (her 40th), I'll write about her.
Alka and I have been friends since 1998, the year we both entered IIM-A. I had very few friends on the campus and she was one of them. We've had good times together and shared some bad times. When I wanted to drop out of the course because I found it too tough, she was supportive and encouraging and helped me to hang on. She could be tough when needed. I still remember her words to me, when I was ranting about how I could not do this- meaning study late into the night, survive on few hours of sleep, eat this horrible mess food. She said, 'who doesn't those luxuries? Everyone who is here wants to sleep late, eat good home cooked food, not slog so hard. You're no different from us in this respect.' This made me understand that I was not a special case. Others were suffering too. if they could stick it out, perhaps so could I.
Alka's free spirit, boldness and joie de vivre is something I truly admire and want to emulate, but can't. But I do think it's great that I could see her example from close at hand.
I've always appreciated the fact that she keeps in touch. It is easy for me to keep in touch with my friends because I can count them on one hand. She however has dozens of close friends, yet she always calls, and tries to meet whenever she is in the same city, inspite of the fact that she lives in another country.
Whenever i have asked for help, whether for contacts for finding jobs, or for moral support or advice, she has always been there and helped if it was possible for her. Her support especially meant a lot to me during the traumatic incident in New York in December 2013.
I am grateful to have such a steadfast friend, whom I can look up to and admire and with whom I have a lot of shared memories. Thank you for everything, Alka.