20/07/2025
Lesson to be learnt from
I Thought I Had Time.
My name is Emily, and I want to tell you my story before I die.
I was once young,full of life, full of energy. I was beautiful, at least, that's what people told me. I used to go out with my friends every weekend. We'd dress up, go to the club, dance all night, meet men, drink, laugh. I love that life. It made me feel like I am living free.
I started smoking, when I was 19. At first, just for fun. One cigarette here and there. Then it became a habit. Everytime, I was sad or stressed, I would light one up. Every party, every drink, came with a cigarette.
I didn't think much of it. I thought, "I'm still young. I have time." But I was wrong.
When I turned 28, I started to feel pain at my lower stomach, I ignored it. I thought it was just normal. Then I started bleeding heavily between my periods. I lost a lot of weight, but I thought, maybe it was stress.
By the time, I went to the doctor, it was already too late. "Emily," the doctor said, "you have a cervical cancer."
I didn't even understand at first. I cried for days. I begged God for another chance. But the cancer had already spread.
The doctor told me one of the causes was smoking. The chemicals in the ci******es damaged my cervix slowly overtime. I didn't know. No one told me. Now, I live with pain everyday. I can't walk properly. I'm so thin now, you can see my bones. I don't even look like the old me anymore.
All those nights at the club, all the drinks, all the ci******es, they were not worth it.
The friends are gone now. The men I dated? Gone.
Only my mother sits beside me now, wiping my tears as I waited for death.
Too every young girl reading this, please, stop smoking. Please, take care of your body. Don't think you are too young to get sick. I thought I was too, and now, I am dying.
Life is short. beauty fades. But your health is the one thing you must protect.
Don't let the fun now become your pain later, like me.
โค๏ธ๐
By Ringia Oscar.
